Ezra hadn’t been prepared.
The sharp smell of pine penetrated his nose. Snow piled up to his knees. The cold seemed to penetrate past his clothing, stabbing into his skin like daggers. Ice had fallen into his boots, freezing his feet.
He tucked his head into his fur robe and drew the whole ensemble tighter around his body. If he’d known how chilly it was going to get, he would’ve bought more clothing. As it was, however, he was too close to the end of his journey to turn back now.
“You know, if you’d just told Prise about where you were going, I bet she would’ve given you a winter cloak.”
Ezra’s eyes wandered over to the source of the voice. Filamenta, his… partner, companion, familiar—was seated on his shoulder in her spider form. He turned back toward the road.
“You’ve told me this ten times since we left two weeks ago, Filamenta, and saying it again isn’t going to make it so that I change my mind magically.”
“Yeah, but it’ll embarrass you.”
Why did he keep her around again?
“Because I’m incredibly charming and you can’t live without me,” she said. “Also because I’m really, really good at killing your enemies.”
Fair.
Ezra walked for several minutes when he spotted something in the distance. A figure. Ezra raised his hand up in greeting. The figure waved back. They walked toward each other.
It was a man in thick winter clothing, strapped with robes and cloaks to the point where it looked like his body size had expanded by a good 7 inches. His hair was short and brown, while his eyes were a light amber.
The two paused once they got close. Ezra raised an eyebrow. The man gave him a nod.
“Traveler,” the man said. “You seem a bit underdressed for the weather.”
“I’m making do, what about you? You seem a little overdressed,” Ezra said.
The man looked at his oversized combination of cloaks and robes. “Oh, well I’m coming from even farther north, toward the poles. I haven’t changed out, just cause I’m comfortable, but up there you need this kind of clothing. It’s nothing but a barren snowy desert. No life, no nothing. Beautiful, in some ways, but terrifying.”
The poles? “Why on earth would you go that far up?”
“Earth?” The man tilted his head.
Ezra bit his tongue at the involuntary slip. “Just a local turn of phrase from my homeland. Can you answer my question?”
“I’m a bit of an explorer, that’s all. I love seeing new places—but I suspect that you don’t want my backstory.”
Perhaps this guy could be of use?
Ezra lowered his sack. “Care to share a meal?”
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They had a campfire going in a little bit of time. Ezra passed out some of his jerky. The man accepted it, a grin on his face.
“Thanks, it’s been a while since I had some real food. I’ve mostly been subsisting off lizards and bugs,” the man said.
Ezra’s face tightened and he resisted the urge to vomit. Filamenta scooted away toward Ezra’s back.
“What’s the news from up north? Anything interesting?” Ezra said.
“Well, there’s the stuff about the third boss monster,” the man said. “They say that it was spotted by members of the kingdom’s recon team. They’re dispatching the latest batch of Otherworlders to get rid of it.”
Ezra froze. What? He swallowed his surprise and took a bite out of his jerky.
“Interesting,” he said.
“Yeah, they’ve been dealing with monsters out in demon territory, from what I understand. Charles—the leader—has made a bit of a name for himself. Saved a few frontier towns. Pretty good stuff. I’d imagine they’re eager to get a boss kill under their belt.”
“What about the frontier itself?” Ezra said. “I was out in Toria for a while, so I know a little bit about frontier living—“
The man snorted and waved Ezra off. “Toria isn’t a frontier town. At least, not anymore. It’s still dangerous, but the environmental hazards are nonexistent and the economy isn’t dependent on monster resources.”
Ezra would dispute that, but he was more interested in what the wanderer had to say.
“And how would you compare that to where I’m going?” Ezra said.
“Well, for one, food is gonna be much scarcer,” the wanderer said. “You’re going to have to watch your rations up here. Not something you have to worry about with Toria. And then there are demons…”
Ezra’s tone sharpened. “Demons? Where?”
“Here,” the man said. “This place was only taken from the Demon Lord recently, and a handful of his soldiers still march the land. You’re gonna have to watch yourself.”
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Ezra nodded. “Thanks for the information. I’ll keep that in mind.”
The man snapped his fingers. “By the way, the town—in case you hadn’t noticed, the road isn’t exactly well-marked. Just make sure to follow the signposts, they won’t lead you wrong.”
They finished the meal, stamped out the campfire, and continued on their separate ways.
“You know, you were surprisingly accommodating to that stranger,” Filamenta said. “I’m sort of surprised.”
Ezra put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I needed the information. If I hadn’t sat down and shared a meal with the guy, I wouldn’t have been able to know all that stuff.”
“Still, I’m surprised to see you doing it. Well done, Ezra.”
Ezra rolled his eyes. “Oh, shut up.”
The two continued bickering as they walked, the sound of Ezra talking to himself filling the silent air. Eventually, they spotted lights in the distance. Ezra’s speed increased and he approached the town. The snow got thinner and thinner until he was finally walking on the road instead of the thick snow.
Ezra looked at the small village. He’d arrived.
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A smattering of houses and shops were loosely assembled around something resembling a wild west frontier town. A man moving a wheelbarrow narrowed his eyes at Ezra. One woman watched him from the windows.
In the middle of town, there was an older two-story building with a square construction and a sign in front of it. Ezra approached it and opened the door.
A roaring fire in the corner blasted away the cold. There were two wooden tables with four chairs each off to the side. Toward the back was the counter where a young man was napping.
Ezra stepped forward and rapped on the wood. The young man started awake.
“I wasn’t sleeping!” the young man shouted.
Ezra stared at him.
The man blinked and rubbed his eyes. “Wait a second, I don’t recognize you. Who are you?”
Ezra passed him the silver card that Prise had given him. The man froze.
“S-silver? But that makes you B-rank…” He picked up the silver card and read it over. His jaw dropped. He looked up at Ezra. “You’re One-Eye?”
Oh god, had his reputation spread here too!?
“My cousin was in Toria during the monster attack,” he said. “You saved her life—I can’t thank you enough!”
“How did you even know about that?”
“She wrote me a letter,” the man said.
“But how did you find out before I got here?” Ezra said.
“Carrier bird. No matter how fast you might be, sir, an animal is always going to beat out a man this far north.” He held out his hand. “My name is Sen.”
Ezra stared at Sen’s hand.
Sen slowly dropped his hand down. “Not a handshake guy? I can respect that.”
Ezra could already tell that he was going to dislike this person.
“Right, Sen,” Ezra said. “Can you tell me a little bit about this place?”
Sen nodded. “Of course. As I’m sure you can see, sir, we don’t provide the normal amenities that one of the main guild branches does. We have a bounty board and we can manage quests for you, but that’s about it. We also don’t have a lot of manpower. A couple of D-ranks and two C-ranks.”
That made Ezra the most senior person there—no wonder Sen had been so shocked. He’d probably never seen a B-rank before.
“Does this branch at least provide food and housing?” Ezra said.
Sen grimaced. “We have a few emergency beds, but I wouldn’t recommend it, sir. They’re only there if you have no other choice. And as for food… I mean, I could share my breakfast with you?”
“No thanks.”
Sen pointed toward the door.
“Miss Marnie’s is the place to go for your morning meals, while Old Joe should have a guest room available in his shop,” Sen said. “They’re both to the right of the guild, you can’t miss them.”
Ezra sighed. And he thought Toria had been a frontier town. Looked like the wanderer had been right.
“If I might ask, what are you here for?” Sen said. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have someone so prestigious in town, but it’s a bit surprising.”
“Third boss monster was spotted somewhere in this general area, and I’m hunting it.”
Sen’s left eye twitched. “And the higher-ups decided that I didn’t deserve to know, huh? Typical.” He shook his head. “Thanks for letting me know, sir. Keep in mind that the guild is at your disposal during your hunt. If you need equipment or manpower, we’ll be happy to sell you our services—at a discounted price due to your membership, of course.”
Ezra doubted he’d take Sen up on that. He wasn’t exactly swimming in cash at the current moment.
“Pass,” Ezra said. “See you around, Sen.”
“Good hunting, sir,”
Ezra exited out of the guild and turned right. He looked in through the window of the closest building. It had a half dozen tables and chairs. One woman was sitting at a table, chewing on a plate full of eggs. Ezra moved to the next building—this one was probably Old Joe’s.
The door swung open. The same older man who’d stared at Ezra with suspicion earlier stood at the door. Behind him, there was a half-finished table. Sawdust lined the floor and a random hammer sat on the ground. Joe’s eyes widened before they settled into a narrowed gaze.
“What are you doing here?” Joe said.
Ezra could tell that this would be a great conversation.
“I need somewhere to stay,” Ezra said. “Sen told me that you might have a guest room available.”
After a few seconds, Joe nodded slowly. “I do.”
“How much?” Ezra said.
“…three silver per night.”
Ezra hadn’t been in this world for long, but even he could tell that such a price was highway robbery. He only had about 40 silver coins from all his mercenary work. He’d be bankrupt in two weeks.
“You’re kidding me,” Ezra said.
“That’s the price.” Joe gave him a smug look. “What, can’t pay up?”
Ezra’s eyes darkened and he lowered his head. He reached up toward the doorframe and squeezed.
The doorframe crunched, wood splintered, [Titan’s Grip] and 50 Strength working together in perfect harmony.
Joe looked at the splintered wood and slowly looked back at Ezra. “You know what, I’ll offer you a special discount. 5 coppers per night.”
Ezra took his hand off the door frame and pulled out two silver coins. “I’ll pay for four nights right off the bat.”
Joe’s eyes widened and he reached out for the silver coins. Ezra shut his fist and glared at the man.
“I trust that you won’t try to raise the price or anything like that, right?” he said.
Joe gulped and nodded. “Of course.”
Ezra held out his hand and dropped the two silvers into Joe’s hand. Joe stuffed the money into his pants, then looked back up toward Ezra.
“Follow me, I’ll show you to your room,” he said.
Ezra followed behind Joe and was taken upstairs. Joe opened up the door, revealing a bed in the corner, a drawer, and a window looking out over the snowy landscape. The fabrics were well taken care of and at first glance the bed looked comfortable. A hell of an upgrade compared to Prise’s Inn.
Joe grunted. “Just don’t cause trouble, alright? I don’t care how tough you are, if you touch my kid, I’ll kill you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Ezra said. “As long as they leave me alone, I won’t have a problem with them.”
Joe shut the door and Ezra sat on the bed. It was almost sunset and Ezra was feeling pretty exhausted. He decided to get some training done the next morning while it was still cold. After that, he’d get some food in his stomach, then go from there.
He got into bed and wrapped himself in the covers.
The next morning, a blue box appeared in front of his head.
When he read what it said, he froze.
[Please select your class immediately! If you don’t select it within the next 45 days, the System will be forced to disconnect to prevent your death!]