I woke up feeling dreary and my mouth dry, sitting up I looked around at my surroundings and remember I was in Vikir’s home.

“Ah you’re finally awake, you must’ve been real tired from traveling yesterday.” Vikir said as he came out of the kitchen with a plate of sausages and glass of water. He handed them to me and I graciously accepted. As I was scarfing down the breakfast Vikir began to speak.

“So what is your plan for today at least, I know you have your master plan, but what are you gonna do for today.”

“Weh, my pan ist noth jst frr toda-.”

“Please stop talking with your mouth full.”

“Sorry. Well, my plan is not just for today, but my entire week. I need to make money, so I’m gonna do any quest in the adventures guild that doesn’t involve fighting or traveling too far away, mainly herb picking or cleaning if those exist.”

“They do, not a bad plan, so that’s all you’re gonna be doing this week?”

“Yep, I need to save enough money for the next part of my plan, and also have enough for food and living expenses.”

“Well the adventurers tavern has some rooms just for adventurers and there’s other inns that you could stay at, also if my sister ever has to stay overnight like she did last night, then you’re welcome to crash on the couch whenever.”

Finishing up the last of my breakfast, I really felt a warm sincerity from Vikir’s words.

“Thanks Vikir, I really appreciate all the support you’ve given me, and I promise to pay you back not only for the license, but also all the kindness.”

“You’re welcome kid, happy to help.”

After our talk I helped Vikir with the dishes and I said my goodbyes, with my next destination being the adventures guild to put my plan into action. Walking into the guild I spotted Friedman at the counter and strolled over to him.

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“Morning Friedman, how are you doing today.”

“I’m well youngin, you gave up your eye to Altajir, didn’t you?”

“You could tell?”

“I’ve seen a few trades made with Altajir throughout my life, so I can spot the signs. I don’t wanna know what you traded your eye for, but I just hope it was worth it.”

“Don’t worry, it will be.”

“So, what can I help you with today youngin?”

“Do you have any quest I can do that doesn't require equipment or traveling more than a day?”

“Hmm, well all quest are posted on the quest board over on that wall as soon as their received, so I would check over their and read through the quest, you can only do solo quest that are your rank or below.”

“Thanks Friedman, appreciate your help.”

Friedman and I exchanged slight nods and smiles as goodbyes as I walked over to the quest board. The quest board was huge and I had the crouch slightly to get a good view of all the F ranked quests. I began skimming through the quest, but there wasn’t much of a huge selection to choose from, it seemed due to the Demon War there and the migration of people to Breufidem, F rank quests were getting snatched up quickly.

Three of the quests did catch my eye though, one for cleaning up the sewers, that will provide a fellow adventurer as your protector while you're cleaning, a quest to gather sabil grass that's used to aid in healing burns and cuts, and a quest to find a missing cat. I decided to take the sewer cleaning quest, since it offered 5 silver coins, and was worth the most compared to the other two quests, plus if I finished early enough I could possibly complete the other quest and make an even better profit.

I ripped the quest off the board and brought it over to Friedman.

“Hey Friedman, I would like to take this quest if that’s alright.”

Friedman read the quest and gave me a sly glance.

“Are you sure you want this one lad, the sewers here have gotten some horrible build up of crud due to the increase of occupants, it’s a mess down there.”

“Yep I’m sure, cleaning equipment is provided right.”

“Yes it is, well, if you’re sure then let me send someone to get your guard for this quest, they shouldn’t be busy right now since they usually don’t go out on another quest right after coming back.”

“Oh someone’s already chosen to be the guard for this quest.”

“More like we chose them, they’re a reliable and strong individual, so you’ll be in safe hands, while we grab them I’ll give you a meal voucher, you can get yourself something to eat while you wait.”

“Thanks Friedman.”

I took the meal voucher and went to order some food. I could’ve just held on to it since I already ate this morning, but I would feel bad if I pocketed it instead of using it right now. So I ordered what looked like a turkey leg and a drink similar to lemonade. I sat at a table and ate as I waited for my partner to arrive.

About 8 minutes had passed and I was still savoring the last of my lemonade like drink when I was suddenly covered by a shadow. I looked up and began choking on the liquid in my mouth when I saw the person in front of me was the knight I had seen in the mage's party yesterday.

“Cough So- cough are you the guard for the sewer clean up quest?”

“. . .”

The knight didn’t respond and only stared at me, after what felt like 10 unnerving seconds, they finally gave a simple thumbs up.