"Well, kid, congratulations on becoming an adventurer."
Chuck grinned as he patted my shoulder.
"We should party up sometime."
Tom threw an arm around him.
"But for now..."
"Time for booze!"
"Hahahahaha!"
The two of them burst into laughter.
"You're still too young to be invited."
Chuck pointed toward the reception desk.
"If you need help, Miss Glasses over there can assist you. You've got money now, so find yourself an inn for the night."
With that, the two old adventurers walked out of the guild.
"So, what's your plan now?"
The receptionist smiled.
"I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Flaire, a Flame Rune user."
"What kind of jobs can I do, Ms. Flaire?"
"For a White Rank adventurer, gathering herbs is the safest option. Those are the jobs assigned to your rank."
She pointed toward another board.
"If you want Green Rank requests, you'll need to form a party with at least one Green Rank adventurer."
"I want to work alone."
She raised an eyebrow before giving a small smile.
"See the request board over there?"
"Pick one and bring it back to me."
I walked over and began reading the requests.
Most of them were herb-gathering commissions with sketches of the plants and maps showing where to find them.
Reward: 1 Silver.
Hmm...
I don't even know how much one silver is worth.
As I continued searching, an old, faded request tucked away in the corner caught my attention.
"Interested in that one, kid?"
An older adventurer stood beside me.
"I heard you're a newbie. I'd stay away from that request."
"Why?"
"The contractor is poor. That's why the reward is only one silver. Gathering the herbs is easy..."
He paused.
"...but the place isn't."
"You should be at least Green Rank just to have a chance of surviving."
"And no Green Rank adventurer is willing to risk their life for a reward that low."
"Oh... thank you."
"So why is it dangerous?"
He shrugged.
"No one really knows."
"They say there's a huge monster living there."
"If you're unlucky, you'll die."
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Some people made it back alive..."
"...but none of them could explain what happened."
"Tough luck for a newbie."
"Then why doesn't the guild remove the request?"
"Because it's an official contract."
"As long as someone is paying for it, the guild has to honor it."
I looked at the paper again.
Interesting...
"I'll take this one."
"What?"
The old adventurer stared at me in disbelief.
"After everything I just told you?"
He shook his head.
"Well, it's your life."
"Don't come back crying."
"Thank you..."
"My name's Phil."
"Thank you, Mr. Phil."
I brought the request back to the reception desk.
"Oh..."
Flaire looked at the paper.
"So you chose this request."
"Mr. Phil warned you about it, didn't he?"
"Yes."
"You know you should be at least Green Rank before—"
She suddenly stopped.
"Oh..."
"When you lifted that boulder earlier..."
"Your aura was Green even though your badge is White."
She sighed.
"Even so, I still recommend you—"
"I want this request."
She studied my face for a moment before giving up.
"...Alright."
Stamp!
"There."
"It's officially yours now."
"Thank you."
As I turned to leave, another question came to mind.
"Ms. Flaire..."
"Where can I stay for the night?"
"If money isn't a problem, there's a decent inn across the street."
"It's ten bronze a night."
"But if you're trying to save money, there's a cheaper one near the edge of town."
"Three bronze."
"Thank you."
I should keep my spending under control...
Even if I have one hundred twenty silver.
While walking through town, I noticed what looked like an abandoned shop.
Most of the paint had peeled away, and the windows were coated in dust.
Yet hanging on the crooked front door was a small sign.
OPEN
Curious, I stepped inside.
"Hello?"
"Anybody here?"
"What do you want, brat?"
Behind the counter sat a large old man.
His broad shoulders hinted at incredible strength, though years of drinking had given him an enormous belly.
A cigarette hung from his lips, filling the room with thick smoke.
"Just look around if you want."
"If not, get out."
Well... that's certainly one way to run a business.
"Look, kid."
"I'm busy."
"If you don't need anything, stop wasting my time."
I wandered around the nearly empty shop.
Most of the shelves were bare.
Old runes that had long since lost their glow.
Ancient books with missing pages.
Rusted swords.
Cracked shields.
A wooden staff that looked ready to snap in half.
Then something caught my attention.
An old clay jar sat alone on the highest shelf.
It was covered in strange markings that looked carefully engraved by hand.
I picked it up.
"What is this, old man?"
"Who knows?"
"And who cares?"
For some reason...
I couldn't take my eyes off it.
"How much?"
"One silver."
"Alright."
"I'll buy it."
"...Wait."
The old man's eyes suddenly widened.
"Two silver."
"No..."
"Three silver."
I looked at him.
"You just said one silver."
"For this old, broken jar."
He scratched his head.
"...Yeah."
"I did."
He sighed.
"Fine."
"Take it."
I handed him one silver.
"Do you sell gauntlets?"
He blinked.
"Do you see any?"
"No."
"Then that's your answer."
He leaned back in his chair.
"What are you planning to do?"
"Punch monsters?"
"Yes."
The old man exploded into laughter.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"You idiot!"
"Do you know how tough monsters are?"
"Most of them will kill you with their abilities before you even get close enough to throw a punch."
His laughter slowly faded when he noticed I hadn't smiled once.
"..."
"You've got guts."
"I'll give you that."
He crouched beneath the counter and pulled out a wooden box.
Opening it carefully, he revealed a pair of beautifully crafted steel gauntlets.
"These belonged to my son."
"He loved gauntlets."
"He forged these himself."
A faint smile crossed his face before disappearing.
"But..."
"He died before he ever got to use them."
"He wanted to become an adventurer."
"Just like you."
"I kept telling him..."
"'Become a blacksmith instead.'"
"But he wouldn't listen."
"The day he absorbed his first rune..."
"He died."
Silence filled the shop.
"It's been ten years."
"I haven't forged another weapon since."
He gently pushed the gauntlets toward me.
"At least these are well made."
"How much?"
He looked away.
"Take them."
"If you manage to survive with those..."
"...then maybe I'll ask for payment someday."
"Thank you."
As he turned to grab another bottle, I quietly placed three silver coins on the counter.
Then I left without saying another word.
I found the cheap inn near the edge of town and rented a room for three bronze.
Tomorrow...
My first official request.
I took the parchment out one last time before going to sleep.
Gather the following herbs from Titan Cliff:
Stone Lily
Rock Dew
Moon Berry
Three herbs.
All of them could only be found at Titan Cliff.