As Jake walked out amongst the people of his world, he saw an entire town spread amongst them. The town wasn't as archaic as he thought it would be however. Buildings were stone and very Victorian era yes, but the streets had cobblestone and were lined with lights that would presumably work at night. Turning his head, Jake saw the building they had just come out of and his mouth threatened to hit the floor.
“A concert venue? You’ve got to be shitting me! Give me back my innocent wonder of this new fantasy world!”
All over the exterior of the building were banners depicting young human and not so human teens in rather provocative clothing looking like they were singing. Then, as if to shatter his already cracked hopes, large lettering reading ‘Manadium’ was arched over the entrance/exit.
> How the hell can I read this crap when I know it’s not English? Some sort of ability for humans of different worlds to communicate when they get here? Ah screw it, it sounds like a pain to figure out so meh, out of sight out of mind.
Surrounding the ‘Manadium’ stood boutique shops but what really stood out as wrong to Jake was the fact that there was literally an ‘Armours ‘R’ Us’ amongst them. having revived a little of the fantasy dream he had lost, Jake set out to follow the crowd which funnelled through the main street, slightly uphill, towards what he could only assume was some big government courthouse.
After walking for what felt like 15 minutes, Jake was once again amongst the populace for what he swore was the last time, lining up to receive what looked like an information pamphlet and a watch of some sort. Finally after 2 hours of waiting Jake reached the front of the line and came face to face with a woman wearing half moon glasses, and who's visage just screamed ‘I’m the office ice queen, so I dare you to hit on me’.
“Place your dominant thumb on the watch face, take a pamphlet and then proceed to your left. Welcome to Manasford.”
And that was it, in the most deadpan, monotone, ‘hello, fuck off’ one sided dialogue possible. Jake however, couldn't be happier. Minimal socialisation was always a plus for him and besides, he now had a really cool looking watch to play with. Except that it had no hands and was essentially a piece of black obsidian circle on a black strap, that now looking closer, didn’t have a clasp.
> Right thumb on face.. of watch, done. Oh cool its like an Apple Watch! Personal communicator, wallet, information and recording device. Sweet, it only works for me with my DNA. Terms & Conditions… skip. Ok, slip over hand to preferred wrist? Oh, cool it shrunk down to fit my wrist (left). Should probably look at that pamphlet now I guess.
10 minutes later and Jake was done with the basic information brochure. essentially it came down to a couple things:
This city is walled off because there are some real nasty beasts out there who don't play friendly, depending on their Class you can hunt them. The continent isn’t fully explored but sometimes Dwarf visitors come to sell and barter. Apparently there are more kinds of Elves out there somewhere, and yep, the beast people share the populace in 3/10 of the human cities in which Manasford is one of them. There is no physical money system, only ‘credits’ which are stored on your ‘band’ (Apple Watch). The Hunters Guild is where people who seek to battle the beasts and pilfer lost treasures in the wilds go to make money from quests. Clans are subsets of the guild essentially, or are large families who make a shit ton of money from training themselves for hunting. Finally, the city is run by a council consisting of 11 members so that voting tie’s are less likely.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
> Pretty informative stuff then about the city and how it works. Lets see, I have a moving map on my ‘band’, the time, and 100 complimentary credits which will get me maybe a couple nights at an inn after the week grace period is over. For ‘new settlers’ or otherwise known as refugees to have the privilege of squatting in the Manadium. Ugh this Mana everything is a pain in the ass, whats next ‘Manarip Club’? Ok, first things first I should sign up with the Hunters Guild otherwise know as the HG so I can earn some money. They should have shit kicker jobs considering the sign up Class is H, but i suppose the unlucky saps who have a H- Class must really be up shit creek. Forward! Oh wait shit, wrong way, now Forward!
20 minutes and 1 wrong turn later, Jake stood in front of what he assumed was the HG as it was damn near bigger than the Manadium. It looked like a massive department store from the front except that people with weapons strapped to themselves in various articles of clothing were coming and going from the large automatic doors.
“Fucking ruining my whole ‘moved to another world’ moment here Manasford, why cant you just regress back to the early 1700’s or some shit” Jake muttered under his breath as he strode through the doors.
> Fuck me, really? God damn starter RPG music playing in the lobby?! Im done, expectations shattered, tears run dry, no more fucks to give.
As Jake was having a mental and emotional breakdown, he still wandered lifelessly across to an open information booth that had a man with floppy dog ears wearing a simple suit, sitting behind it with a professional but bored expression.
“Hello sir, what can the Hunters Guild do for you today?”
Snapped out of his inner turmoil, Jake regarded the man for a whole 5 seconds before opening his mouth.
“G’day, i was hoping to join up if thats alright? I'm not really sure the procedure or costs.”
“Well, its a standard 50 credit sign up fee along with a signed waiver that should you meet your unfortunate end whilst on a quest, the guild is not held responsible, along with a minimum Class restriction of H.”
“That sounds fair, is there a rule book or something I should read? and how do I accept these quests?”
Jake could have almost swore he saw a tail of hair wagging rapidly behind the clerks chair.
> This guy is probably bored shitless most days, hmm I wonder what his name is? Oh there it is, Benjamin? Really? a dog beastman with the nickname Benji? LOL.
Benji opened a draw behind his desk, retrieving what looked like a USB stick except without the male port. Then he merely waved it over Jake’s band upon which received a notification that the HG rules and regulations book was added to his information tab.
“There you are sir, now if you would please put your band on top of the information dock there, it will take the 50 credit fee whilst also updating your personal information and guild status.”
Following Benji’s advice, Jake placed his left wrist on top of what looked like a black scale sitting on the front left corner of the desk. After a beep and another notification about a credit transaction, Jake was waving goodbye to Benji as he made his progress towards the section on the floor labelled ‘G’, which he assumed corresponded to class.