After leaving the bank, I looked up the arena on my map and saw that it was far from my current position. The building I was supposed to go to was much closer in comparison. It still took me almost an hour to walk to it. The city was so large and full of people that it made travel extremely slow, even with my map and route function enabled.

The building was right next to a large stately building that I was glad I didn't have to go in. Still, the building next to it wasn't much better. Walking in, there were ample signs indicating where I had to go. I was doubly thankful that there weren't any lines I needed to wait in; my day had already been incredibly long, and I was starting to feel the effects of all my actions.

I walked up to the indicated counter and was helped by a mostly non-descript middle-aged man. I would be hard-pressed to be able to pick him out at any point, even after I had just met him. However, he was friendly enough.

I indicated that I was there to sign up for the tournament, after which he silently nodded and passed a clipboard over to me.

"Please fill out and sign this paperwork, and we can get you registered."

I smiled, happy to finally be getting somewhere with my quest. I looked over the paper, and it was simple to fill with only four sections. It started with my name, I was reluctant to give it up, but I didn't really have a choice since I found out about our robot chips that contained our personal information. I idly wondered if there was some way to get around that restriction, but it wasn't something I would be able to do quickly, so I dismissed the thought.

The following questions were two that I didn't have any idea what to choose. The first was asking what mode I was signing up to compete in. It was between Companion Mode and Symbiotic Mode. Beneath the question was a brief description of what was to be expected.

To fight in the Companion Mode, my robot had to be separate from my body and be able to function on its own. While many people didn't possess robots that could operate in a fight on their own, I was probably the only person unable to physically separate from mine. I didn't plan on fighting anyway, but I wanted to make it look like I was signing up for real, so choosing Symbiotic Mode was an easy choice.

The next selection asked what compatibility level I wanted to fight in. My options were zero to five percent, then five to ten, and ten to fifteen. From what I understood, getting your compatibility up above fifteen took a long time, and there wasn't a lot who were there.

The further along the compatibility process one got, the longer it took. So, while I was moving quickly on my compatibility, I didn't expect it to last. Especially considering it slowed down extensively after I came down from the mountain range.

Still, I was close to reaching the five percent mark. It didn't matter, so I chose the five to ten percent class with a shrug. When I moved over to the next section, my heart sank. The next question asked me how I would be submitting the enrollment fee.

"Uh, how much does it cost to enroll?" I asked, trying not to wince.

"What compatibility class did you sign up for?" The employee asked. He looked over my selection before answering. That compatibility classification is twelve silver to register."

"What about the zero to five percent compatibility class?"

"Oh, I thought you were between five and ten percent?" Before I could answer, he continued. "Just so you know, we test before the matches to ensure that there is no cheating. You will be disqualified if you are above the compatibility threshold for what you signed up for, and your entry fee will not be reimbursed."

"Actually, I'm not at five percent yet. I was planning on getting there," I said, thinking of an excuse quickly. "But since I don't have the money for that category, I can just put off advancing."

"In that case, the fee for registration in that category is ten silver."

I expelled my breath in defeat. Of course, signing up for any category would be more money than I had. Nothing had gone my way all day. I shouldn't have thought it would have changed.

"Thank you. I didn't realize that it would be that much, and I didn't bring the proper amount of funds. I'll have to go get it and then come back." I pointed at the paper I had started to fill out. "Do you mind if I take this with me?" The man silently nodded in assent, and I turned and walked out of the building.

An open park in front of the building housed a large fountain in the middle. I stopped at the fountain to eat and think about what I could do next. Although I wanted to get some good local food, I just ate my rations to quickly move on and achieve my goal.

I was so mad at everything that my emotions literally shut down. As I absently shoved my near-tasteless rations into my mouth, I couldn't think of what to do next. To get a ticket to the capital, I needed money, which I didn't have. My best option for money was the Monster Hunter's Guild. I needed a bank account to sign up, and to get a bank account, I needed money.

Do I really need to be associated with the Monster Hunter's Guild, though?

I recalled the information from their job posting board. I could remember the town it said to go to and even who to speak to within the town.

I queried my map function for the name of the town. The system asked if I wanted to create a route, and I agreed. I was told that it would take me approximately three hours on foot to make it to the town. While traveling, I killed plenty of monsters, so I didn't need the Monster Hunter's Guild, and no one seemed to want to do that mission anyway.

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I felt that at least attempting to do the mission on my own was worth a try. I didn't have any other leads for gathering the funds for a train ticket. Besides, what's the worst that could happen? If I got there and they didn't let me do the task, I would camp outside town and head back the next day. If I stayed at an inn, it would probably be cheaper there too.

I finished my food and left immediately, following the path my mapping program directed. As usual, it was slow going through the city, and the exit I was going toward was on the opposite side from which I arrived. My mapping program indicated that it would take me three hours and eight minutes to arrive at the town of Sunset Peak.

Just before I left the city, I realized I was still highly unprepared to clear out a Rock Beetle infestation. I didn't want to spend any money, but I couldn't show up to kill a bunch of monsters with only a sharpened stick or the club I pilfered from the thug. I needed to secure a real weapon. While I was at it, I decided to buy whatever other supplies I could get for the measly amount of money I had. I just hoped that I had enough to purchase anything.

I mapped my path to a weapon store. When I finally made it there, I perused their wares. Luckily, I found a decent spear with a replaceable head that I could afford. It was five silver. I grimaced at the price, but I knew it was a good deal.

Afterward, I went to the nearest goods store and purchased a few more days of rations. That put me back another silver piece, but I felt better about heading out of the city. I had a couple of silver left for incidentals when I arrived at the next town, but I could always sleep outside and hunt for my food if needed.

When I left the city nearly two hours later, the mapping program still had my journey taking almost three additional hours. I didn't think I took too long in the stores, so I was at a loss at why I still had so much time. I hoped it was just a fluke that I could chalk up to the slow traffic of the city. If not, I had already made a severe mistake.

I walked at a steady pace along the road outside the city. It continued to be paved with stone for a few miles after I left. The path outside the city and toward Sunset Peak was very different from my path on the other side of the city.

For starters, no guards were posted at the wall checking people coming in and out. Also, houses and small farms were more plentifully scattered. On the mountain-facing side of the city, there were clusters of settlements where people gathered for protection. On the other side, they were much more spread out, and security didn't seem as tight.

Walking through those areas, I continued to see the use of De gathering arrays that supplied power to the houses. This was surprising since the one in my town wasn't that old. We didn't even have power at the cabin I lived in with my dad, but every house seemed to have power since I could see cables on poles extending every way.

I continued on my path, and the houses eventually thinned out. I had a good stretch of about an hour of walking where I saw no signs of homes. I didn't feel in danger, though, since the landscape only consisted of grasslands and small rolling hills. While walking between the areas of civilization, I started to feel really good. I had more energy, and my pace improved.

Eventually, I crested one of the small hills and saw continued signs of civilization. I was glad I purchased extra rations as I realized that hunting in that area was unlikely. Once I crested the hill, I was happy to see civilization and the end of my path within sight, albeit still a ways off. I also seemed to lose a lot of my momentum. I suddenly felt all the miles I had walked to that point, and taking a little while to rest seemed like a good idea.

Unfortunately, I didn't think I had the time. It was already getting late in the afternoon, and I still had a little way to walk. I buckled down on my resolve and continued to the end of my destination.

Thirty minutes later, I was standing in the center of Sunset Peak. I looked toward the west, and sure enough, in the distance, I could see a pointy mountain peak that appeared to be in the path of the setting sun. Sunset was still a couple of hours away, though.

I recalled the information from the guild's bulletin board. It paid twenty silver for clearing out the Rock Beetle infestation. It had the location of the town, which was Sunset Peak. Its final piece of information was the contact. He just needed to find Reynard Johnson, who should be at the Mayor's residence as he was the town's Mayor and the person who submitted the request.

The town wasn't that large, though. It was about the same size as my own. I decided to treat it like my own and start my search with the largest building in the area. The first building I walked up to from the center of the town was the correct place. I was assured of my choice because it had a sign in front indicating what it was.

The building was the largest in the area, but it was far from being large, especially compared to those I saw in Crescent City. It was also a simple building made of solid pieces of lumber with a large porch in front.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs and dusted myself off from the road. Since I wasn't officially tied to the Monster Hunter's Guild, I wanted to make the best impression that I could. I wasn't sure if what I was going to do was illegal, but it was always best to be presentable.

Being in the best shape that I could get in, I moved forward and knocked on the Mayor's door. I waited for a few minutes without an answer and started to get worried. Then I could hear the loud stomping of boots reverberating from inside the building. I put on my best smile to prepare.

The door flew open with a loud screech. A man came bodily halfway out the door, and I was forced to take a step back as he almost ran into me. The man didn't even pause for a moment; he just moved into looking me up and down.

"You here from the guild?" he asked. I didn't even have time to respond. "Great! It took you long enough. I submitted that request three weeks ago. They're getting out of hand."

The man was only slightly shorter than me. He had short-cut brown hair on the top of his head that transitioned down through dark grey and into lighter gray. His face was clean-shaven except for a bushy mustache that went through the same color transition as his hair.

"You sure you can handle the Rock Beetles with that spear? They have tough hides. Never mind, you're from the guild. You must know what you're doing." He took another step out of his door and onto the porch. He pointed off the South, past a farm. "The infestation is a mile that way. You can't miss it."

I was about to ask a question about the best way to travel in that direction, but he cut me off again.

"Don't try to wrestle more coin from me. The payment isn't going to change, so don't even ask. I know about you guild types. I have a town to run, and you all are bleeding me dry." He paused and looked at me another moment. "Well, don't you have anything to say?"

I raised my hand to ask my question but couldn't get it out.

"No? Great!" he practically shouted. "What are you waiting around here for?" He turned around abruptly and stepped back into the building. The door slammed shut behind him, and I stood there, confused and speechless.