Watching the hologram come out of the ball surprised Kyle, but it was an ID missing the identification picture and a couple of lines, but still an ID.

Like what the guard said, it showed all the information about crimes committed by the person, thankfully all of Kyle's were a 0.

Smiling and looking at him after examining what is equivalent to his ID, the guard said:

"Welcome to Greencott, Kyle. I’m Brock. The other goofy-looking guard with the grin on his face is Shawn."

"Pleased to meet you, Brock, sir."

"Drop the 'sir,' kid. There's no need for that. Also, I assume you wouldn't have a coin on you to pay the entrance fee, knowing your prior predicament."

"I don’t know if they hold any value here, but I was able to kill a couple of goblins and found a few coins on them. Here, I’ll get them out."

Getting the pouch on his belt and dumping the coins on the desk, Brock took a look at them.

"Well, you have more than enough, kid. That is a silver crown. I only need 20 bronze or two copper as an entry fee, so I’ll be taking two of these copper. Here, the rest you can put back in your pouch. Well, I have to get back to work, or I’m sure that goof would do something stupid. Come on, I'll show you the inn. If you need anything, ask the lady in there named Gretta. They shouldn't have too much business this time of the day, so she would love the company."

Collecting his coins from the desk, Kyle followed Brock out. While showing him the direction of the inn, a man in a brown leather robe and long golden hair, braided on the sides, passed by them. Brock addressed him first.

"Hey, Zyl, good day. Going for an herb run?"

"Good afternoon, Brock. Yes, my stock is running thin."

"Well, hope you find what you need and be careful out there."

Nodding his head and smiling, the man waved at Kyle and continued walking. But something about the man caught his attention—he had weird pointy ears. Turning back to Kyle, Brock said:

"You should find the inn pretty easily; it’s called the Drunken Boar, with a sign of—you guessed it—a Drunken Boar. Heh. I'll be there later tonight, like every other person in this village. If you still need anything, don't be shy. Alright then, I'm back to work."

Just like that, Kyle was now in the village of Greencott, walking around looking for the sign of the inn. He saw different people in medieval clothing. To him, it looked just like one of those fairs he saw on TV, where people dress up and act like they were from a different era. But here, it was the real thing. He was in that era.

Finding the shop by its over-the-top sign, Kyle went in and was immediately welcomed by the beautiful smell of food. The inn was empty.

Looking around, Kyle found a table in a corner and sat down. As soon as he did, a lady carrying a small barrel came out of the door behind the counter.

Seeing him, she shouted in surprise:

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"A new customer! Well, isn’t that rare. I’ll be right with you, sweetheart."

Kyle watched as she placed the barrel next to two others on a rack and took out some sort of tab, forcefully plunging it into the barrel with a loud popping sound. Kyle was startled, not expecting the sudden noise.

Then she walked toward him with a warm and wide smile and said:

"Welcome to the Drunken Boar. I’m Gretta, what can I help you with?"

"Hi, I’m Kyle. Is there some food?"

"Of course, there is. We have meat and potato stew from a few hours ago. Also, I just took out a new barrel of ale. Wanna have the first cup?"

"Yeah, that would be lovely." Taking out his pouch to pay.

"It’s okay, sweetheart. You can pay me after you eat. I can see that you are starving. Just give me a minute."

Kyle's jaw hung open, drool threatening to escape without his notice.

Quickly, he closed his mouth and offered a sheepish smile, feeling a pang of shame. How long was it since he smelled or tasted food this nice? Even before waking up in the forest, it sure was a while.

A few minutes passed while he contemplated when Gretta came with a big wooden bowl filled with meat and potatoes, a basket of bread, and a big mug full of ale. She left him after telling him to enjoy.

Eating every last bit of it, leaving not a crumb of bread and downing the ale, Kyle felt like his stomach was about to burst. Trying to be polite, he took the utensils and put them on the counter and took out his pouch to pay.

"You were starving, weren't you? You even cleaned the bowl for me," she said with a sweat chuckle.

Kyle, scratching the back of his head while smiling, said, "Well, it was too tasty to leave any."

"Hahaha, stop it, or you’re gonna make this lady blush. Glad you enjoyed it. Anything else you need?"

"Are there any empty rooms?"

"Well, of course. A single bedroom is 5 copper a night. It comes with a clean water bucket every night and two meals a day. How long are you staying?"

'So I only have enough for 5 days with some change left. Damn it, I’m poor.'

"For now, I think two days are enough."

"Got it. That would be 10 copper. And for the meal you just had, it’s on the house."

"Thank you."

"Don’t mention it. Also, if you want to shorten or extend your stay, come and see me."

He paid for the room and then followed Gretta to the room. After opening the door, she handed him the key and said, "Dinner starts at 7, and the same for breakfast. You can come to get your water bucket, or if you don’t, you will find it in front of your room after 8. Have a nice stay. Oh, also, it gets pretty noisy and rowdy at night. You've been warned."

Closing the door, Kyle ran to the bed, exhausted. It was not much of a luxury, but it was way better than the hard ground or a tree he used the past days. With plenty of time now, he decided to address the notifications still present to the side of his view.

*ALARM You have acquired Deception (tier 0) level 1: You can convincingly hide the truth and mislead others through actions or lies. Deception chance increased by 1%. This skill has a better chance the higher your charisma.*

*ALARM Luck has leveled up: Luck (tier 0) level 2: Luck is critical in every action you take. It can change the outcome of any action for better or worse. Luck is a double-edged sword that can lead you to continued success or glory or a miserable downfall.*

"What... What is this skill? It can bring me bad luck? Damn it, I should have known when it was so cheap, or at least read its description... But how could I have known that I'd be taken to a freaking magic world? Damn it."

Lamenting on his bad choice of skills and his newly discovered bad luck, Kyle dozed off.

A few hours into sleep, he was woken up by loud noise and cheering. Confused, he opened the door to see what was going on. When he heard the clangs of mugs and singing, he knew it was what Gretta warned him about.

Before closing the door, he noticed a small bucket with a rag on top of it.

"I guess it’s time for a shower, then dinner?"

Cleaning himself and placing the bucket on the side of the door, Kyle got down to see a completely different view than the one during the day. The place was full to the brim; no table was empty.

Tables were moved around to leave a round space in the middle where a man played the lute while singing, and a beautiful woman with deep black hair, wearing somewhat revealing clothes with two cloths dangling from her hand to the back of her top,

danced around while people cheered and some joined the dance and rested from time to time. Kyle sat at the counter, finding no other place, enjoying the show.