Was this a date or something more casual? I had no idea, but a five copper entry to a public bath house seemed like a reasonable precaution either way. Not until the morning of though, since I was still a bee punching machine.

The rest of my remaining time was spent scouting out the location of our maybe date while making sure my clothes were mostly acceptable. They weren’t, but some scrubbing wouldn’t fix that at this point. Really, I don't know what I was expecting. You can’t bury your clothes under piles of dirt every day and expect them to look brand new.

I checked some clothing prices while nervously keeping track of the sun in the sky, making sure I didn’t miss my upcoming appointment. That would be incredibly rude. And stupid. And embarrassing. While I could find a lot of clothes that looked nicer than mine despite being cheaper than my original set, they would use up most of my remaining money. As much as I wanted to make a good impression on the woman, I was a little apprehensive about spending any chunks of money before I’d figured out an effective way of getting more. That was just common sense.

I did cave enough to buy some shoes for the first time since getting here. I sprung for a pair of boots that were advertised to alliance members and made from dungeon materials for added durability. There was an entire market section just dedicated to those higher end products that I normally avoided like the plague on account of my bleeding wallet, but I could only be barefoot for so long. They even had some shorts that seemed like they’d fit my needs, but I just couldn’t justify spending four of my five remaining silver on clothes. I’d settle for the boots and come back once I had more money. Or my pants ripped again, whichever came first.

I didn’t like my odds on that one.

After hours of scrubbing both myself and my clothes, it was finally getting close to time, so I made my way to the nicer part of town where our meeting place would be.

It was a pretty long walk. Truthfully, I’d assume that this counted as a city in a medieval style world, what with its seemingly massive population that was at least six digits not to mention the size of it all.

Like with any other city, it had different sections that you could just feel out at a glance. The part of town that housed the restaurant I was going to was particularly fancy, at least compared to the cheat areas I usually stuck to. As soon as I walked up to The Galloping Pig, I just knew that I was underdressed. Not that I could afford not to be, literally, but it still stung.

I hadn’t been a rich man before my appointment with god, but I still managed to be a well dressed one when the need arose. Showing up to a fancy restaurant with dirt stains just hurt my sensibilities, no matter how unreasonable the demand for a clean outfit would be in a world like this.

The restaurant itself was even nicer than I expected. It was a large wooden construction with simple carvings on the outside and large glass windows which were incredibly uncommon in this world. Combined with an outdoor seating section on the side patio with a view of a nearby park, there was no doubt that this was the wealthy part of Woodsedge.

“Can I help you, sir?”

The man at the front door was a little larger than the average waiter and probably doubled as a bouncer, but otherwise his outfit was exactly on point. No dirt stains, generally nice but less so than the average customer, the perfect blend for a high end restaurant. Obviously, he nearly sneered at my affront to fashion so I expected what came next.

“I’d like a table for two, please.”

“I’m so sorry,” he said slowly with a tone that sounded anything but. “I’m afraid you don’t meet the dress code for our establishment. We will be more than happy to seat you once you’ve changed your attire. I do hope you understand.”

Something about the way he said that let me know how little he cared if I didn’t. Well, this was an inconvenience. I took a couple steps back to begin thinking without crowding the man’s space as the bell tolled the time. The obvious answer, as usual, was violence, but I was hesitating due to the guy’s size.

Frankly, I came here because of how little I knew about progression in general, so picking a fight with people before I had that figured out would just be dumb. Looking down, I realized that I’d balled my fist and widened my stance instinctively.

Wait, am I dumb?

“We really need to get you some red clothes.” A voice called me out of my thoughts, pulling my attention back to the busy street. “It’s harder picking you out of a crowd compared to before.”

Lorie looked great. It was the first time I’d seen the brunette in anything that wasn’t meant for combat, and I’d always had a thing for summer dresses. And yet, I got the feeling that her outfit barely cost more than mine. It was just her vibe that was so much classier. Not being covered in dirt stains could do that. Maybe I should just start wearing red again. It would definitely give me more of an impact.

“As soon as I figure out how to stop being poor, I’ll be happy to update my wardrobe. In the meantime, I have exactly two outfits and you’ve seen them both.”

She gave me a slight smirk as she counted slowly on her fingers, stopping at three.

“Underwear doesn’t count,” I interrupted her. Her grin just widened.

“Funny to hear that from you. Anyway, we should probably get out of the road before a stray carriage challenges your masculinity.”

As I debated stopping her, worried that she’d be as disappointed as I was with my limited dressing options, she turned away from the restaurant and just started walking. I caught up to her in time to see her really smile at me.

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“What, you thought we were eating there? We could pool our money and not afford a single plate.”

My expression grew to match hers as I followed along.

“Does this mean I passed your test?”

Lorie seemed to consider for a moment but obviously already knew how she felt.

“I can tolerate your company for a little while longer. We’ll see how long you last.”

Of the three people I’d met so far in Woodsedge, she was definitely the most dangerous in more ways than one.

----------------------------------------

The place we settled on was still pretty nice, just not ‘charge you in gold’ nice. Something I was incredibly happy about considering I planned to foot the bill. A prospect that got dimmer by the second.

“How can you eat so much?”

I’d ordered a plate of food for appearances since it was just a waste of money for me, but Lorie was on her third. It reminded me of online dating and how some women would just go on a date for the free meal. In this case, it just looked like Lorie had a bottomless stomach.

“I haven’t had time for a meal since yesterday. I'm more surprised at how little you’ve eaten. Nothing makes me hungrier than fighting.”

I’d been worried about how to wave all that off, but the only solution I’d come up with so far was limited to Jim. He usually drank too much to remember how little I had. If Lorie hit that limit with food then I’d have a different problem.

“I must be fulfilled from the company then.”

The conversation had been light so far and not exactly what I needed, but I’d learned a lot so far. Apparently Vivette was Lorie’s sister, which I never would have guessed. She didn’t volunteer why they looked nothing alike and I wasn’t socially stupid enough to ask. It was slow going, but I was remembering how to be a person.

“Hmm. So is that why you ran after me in nothing but your underwear? Idle conversation while watching me eat?”

If only I could be that relaxed.

“I was actually just hoping to ask you some things. You know, tips, advice, things that would be obvious to you but I don’t know. This,” I gestured around me slowly before resting back on Lorie, “was a nice surprise. Who’d have thought that being covered in blood and assaulting insects would leave such a positive impression on people.”

Her characteristic smirk found her face as her fifth plate finally emptied. She really did work fast.

“You should do that more often then. It’d make you a lot of friends. But come on then, I can’t even begin to guess all the things you don’t know so just get started. You obviously need some help.”

As accurate as the jab was, it still stung. Clearly I needed to grind my constitution against more bees after this or get her to teach me a thing or two about social poking. I’d much prefer the latter, but doubted that was likely.

“Let’s start with some more obvious ones then. How expensive is it to access the crystal at the alliance alone and how do you afford it?”

She obviously wasn’t expecting that question unless she was fucking with me again. That was always a possibility though.

“It’s just one copper. And no one should go in with you but they are expected to wait outside. Just to make sure you didn’t break it or anything. Those crystals are crazy expensive.”

Just as I feared. I couldn’t exactly go in and demand access to the crystal, not when the woman behind the counter never changed. There was no way I could haggle down a price with the person who’d given me one in the first place. Sadly, if she was ever off shift then I hadn’t found a time for it. Stupid government buildings and their short work days.

“As for making coin, most of ours came from monster parts. Each dungeon is a little different. Typically the more plentiful a monster and the lower the danger level is, the less anything will be worth. There’s a secondhand shop in Alliance Alley that grades and buys stuff at a pretty reasonable price. Do you know where that is?”

I nodded along, guessing I had an idea. The place I’d bought my boots from was surrounded by stalls hawking their goods at people dressed for combat. I was pretty sure that I could find a place like that somewhere in there. I’d just need to find a knife… and learn to carve up monsters.

“Do you just guess what’s valuable?”

She shook her head as I realized how high the bar really was. People were usually looking for two things in their party: magic and a carver. She and her sister filled both spots, even if Vivette couldn’t use the coveted healing magic. Having seen how many swarm type dungeons there were, I could guess why magic was so highly valued.

For carving though, there wasn’t much you could do beyond mindlessly going at it until you got better. Unless you could apprentice under someone skilled or get a profession yourself. Wait.

“What’s that now?”

She looked at me curiously before understanding bloomed on her face.

“Right, I forget you aren’t ahman. When we unlock our base class options we also get a profession. They level outside of combat but give similar improvements to overall power even if you don’t gain direct combat skills.”

I had so many questions.

“What do you mean by ‘ahman’? And what, can I just not get a profession then?”

She stretched her head awkwardly as I began to realize the answer to my biggest question.

“You’re obviously not a kid and I’ve seen you naked, so I knew right away that you weren’t an ahman. That’s what people born in this world call themselves. Once we turn ten, we get the blessing of one of the gods and gain access to mana.”

Oh no.

“Most people never learn to use it or have too little for the crystal to offer a job related to it, but having mana is what lets you get a profession. Some people say it’s to help us catch up to the monsters in terms of power, but who knows. I’d thought that, being brought over in a dungeon, you’d get access to mana and professions. Some other people coming through had, but going by the look on your face I guess you didn't. Sorry, Red.”

I couldn’t get access to magic or get a second group of experience that would functionally double my stats? Wait, if bouncer or waiter is a profession, then even the busboy could out grind me while getting paid. By tearing into a dungeon rather than being a native, I’d lost my ability to ever cast magic or gain a profession. This was such bullshit and absolutely the worst news I could have heard.

Second worst, actually. If what Lorie said was true, then ten years in this world would draw the attention of the gods. Gods that I was sent here to kill. If that extended to me, then my vague mission suddenly had a very real timeline that was way shorter than I’d hoped. All the fun of the date melted away as the reality of my situation slammed home. I needed to learn more and get stronger fast. There was no telling how strong a god was, but I’d rather be over prepared than dead.

“Thanks, Lorie. I have a few more questions if you don’t mind.”