Cool air hit Lan as he stepped back out into the street. Lan closed his eyes and focused on the spear. Everyone was taught how to link items even though most never had to use the technique; suddenly, Lan could see the spear in his Tome and anything that was written on the weapon’s core.

[Beginner iron training spear.]

[Damage Score: 5]

Durability - A,

Rarity: Common

Quality: Skilful.

Construction: Old iron – E, Wood - F

Edge – F, Point – F

Traits: Can be used by anyone.

[Link Level: 1]

Lan frowned. Sure, he didn’t know much, if anything, about weapons or iron, but it seemed like those stats were somewhat low for a gold dragon. But it was a weapon he could use, making it more than worth it.

[Hardened leather training chest plate.]

[Defence Score: 5]

Durability - A,

Rarity: common.

Quality: Skilful.

Construction: Black Bear leather and Steel – D,

Impact Damage Resistance - D, Piercing Damage Resistance – E

Traits: Unlocked: unlocked armour. This item has been unlocked, degrading the amour’s overall quality while allowing anyone to use it.

[Link Level: 1]

Lan hummed. The same unlocked trait was on the helmet, which had a defence of three, bringing his defence up to seven. Something that was now showing up in his Tome on a new page labelled equipment. Lan put it on and started back the way he had come. Walking down the street in armour and carrying a spear while in his regular clothes, Lan stood out, but he was filled with too much adrenaline to notice. For a while, he walked with urgency before realising he had no idea where to go. Lan knew where all three guilds were, but he didn’t know which one to go to. Luckily the decision was made for him when the Barmaid from a few nights ago stepped out of the inn in armour and noticed him.

‘Oh, it’s you.’ she smiled. ‘You should have said that you were an adventurer.’ She crossed her arms, her smile turning into a smirk as the quiver of arrows on her back rattled.

‘Oh, not yet.’ Lan said without thinking.

‘Oh really, so you are looking to join then. Lucky for you, I was heading to the best Guild in the city as we speak, and although I am clearly biased, at least you don’t have to walk on your own.’ she winked, and Lan found himself following her without thinking all the way to the Guild. There was just something about how sure she was in everything she did that seemed to ensnare him, made him feel like there was nothing crazy about him marching up to a guild of monster hunters at his level. It reminded him of the night at the inn. For a moment, Lan wondered if he had subconsciously chosen to end up there. Although he didn’t think on it long as they reached the guild hall. Which was a rather short walk from the inn. A four-story building with banners of a man on horseback carrying a spear with silhouettes of other horse riders in the background, The hunter moonlighting as a Barmaid turned to him. ‘Oh, I never got your name.’

‘Uh... it’s Landrin.’

‘Landrin.’ She nodded. ‘Leah.’

‘Leah,’ Lan nodded back. ‘You can just call me Lan.’

‘Lan.’ She smiled. ‘Well, Lan, Welcome to the Hall of the Wild Hunt.’

‘Wait a moment.’ Lan called as she turned to enter. ‘There is something I have to say.’

‘Don’t worry, even if you are new to all this, everyone is friendly enough, and you are with me, so you won’t have to worry.’ She said, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the building. Which was a bustle of activity. The bottom floor was a mix of a meeting area, and reception, with tables and chairs all around with adventurers going over jobs on them and long benches off to the side with people waiting to register jobs at a separate reception to the main one, at the back of the main hall were four large jobs boards each with a different coloured frame. With two staircases behind the four-man desk to the second and third floors, which could be seen from the first floor. As she dragged Lan through the hall, greeting people, Lan tried to tell her to stop for a moment, but they were already standing at the reception desk when she did.

‘Good Morning Leah.’ The Hazel haired woman with the brightest smile Lan had ever seen said before, looking at him. ‘I see that you have brought a friend.’

‘That’s right, Mari.’ Leah said, looking at him. ‘This is Lan. He’s looking to join the Guild.’

‘Excellent, it’s always good to see new faces. Here you are.’ The receptionist said, placing a small rectangular plate about a finger long and two fingers wide, made of Drill, the lowest class metal, in front of Lan. A rectangular hole was punched through the top with a cord strung through it. ‘Like all guilds, we do not register a new member until the end of their first week.’ Lan looked to Leah, who gave him a smile and shrugged.

‘Most people find out if this kind of Class fits them within the first week. No point doing all the paperwork if we are just going to end up burning it.’

‘What she means is that most newbies end up running home crying after the first week, but that’s being generous.’ A young man about Lan’s age, with short red hair, threw his arms over his shoulder. ‘in reality, you know, after the first day. They either piss themselves after seeing a goblin for the first time, or you know you never see the goblin at all, but those are the lucky ones. Most see what kills them.’ he grinned, wicking at Lan before Leah thumped him on the head.

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‘That’s more than enough, Klaus!’

‘Ah, sorry, Leah, I was just curious. Not often do I see you with a man in tow, I couldn’t help myself.’ He dodged her next attack, hiding behind Lan for the next before running off with Leah chasing after him. Lan just stood there. No one needed to tell him that this was going to be dangerous. But for him to speak so casually about dying on the first day. Made it all real.

‘What! it’s true though.’ Lan heard the young man cry as Leah caught him and started hammering him with blows.

‘Are you alright?’ Mari’s worried voice snapped Lan back.

‘Yeah, just fine,’ he smiled and picked up the adventurer tag.

[Class Item Acquired: Adventurous Tag – Rank: Drill]

Lan breathed out hard. He had waited so long to hear those words. Not that of a Crafter or merchant, but for some reason, it didn’t bother him. Whether he wished for it or not, this was a sign of an opportunity.

‘Sorry about him,’ Leah said as she returned. ‘But you will find that a lot of them are like that when it comes to being an adventurer. You'll get used to it, so don’t let it bother you. Oh!’ she called, seeing he had picked up the class item. I guess it didn’t.’ she smiled. ‘If you would like, I can help you pick a job to start. My team already has a job, so I won’t be able to help you. Just tell me what Level you are, and I can see…’ before Lan could think of what to say. A voice broke through the noise in the hall.

‘Everyone!’ all eyes, even Lan’s, turned to the well-built man with a trimmed beard and dressed in a spectacular red armoured coat. ‘there has been a horde of Razorback wolves spotted near the city… and we got the contract.’ A cheer of excitement roared through the hall.

‘Well, looks like we will have to take a rain check.’ Leah said, ‘on second thought, this is probably the best opportunity to see what adventuring is all about.’ She said before rushing off to join a group that included Klaus.

‘Like all Kill orders, it’s all hands on deck. If you don’t already have a job registered, gear up and accept the job and be ready to move at ten. Before Lan knew it, he was almost bowled over as a wave of high-level people rushed to accept the job. Lan watched for a moment before he found himself joining the line, his hesitation having put him at the very back, as Leah and her group walked past him, and she gave him a smile, but by the time Lan reached the end of the line, her and her team had left with the guild master in the first group. When Lan finally got to the desk and had Mari explain how to accept a job by touching his tag to the black disk on the counter, he paused with the tag hovering over the keystone. He had joined the line without thinking, but now, he had reached a turning point. Even if he could leave the guild whenever he wanted. Accepting the job meant that he would come face to face with monsters. The last shreds of common sense screamed at him that he was an idiot and should turn back now. But it was a feeble front, even for what it was. Lan knew what he should do or what he believed he had to do and had been doing so for years, and it had only gotten him to the point that he was standing there. But it wasn’t even about that or the fact that an opportunity like this would never come again.

[Guild contract accepted: Subjugate Razorwolves Horde]

He was doing this because he wanted to.

By the time he took the job, the second group had left, and Lan was left to join up with the adventurers who had found out about the job late and had rushed to join. Lan overheard one group talking about how they were looking forward to their day off. But they had received a letter saying they were going whether they liked it or not. Even though they wore silver tags like the majority in the Guild, Lan could see why the guild master would want them to come. They all looked intimidating, but most adventurers looked intimidating to Lan.

As the third group left, there were at least sixty people on the road out of the city. He followed quietly and was happy when they turned down a road the opposite way from his village. As they marched, Lan tried to keep his head down, but that meant Lan didn’t know where they were going or how long it would take to get there. Which only made the fact that it took literally everything Lan had to keep up with the others in the group, and barely managed to keep up at that, all the harder.

By the time they stopped for the first break, the sun was high in the sky, although Lan barely noticed as he snuck away and collapsed behind a tree and threw up. Which almost made him miss it when the group started moving again and nearly forget his spear. When they finally stopped for the day, it was because the sun had begun to set. Luckily a mage with each group had a warp space box with camping supplies. And they all started to set up a camp in the middle of a clearing with small camps of large consecutive rings. Lan was in a tent with a few other adventurers without groups that helped around the camp. When he was finally able to get a seat around one of the fires. Those around him were already in the middle of a conversation, and Lan forced himself to listen in, afraid that resting before the others or even looking drowsy would make him stand out, so at least for a while, he stayed up. That was until someone touched something cold to his head. Realising he had drifted off, Lan opened his eyes with a start and was greeted by a smiling Leah.

‘You made it.’ she said and offered the cup and a bowl of stew to Lan.

‘Barely.’ Lan sighed and took the food gratefully, suddenly realising he was starving.

‘Yeah, they never put in the stories just how much walking we do. Although, for Guild-wide contracts like this, there are usually wagons arranged, but we didn’t have any time for that.

‘Adventurers usually ride horses in the stories,’ Lan said between bites.

‘You would think that.’ Leah said, sitting next to him. ‘But it’s hard to find a horse that won’t run or freeze at the smell alone of a monster, and a horse that won't is worth its weight in gold. But you will get used to it. Making your way to the job is half the fun,’ she grinned and leaned forward, her gold adventurer’s tag reflecting in the campfire light. ‘and levelling always helps. Which shouldn’t be a problem in guild jobs like this one.’

‘If you don’t mind me asking. What made you want to become an adventurer.’ Lan found himself asking, wanting to know even a little more about the oddly fascinating woman, even if doing so was dangerous for him. Leah sat back and looked up at the stars.

‘You know that I work at the silver-haired maiden. Well, my father not only owns it but was an adventurer before opening it. I grew up around most of these idiots… well, the older ones, at least. I guess I never really thought I would do anything else. I think I am one of the few who loved the idea of being an adventurer before becoming one. Although only those that do stay for any amount of time.’ the others around the camp chuckled warmly, with only one of the group's expressions growing darker. Lan noted that it was the same group complaining in the guild. She must have seen something on his face as she laughed too.

‘Don’t worry. I get the feeling that you will be one of those that understand, and I haven't been wrong so far.’ She winked and rose. ‘You should try and get some sleep. We should be coming across the Razorwolves early in the morning. As she walked away, Lan noticed that she hadn’t asked him the same question. Which was a little bit of a relief. However, that didn’t stop those around him from attacking. Although, he was able to Dodge the questions by blacking out.

This only seemed to be a temporary solution, as those around him had noticed just how much he was struggling. The next day, some of the others started asking him where he was from and what he did in the past. Although when Lan said that he was from Aarondale, they assumed he was a guard who wanted the taste of Adventure, which led to some gentle ribbing and a few invitations to spar. Luckily before any could talk him into it. The Guild master called for a halt.

‘Everyone, the scouts say that the Razorwolves have broken into smaller packs and are heading our way. Those who are not part of a group set forward. I will assign you to a temporary team.’ even as Lan stepped forward, he knew he was about to be found out when the Guild master's eyes changed colour. For a moment, Lan wondered if it was too late to back out before setting his jaw. The Guild master went down the line, seeing the others, mostly Drill and Bronze ranks until he landed on Lan. Looking confused for a moment before he frowned. ‘What the hell is the meaning of this, you.’ he pointed to Lan. ‘Explain yourself.’