Adventuring; to slay terrifying beasts, explore ancient ruins, save towns, and retire on piles of golds. Those who rose to the top rankings of the Adventurer’s Guild were called Legends, only a few existed and would be forever remembered as shining examples. Glory, wealth, fame, and to be idolized throughout history. It was the dream of a young man to be one of them. He would spend hours a day reading tales of their grandeur as much as he would be studying.

Zerae Mantlehorn is a half breed between the cat-like Nyoru and Human, lacking the speed of the former and strength of the latter while standing in the middle of their average heights. It made him self conscious because he was roughly chest height to most people. Zerae’s slim frame and light voice had the effect of people viewing him as adorable rather than as a leader, such as the appearance needed for the future Trade Prince. His golden hair was always kept clean and conditioned to shine as bright as the sun while tied into a loose, messy ponytail. And his crimson eyes came from his Nyoru side which were known for unusual eye colors such as bright green or purple.

Being the adopted son of the current Trade Prince of the noble house Red Horizon, Zerae was expected to take on the role if his father passed away or retired. Learning how to see through false promises, knowing how to tell future enemies from potential allies, expanding his vocabulary, and endlessly solving money related math equations. His luxurious upbringing and private tutorship felt imprisoning and Zerae wanted so much more in life.

His only escape from the cycle was a fantasy he had. Zerae would spend hours reading storybooks about Legends and his father’s bored mercenaries would tell tales of their journeys since they guarded empty halls of the mansion. When his father summoned a Diamond Rank Adventurer one day, he sprinted to the dining room to meet them. This solidified his fantasy of becoming an Adventurer as a daunting figure stood before him. Zerae only caught a glimpse as it was supposed to be a private dinner between his father and the Adventurer before the servants shooed him away.

He became obsessed with his fantasy. Zerae spent a good amount of money to have an authentic-looking mock poster made. It depicted him in shining plate armor holding up a serrated greatsword, reading “Zerae the Legend, Conqueror of Syerto and Savior of Aaven”. He loved the image so much that he privately commissioned the noble house’s best smiths to have the armor and sword made. 

A knock on his cabin door startled him, "Master Zerae, we're expecting to dock in Menithe for a few hours. Would this be your destination?".

"Yes. That will do nicely" he replied.

For his twenty third birthday, Zerae had built up the courage to tell his father that he wanted to be an Adventurer. For the rest of the day, his father was silent and lost in thought until that evening. To his surprise, he said that he would allow him to pursue his dream and give him transport to wherever he wanted. Clad in full plate armor designed for him and a glorious serrated greatsword made from the finest metals, Zerae looked exactly like he did in his poster. The only thing left to do was to earn his membership. There were two ways to be listed officially; be apprenticed by a Silver badge Adventurer or higher, or have references of your deeds. His father could have had any of his mercenaries train him or have some peasant put in a good word for a few silver coins, but Zerae was confident. A gold or diamond rank Adventurer would be foolish to pass on taking him in as an apprentice. Not like he really needed them, picking weeds or putting down some wild beasts didn't sound too hard either. His starting goal would be an easy one, become the hero of both the Southern Kingdoms and the Nyoru Empire.

Spending a week in the ship was both excruciating and exciting. He was getting to the southern kingdoms, but he wanted to be there NOW. Zerae spent his time reading stories, swinging the greatsword which was too large for him, or admiring himself in his armor.

The ringing of a bell meant he would be dropped off at the port shortly. Zerae’s first step was to find a notice board to take some commoner's quest and not cause a mob scene along the way. His armor was fastened, sword slung onto his back, pack stuffed with a few days of rations. After a deep breath, he stepped from his cabin and up to the deck.

The town of Menithe sounded like a good place to start. The large population meant that there were people always looking for someone to solve their problems. Zerae thought he could impress people with his shining plate armor and polished greatsword, maybe even a Silver rank would take him in immediately. Strolling down main street with a smooth stride, he held his head high while carrying his greatsword over his shoulder. Pride swelled within him as the common folk stared. Yeah. I can do it. Being a Legend won’t be a problem.

“Ay, sir!” someone called.

Zerae turned his head and imagined that his hair did a glorious swish while doing so, “Yeah?”.

“Ya know the weakness of a slime?”. It was a female Adventurer wearing leather-and-mail armor, “How do you turn roha into a healing salve?”

The questions caught Zerae off guard and it interrupted his stride. He stopped to address the Adventurer. He did not know what slimes were like as they varied by region, but roha was a common weed that stank when burned. “Well… for slimes, you just cut them down. And roha is burned?”.

She broke out into a sudden laugh, “Do you have a mentor?”

“N-No” he replied meekly.

Her laughing continued almost to the point of tears, “Ha! This guy’s a Priss”. Money began to trade hands between the crowd. Around him, other Adventurer’s looked away and some even added their own laughs. “He won’t last the week”.

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Zerae’s face went red from embarrassment and he faced away, carrying on in a rushed pace to get out of earshot. He rounded the corner of the street and away from them, this was not going to let this get him down. I can do it, I will do it. He had the gear, so why stop before it began?

Around the corner, he saw a notice board at the end of another street. Zerae walked towards it and more people whispered as more money traded hands, not knowing what that was all about. The board had many quests listed and this was the first step to his journey to be officially listed as an Adventurer. Mostly gathering wild herbs or delivering some parcels were listed, nothing that would get him immediate reputation. Bandits were problems and companies needed convoys protected or camps cleared out, jobs for questing parties. He needed something small, but not too small. Other adventurers stepped to the board and took quests, bringing down the total amount available by the minute. Slaying, delivering, scouting…. Time flew by as Zerae kept obsessing over which quest to take. He thought it over many times until two remained, collecting claws or being a hired nightguard. Two dozen crawler claws to be delivered to the apothecary by sundown. Collect from the forest outside the town walls. Looks easy enough.

When Zerae got to the destination detailed on the contract, it was at the edge of the forest just outside of town. He kept eyes out for what could be described as a “crawler” so its claws could be taken and turned in. Many smaller creatures scurried about such as birds or spiders, but one caught his eye, lizards. They were bright orange, crawled swiftly, and had sizable claws at the end of six legs. Those must be it. The lizards moved with an almost zigzaggy pattern with great speed, so catching them would be a problem. Zerae unstrapped his greatsword and set it on the ground since its weight would slow him down. One sat on a rock sunning itself. Perfect. Slowly moving towards it with hands out to catch it, he stopped every few seconds when the lizard focused on him. When he was close, Zerae leaped forward to barely catch it by the tail. He hit the side of his head on the rock in the attempt and it bruised slightly, but he got his first one. Still lying on the ground, he counted the claws. Each leg ended with three claws each, twelve total. Easy! Just have to get one more!

This minor victory deserved some food, so he sat down by a tree and pulled out a small bag of rations from his back. Unraveling the bag, the contents disgusted him. Zerae did not know meat could look so disgusting or that stale bread was expected to be eaten and not tossed. Dried vegetables were another complaint; they were supposed to be served fresh or cooked with seasoning. Did people really live off of this? One bite of the meat put him off, it was so oily and tasteless at the same time. Feeling ill after the morsel, threw the rest into the forest.

Hissing was heard overhead as a large tree spider looked down at him. Shit. It was a mix of green and brown to camouflage amongst the trees, but it stood in the light coming through which gave Zerae the rough shape and size of it. His sword was behind him, but fear discouraged the urge to fight it. Turning around, Zerae sprinted away from the trees and trampled another lizard in the process. He managed to notice and collect the small body before grabbing his sword and escaping back to the town walls. With two lizards in hand, he finished his first quest. Rough start, but easy enough.

After he turned in the quest, he would have to tend to his battle wound. With the lizards placed in a small pouch, he smiled like a fool on his walk to the apothecary.

“You idiot! I needed crawler claws!”, the alchemist who put up the quest held the lizards and almost crushed them in a furious grasp.

Zerae frantically grouped them up and stuttered, “B-But I got the claws”.

“No! You got me lizard claws! I need crawler claws! Spiders! Arachnids! The lesser crawlers out by the forest!” the alchemist shouted, “Out! Get out!”.

Zerae was on the verge of tears as the shouting put in a panic. The alchemist continued his shouting while grabbing Zerae and shoving him out the door. Not only had he wasted too much time picking out a quest, he had also not met the requirements of his first quest. 

The setting sun meant his first day as an aspiring adventurer was a failure; he was not apprenticed by a Silver Adventurer nor did he start earning his bronze badge. Stupid! Stupid! I knew it couldn’t be that easy. Crushing defeat squeezed down on his chest as tears streamed down his face. It’s getting dark. An inn should be nearby.

Zerae looked around the rough interior of Old Well. Two drunken patrons sat in the corner whispering while another was reading a book. At least no one I know is around to witness the failure I have become. Those thoughts deepened his sorrow as he stared into his brew. A small fortune wasted on this armor and weapon. He lifted the mug up to his mouth and chugged the entirety of its contents ignoring the foul taste and harsh sting in his throat. Turning a little lightheaded indicated the drink was doing its job.

One bad day shouldn't get me down, but I don't feel like I belong here. I'm not meant for this. I’ll take up dad’s offer and go home...

Zerae put a few coppers on the table and turned to face the door, but it was slowly pushed open. Through the entrance came a large figure clad in leather-and-mail armor. The helmet hid his face and a golden badge hung by a scabbard that held a wicked curved sword. Zerae faced back toward the supposed beef stew from intimidation. Oh no, he's blocking my path out.

The man walked towards the counter, each step almost sounded like stomps on the wood floor. He carefully set some coins on the table and said in a deep commanding voice "I need a room for the night and a potent drink, strong enough to be mistaken for fuel". The large man occupies the chair beside him and it squealed under the weight. Just order another drink and sip until he leaves. "I'll have one too" Zerae said.

As the barmaid served both of them mugs and the stink of it churned Zerae's stomach. This wasn't a drink, it was disinfectant. The Gold-Rank brought up the mug and downed some of the contents without a problem and Zerae tried the same in a tiny sip. It burned his throat immensely and he stifled a few coughs, but the drink went down. A few more sips had been enough. I think I'll just leave it.

Adventuring isn't for me, but I want it to be. He looked at his armored forearm and stared at candlelight flickering off of its polished surface. I spent all this money though…. He wanted to go home, but he also wanted to save some face. Leaving after one day would have only proved his father right and he hated it when he was. As he stared more into the candlelight, Zerae noticed that he was feeling a little light headed that was quickly spiralling. That might have been much stronger than I thought.

"Calling it here" the Gold-Rank spoke. As he got up to get to his room, Zerae felt a strong compulsion to ask a simple question.

"Can you be my mentor?".

The hulking man turned around to meet his eyes, leaning over to say "Sorry, not a local Adventurer. Just planning to stay the night before heading to the next town". The answer brought a sinking feeling to his chest.

"B-But I want to be Adventurer! Legend!". Zerae's voice began to slur and his thoughts were becoming a haze. "Please please please please!". Tears began to stream down his face and sorrow renewed. "I don't wanna be a failure, I don't wanna be trade guy, I don't wanna-". Zerae got up from his seat to emphasize his point, but the world began to spin uncontrollably as his stomach felt like it was on fire.

In seconds, conscious thought faded.