Algeni climbed down from the tree and began walking through the village streets.
He quietly observed the sturdy stone and wood buildings, the straw thatched roofs, the small merchants’ stalls, and the townsfolk going about their daily lives in simple clothing.
The lively chatter of vendors, the laughter of children, and the rhythmic clopping of horses’ hooves echoed through the air, giving the peaceful settlement a welcoming atmosphere.
As he wandered through the streets, he muttered to himself,
“This really does look like a medieval village.”
He continued walking until he spotted a massive stone building with a large wooden sign hanging above its entrance.
He studied it for a few moments before thinking,
“I think this must be the Adventurers’ Guild.”
Just as he was about to step inside, a series of loud shouts coming from a nearby alley caught his attention.
Curious, he decided to investigate.
As he turned the corner, he found a hooded young woman surrounded by several men who were harassing her.
One of them struck her hard, sending her stumbling backward onto the cold stone pavement.
Another man slowly approached her with a disgusting grin.
“We’re going to have some fun with you.”
He raised his fist to strike her again.
Before he could, someone grabbed his arm.
Algeni looked at him with complete indifference.
“It’s not fun to hit women.”
The man struggled to free himself, glaring furiously.
“This is none of your business!
Get lost, or you’ll face the wrath of our guild!”
Algeni let out a quiet sigh.
“Such a cliché speech…” he thought.
He activated the HUD to check the men’s stats.
Man
Level: 13
Statistics
Strength: Mediocre
Defense: Mediocre
Speed: Mediocre
Mana: Mediocre
The others had nearly identical levels and statistics.
After reading the information, Algeni completely ignored the threat.
He turned toward the young woman instead.
“Are you alright?” he asked calmly.
She remained silent.
At that exact moment, another one of the men tried to punch Algeni from behind.
Without showing the slightest concern, Algeni turned around and caught the punch with one hand.
“Hey…
don’t you see I’m talking to the lady?”
The man desperately tried to pull his arm free.
He couldn’t.
With almost effortless strength, Algeni threw him straight into one of his companions.
Both men were sent flying before crashing violently into the ground, losing consciousness on impact.
Algeni blinked.
“I wasn’t even trying to knock them out…” he muttered while looking at the unconscious men.
“I guess I’m still not used to being this strong.”
When he turned back toward the young woman…
SMACK!
A loud slap landed squarely across his cheek.
Algeni instinctively rubbed his face.
“Ow!
Does anyone actually know how to say ‘thank you’ without trying to hit me?” he complained.
The young woman glared at him, clearly irritated.
“Idiot.
I don’t know who you are, but you ruined my plan.”
Algeni frowned.
“What plan?”
She let out an exhausted sigh.
“That’s none of your concern.”
While checking the unconscious men’s belongings, she glanced sideways at him.
“From what I can tell…
you’re new around here.”
“Yeah,” Algeni admitted.
She stood up completely before giving him one last warning.
“Then here’s some advice.”
She looked directly into his eyes.
“Don’t stick your nose into things that don’t concern you.”
Without another word, she turned and began walking away.
Before she disappeared into the village streets, Algeni attempted to use the HUD on her.
The System immediately replied.
“Your level is too low to display this individual’s status window.”
Algeni watched as the mysterious girl vanished into the crowd.
“Who is she?” he wondered.
After a brief sigh, he finally continued toward the Adventurers’ Guild.
He pushed open the enormous wooden doors.
Inside, a spacious hall stretched before him, bustling with adventurers of every race imaginable.
Some wore heavy armor scarred from countless battles, others dressed in elegant mage robes, while several sat around long wooden tables laughing, drinking, or discussing their latest quests.
The smell of roasted meat, ale, leather, and steel filled the lively room.
“Joining this guild might help me find the others,” Algeni thought.
He walked over to the reception desk.
“Hello.
I’d like to register as an adventurer.”
The receptionist barely looked up.
“Very well.
Please fill this out.”
She slid a registration form across the counter.
“Thank you.”
As he filled it out, he noticed the woman had already lost interest in him and was helping another adventurer instead.
Algeni lowered his gaze slightly.
“In this world, if you don’t look strong, people treat you like trash.”
“I’d better finish this quickly.”
The form requested information such as his name, age, and profession.
One section read:
Class
Warrior
Mage
Archer
Fighter
Thief
Algeni thought for a moment.
“Well, the System recognizes me as a Warrior, and ever since I arrived here, I’ve mostly fought with swords.”
Without hesitation, he checked Warrior.
After finishing the paperwork, he returned it to the receptionist.
She skimmed through it quickly.
“Good.
Please wait here for a moment.”
About thirty minutes passed before she finally returned.
“Everything is ready.
All that’s left is the physical examination.
Once you pass it, you’ll officially be admitted into the guild.”
“When is the test?” Algeni asked.
“Tomorrow.”
“Alright.
Thanks for letting me know.”
Although his reply sounded calm…
Inside, he was completely devastated.
“Where the hell am I supposed to sleep until tomorrow?”
After leaving the guild, Algeni noticed that the sun was already beginning to sink behind the horizon.
Golden rays stretched across the sky, bathing the village in warm orange light as long shadows slowly covered the streets.
He spent the next several hours asking for a place to stay at different inns.
Unfortunately, every single one turned him away.
He had no money.
After countless failed attempts, he let out a long, exhausted sigh.
“Looks like I’ll have to sleep outside.”
After looking around, he decided to spend the night on the thick branch of a nearby tree, high enough to stay away from the ground.
Lying comfortably against the rough bark, he looked up at the stars as they slowly began appearing across the night sky.
A cool breeze rustled the leaves around him.
Crickets chirped in the distance.
The village had grown quiet.
Algeni smiled bitterly.
“The protagonists in these kinds of stories are always lucky…
I don’t have anything.”
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep.
He couldn’t.
After several unsuccessful attempts, he sighed and climbed back to his feet.
“If I can’t sleep, I might as well train.”
He started with push-ups.
Then he ran laps around the outskirts of the village.
After that, he practiced sword techniques beneath the moonlight, his blade slicing cleanly through the cool night air over and over again.
Sweat slowly covered his forehead as the hours passed.
While he trained, a notification suddenly appeared before him.
Statistics Strength: +0.1 Defense: +0.1
Algeni smiled.
“Interesting…
Even if it’s only a little, I can still keep improving.”
He continued training for most of the night.
Only when exhaustion finally caught up with him did he climb back onto the tree branch.
As he stared into the endless sea of stars overhead, his expression gradually became more serious.
“I don’t know how I’m going to find the others…
but I’ll need money if I want to search for them.
So, whatever I have to do, earning money comes first.
Then I’ll ask everywhere I can for any clues.
At the very least…”
He paused for a moment.
His voice grew quieter.
“…I just hope they’re still alive.”
He let out one final sigh before slowly closing his eyes.
Morning arrived sooner than he expected.
The first rays of sunlight filtered through the leaves, warming his face and gently waking him.
Still half asleep, he rubbed his eyes.
“What time is it?” he muttered drowsily.
He climbed down from the tree.
The moment his feet touched the ground, everything that had happened came rushing back.
He looked around the unfamiliar village.
“Right…” he whispered.
“It wasn’t a dream.”
He brushed the dust from his clothes before making his way back toward the Adventurers’ Guild.
When he entered the building, he spotted Nen and Rose walking across the main hall.
They passed right by him without recognizing him.
Now that his hood was off, his face was fully visible.
Algeni simply watched them walk away before heading toward the reception desk.
The receptionist wore the same bored expression she had the previous day.
“Alright,” she said lazily.
“Come with me.”
Algeni followed her into a separate room.
Someone was already waiting there.
Judging by the clothing, the person appeared to be a young man.
However, the delicate facial features and smooth complexion made it difficult to tell at first glance.
His short black hair was neatly trimmed, and his expression remained completely emotionless.
The receptionist pointed toward the “young man.”
“This person will supervise your examination.”
“Hello,” Algeni greeted politely. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
The supposed young man answered in a dry, indifferent voice.
“At least you showed up on time.”
Algeni tilted his head slightly.
“May I know your name?”
The reply came in a voice that was unmistakably feminine.
“You don’t need it.
We won’t be friends, so let’s go.”
“Alright…” Algeni answered with quiet resignation.
As they walked together, he reflected silently,
“People in this world are even worse than the ones back in mine.”
Several hours passed as they continued walking.
Although Algeni barely felt tired, even his patience eventually wore thin.
He scratched the back of his head.
“Where the hell are you taking me?
We’ve been walking for three hours.”
The “young man” glanced back at him.
“I hope you’re not tired…”
A small smirk appeared.
“…because your test starts now.”
He pointed toward an enormous cave standing before them.
Its dark entrance looked like the mouth of a giant beast waiting to swallow anyone foolish enough to step inside.
Algeni stared at it in confusion.
“I don’t get it.
What exactly am I supposed to do?”
The examiner sighed deeply, pressing one hand against their forehead.
“Your test is inside that cave.”
“Ah…
and what do I do?”
A vein visibly twitched on the examiner’s forehead.
“It’s a goblin nest!
Go in there, kill them, and I’ll evaluate your performance!”
Algeni calmly placed both hands behind his head.
“Wouldn’t it have been easier if you had just said that from the beginning?”
The examiner shot him an annoyed glare but chose not to answer.
Without another word, Algeni began walking toward the cave entrance.
“Great…” he muttered.
“More goblins.
Just what I needed.”
Behind him, the examiner silently observed.
“This guy wants to become an adventurer, yet he doesn’t even know the basics.”
They looked at him with obvious confusion.
Feeling the stare, Algeni turned around.
“What?
Do I have something on my back?”
“Nothing.”
Algeni shrugged.
“That guy is really weird.”
The moment he stepped inside the cave, a goblin suddenly burst out from the shadows and lunged straight at him.
Algeni sidestepped effortlessly.
“I hate these things.”
With a single swing of his sword…
The goblin was cut cleanly in half.
Without slowing down, he continued deeper into the cave with his guard raised.
Moments later…
Several poisoned darts shot out of the darkness.
Algeni reacted instantly.
His sword flashed repeatedly through the air.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Every dart was knocked aside before it could reach him.
Without hesitation, he charged toward the goblins hiding behind the rocks.
One swift slash was all it took.
Every single goblin collapsed to the ground.
Watching their bodies fall, Algeni spoke with obvious disgust.
“Goblins…
I wish you the worst hell imaginable.”
A new notification appeared before him.
The System announced:
“User: You have killed 3 Level 5 Goblins.”
Algeni quietly stared at the message for a few moments before slowly sheathing his sword.
Green blood continued dripping from the blade onto the cave floor.
Silence gradually returned to the tunnel, broken only by the steady sound of water dripping from the ceiling.
“They’re way too low-level,” he thought with mild disappointment.
He turned toward the “young man,” who had remained several meters behind him with crossed arms, silently watching everything since they had entered the cave.
With a calm expression, Algeni asked,
“So…
what do you think?”
The examiner looked him up and down before replying in a completely indifferent tone.
“Not bad…
but they were only goblins.
It’s a very simple test.”
Algeni blinked twice before slowly looking away.
“Is this guy serious?” he wondered in disbelief.
He sighed quietly as he cleaned his sword with a practiced flick of his wrist.
“Even if it was easy…
he could’ve at least admitted I did a decent job.”
Silence settled between them once again.
The damp air drifted through the dark tunnels, carrying with it the distant echoes of footsteps and faint growls.
Deep within the goblin nest…
More enemies were still waiting.