I sat at the bar in the guild hall chugging my drink. It was straight water, but I had to put effort into not gagging at the after taste. I was on my third mug regardless. My heart was still pounding and I had sweat rolling down into my eyes.
Today’s hunt went much like yesterday’s, except with a lot more strays, and the “walk” back to the city was a little more intense.
I pulled up my status sheet and thought about how the day’s return to the city went.
User: Claff:
Health 160/160
Stamina 30/160
Mana 125/180
Quests [2]
Kill Goblins 43/∞
Kill Slimes 0/∞
Party [1]
SKILLS
PASSIVE
Enhanced Body Lv 3 [30%]
Increased Mental Capacity Lv4 [58%]
Regeneration Lv5 [0%]
ACTIVE
Arcane Magic Lv3 [87%]
Barrier Magic Lv4 [53%]
Game-like Storage Lv3 [80%]
Storage
0 g 5 s 5 c
1. Bowie knife
2. 4 shirts (2 red, 2 blue)
3. 3 rations (2 sandwich, 1 stews)
4. 43 goblin loincloths
5. 20 goblin claws
6.
7.
8.
We got a total of 87 goblins, Grifith getting credit for the last one as party leader. After we finished dragging the last goblin out of the field for its execution, I told Grifith my plan to train my only physical skill and he gave his encouragement. He was surprised I even had a physical skill to begin with, but offered to help me train it occasionally if I wanted to. I appreciated it, but had to decline. I let him know it was primarily a resource pool enhancement skill for me. I had no inclination towards the melee side of combat and wanted to be able to keep up with party members if I ever so chose to go that path.
“I’m mostly mentioning this so you don’t question when i start to jog. I’m a little embarrassed, but I wasn't much of an outdoorsy kind of guy before I had my choosing day. I was always much more interested in magic than anything.”
Grifith laughed and said he wasn’t surprised.
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll jog with you and make sure you stay motivated. However, if I do this, I don't want to hear any complaints tomorrow about you being sore.”
“It’s just a light jog. How bad could it be?” I would later come to regret those words.
Turns out it could be pretty bad. Anytime I started to slow down, Grifith got his knife out and threatened to stab me with it. By the third mile, my feet were starting to kill me and I almost passed out when we reached the gates.
Grifith got his knife out again and started yelling at me like a drill sergeant.
“DID I SAY YOU COULD STOP YET, MAGGOT! YOU GET YOUR ASS UP AND YOU RUN TO THE GUILD HALL! PICK YOU FEET UP! KNEES TO CHEST DAMN IT! KNEES TO CHEST!”
I’m never working with that ass hole again! The crazy bastard threatened my life! How dare he?
I sat my mug down and took a deep breath, trying to regain control over myself. While I sat there for a few minutes with my head hung low, Luke finished up what he was doing and came over to check on me.
“Hey Claff, are you doing okay? You don’t look so good there.”
I could barely get my head up. I was too exhausted. “That bastard Grifith threatened my life! He had his knife out and everything!”
Grifith had finished at the counter he was at and came up as I was saying that.
“Oh don't be so dramatic. Claff here just needed some motivation to train properly. I warned him I would be a little tough. He’ll manage though, don't you worry.”
I glared at him and thought about blasting his head clean off with about 50 mana bolts. Meanwhile Luke laughed and tried cheering me up.
“Come on, Claff. It couldn’t have been that bad.”
Luke just joined Grifith with a hole going from his left temple to his right. There was no face left, having been burnt to ashes.
I was jolted from my little daydream by Luke shaking my shoulder a little.
“Hey big guy, don’t forget that you have a special someone waiting on you to pick your second armor set up from. You should probably go see her before you end up passed out down here. When you're rejuvenated by her beauty, come see me so you can get paid for today’s work. I heard yall got a lot today.”
I gave him the middle finger which got them both to laugh and headed up the stairs, struggling the entire way. I stopped for a break on the third floor landing so I could properly cool off and catch my breath. I looked around but only saw the usual waiting room entrance.
The third floor was very private, and only accessible by specialized staff and gold rank adventurers. There was a theory of a platinum rank too, but nobody has reached that in over eight centuries, according to Luke anyway. They would also be able to enter the third floor, not there’s anyone with such qualifications right now. The Silface Adventurer’s Guild currently only had one gold rank party, and they were out on assignment to Hagrid knows where. So the third floor entry door is currently locked and inaccessible to anyone until they return.
After a few minute breather, I decided I needed to change my shirt and dry off a little. I put my current armor away in my storage and made a mental note to see about getting that washed at Half Moon later tonight. I pulled out one of the red shirts I had in storage and wiped myself off a little. I also need to see about getting a proper bath.
I put everything that stank into storage and pulled a fresh blue shirt out of storage. I felt that it complimented my dirty blonde hair nicely. I took one last deep breath and finished my ascent.
I immediately saw Sarah with someone who looked to be about half my height and around the same weight as me, though this person looked to carry most of her weight in her chest. The dwarven lady had curly brown locks and had what looked like a maids outfit on, which only emphasized her large bosom. Sarah beckoned me forth and introduced her to me.
“Claff! I’m glad you’re here! This is perfect timing. I’d like to introduce you to Thelby. She is the guild's best leatherworker, and she just finished adjusting your armor a short while ago.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Thelby. I’m Claff. You actually adjusted a set a couple days ago for me. And I have to say, it has been supremely comfortable to work in.”
“Aye, he says it’s so comfortable, yet he’s not even wearing it! Makes me wonder what yee really thinks of me work.”
She had what I would consider a much more basic fantasy take on a dwarven accent. This is one of my biggest disappointments from staying at Half Moon. They lacked the fantasy accent there, but here it is at last!
I smiled and told her that it was currently drenched in sweat inside my storage. She seemed to be mildly abated by hearing it, but she discontinued to insist, “Yee better be wearin’ it next time and avery time after you come in here! I put effort into me work, and you boys best be giving me my proper respect!”
I bowed before her and said, “It’s the finest equipment I could ask for. Thank you, Thelby, from the bottom of my heart.”
She blushed and harrumphed as she walked away. “Silver tongue, that one has. Best be careful before I demand you make a proper Dwarf outta me.”
Sarah and I laughed as we walked towards the fitting room. “I just finished laying your set out. Try it on and let me know how it feels. If there’s any problems, I’d almost suggest you keep them to yourself after that little display.”
I laughed and went in. I came out a bit later wearing an almost perfect replica of the first set I had. “It’s perfect, thank you. And make sure Thelby gets my thanks as well. She’s definitely earned it.”
We both chuckled at that.
“Believe me, she will absolutely be hearing about how much you absolutely loved her work. I’ll tell her about how you were gushing over every aspect of the beautiful craftsmanship, and how you wanted her to make every set you’ll ever use for the rest of your life!”
“Okay okay, maybe a bit too far there.” I couldn’t help but laugh a bit more. “But seriously, this is by far the most comfortable clothing I've ever worn. I might need to get her to make me a set of normal clothes to wear too.”
“I’ll send your praise. So was there anything else you wanted to get while you're here? Or were you just picking up?”
“You know, I was thinking of getting some potions today. Before I do though, can I hear some more details about them? Any restrictions, how many points each one can give, how many can i drink at once?” This is all important information I needed.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“Absolutely. I’m guessing you're only interested in minor potions for now, so ill focus on those. All three types, health, stamina, and mana, give the same amount of resource points per potion. That number is 20 points exactly. The only limit to how many you can drink at once is dependent on how many can fit in your stomach. If a potion is drunk and then thrown up though, the points will be deducted from your pool. So you do need to be careful about how you use them. For example, if you have 0 mana, drink a minor mana potion,” Sarah pointed to the blue bottle with the corresponding label, “use 5 mana, then throw up, you’ll pass out on the spot. You won't regain consciousness until you naturally regenerate the 5 points that you are ‘indebted’. After you regenerate the indebted points, your pool will be set to 0 and won’t regenerate again for the remainder of the day. If this happens with your health pool though… Well, you can figure the rest out.”
I nodded along and cringed a little at the last comment.
She quickly went back to a more pleasant tone after my face changed. “Don’t let me dissuade you from using them though! They are extremely useful tools and can be absolutely life saving in the right hands. I only warn you to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. Just be smart about how you use them and you will be just fine, I promise.”
I nodded at her words. “Well then. I think I'll take four minor stamina potions for today, please. I’ll be using them as a little pick-me-up at the end of my work days, so it’s not exactly what I plan on using in life changing ways.”
Sarah smiled and nodded along with me. She grabbed four of the bottles I asked for and escorted me to the front desk where I got a smile from Duke.
“Back so soon, eh? I see your buying potions already. I swear you adventurers make way too much. But I guess you make sure to spend it all too. That’ll be 4 silver, if you please.”
I smiled and handed over the money. I barely felt the point of mana leave my body.
“Thank you kindly, my good gentleman. Now if YOU please, I'm off to cash out my quests for the day.”
Sarah laughed at Duke's face. “You mean to tell me you haven't even cashed in yet,and you already had that much? Maybe I did go into the wrong business. You just started as a copper plate only 2 days ago, right? There’s no way you have that much in such a short time!”
Sarah corrected him, “3 days ago actually, and I'm just as impressed. No wonder you need those potions. Stay safe out there. I don't get my commissions from boys who don’t come back to me.” She winked, giggled, and left to help out another beast person who just came up the stairs. This one looked to be mixed with a horse this time.
“Damn dude, makin money and getting Sarah’s attention? I don’t think I've ever been so jealous of someone in my life. You better get out of here before I get Rooby and tell him you're walking in on his territory. That reminds me, never let him see you talking to her. He will freak out. He’s been put on suspension once already for something similar. He beat a newbie for getting Sarah’s advice on what knife to buy, and the poor kid got the same knife he was going to buy stuck right in his shoulder. Rooby was taken care of by security, but it’s best not to tempt fate. I don't get that guy. He’s been rejected at least 6 different times by her. The last two were pretty public too.”
“Damn. I’ll remember that then.” I pretended to write on my hand as I slowly said, “Stay. Away. From. Rooby. Got it. Any other words of advice?”
Duke laughed a little and said, “Yeah, don’t rush yourself. I know you think it’s great how fast you're making progress - which you really are by the way. Luke has mentioned you a couple times already at home - but you have your whole life ahead of you. Take your time and enjoy your skills. Don’t just see them as numbers to be bumped up. Other than that, try not to die. That’s my words of wisdom for the day. You're welcome to come back anytime you need to hear more.”
“I see. Sage words, indeed. Especially from one so young. Teach me your ways, master!”
I bowed and laughed when he smacked my head.
“Seriously though man, I appreciate the heads up. I don't usually see many others when I'm out and about, but I'll be sure to keep an eye out for anything unusual. If that’s all though, I’m gonna go cash out and pass out. I’m tired as hell from today.”
He waved me off and I went back downstairs. I stopped at the third floor landing again to put my second armor set into my storage, along with the new potions I got.
When I reached the bottom, Luke pulled me to his booth and started his spiel. I gave him my guild tag and dropped a pile of loincloths on his desk. He handed me a small bin when I told him how many Goblin claws I had. He took everything to the back, past a curtain I couldn't see past.
He came and got me from my table when he was done. He sounded surprised and a little concerned as he told me my total.
“Alright, you've got 5 silver and 96 copper for the day. I want to mention some things though. Don't let how much money you’re making right now go to your head. It usually takes newbies quite a while to reach what you're making, a few weeks at least. I don’t want you to get too comfortable and slip up. I know you’re working with Grifith, but that doesn’t mean you should relax. He’s quite adept at what he does. With how rarely he takes kindly to new people, you should feel a bit honored, but,” he pointed his finger accusingly at me, “I'm also sure he’s pulling more than his fair share of the weight. I know y’all have your deal in place, but you should probably try mixing it up some time. If you want, I can suggest a few more quests to you, now that you know more of what you’re doing.”
“I think I'll stick with Grifith for now. His little training stunt pissed me off to an unimaginable degree, but I also can’t deny that it worked. It got me 40% in my Enhanced Body skill in just one run. I can’t say I'm looking forward to tomorrow, but I will say that it definitely will be interesting to see how well it goes.”
“Alright, I won't press. But I will ask that you keep doing the Cat Ears quest. It might not seem like much, but having multiple quests under your belt will help if you want to make it to silver. You’ll need a better variety, but for now, stop by in the morning so I can assign it to you.”
He still looked a bit skeptical, but he respected my wishes.
“That seems reasonable to me. I won't be doing 60 a day though. I’ll be doing the bare minimum for it, then moving on to the goblin training I've been doing.”
“That’s fine by me,” he shrugged. “The paper trail is what really matters anyways. With that said, I’ll see you bright and early tomorrow.”
“Yep. I’ll see you then!”
I called up my storage and added the payment.
Storage
0 g 7 s 1 c
1. Bowie knife
2. 4 shirts (1 wet red, 1 dry red, 1 blue, 1 wet brown)
3. 3 rations (2 sandwich, 1 stews)
4. 2 leather armor sets (1 wet)
5. 4 minor stamina potions
6.
7.
8.
The sun still had a couple hours before it set as I left for some much needed dinner and rest. My feet were killing me and my legs were shaking with every step of the way.
When I got to Half Moon, Thaggerd gave me a heartfelt, but concerning greeting.
“Claff! Back so soon! Oh no, did something happen? Show me your hands boy. Show me your hands!”
I held out my hands and he took them in his own. He carefully examined each one before eyeing me curiously.
“You seem to be in perfect health, yet you're shaking like there’s no tomorrow. Let me guess, low on stamina?”
“Bingo. I went a bit overboard on training on my way back to the city. I sprinted the full 6 miles from the field to the guild hall with barely a break. This was my first time doing it, and might be my last. My legs are killing me right now, but I just need some food and some rest to get back to new by tomorrow.”
“Food and rest indeed. I’ll get you served something special. Go find a table and Theona will be right over. Theona, go get our stamina special. And sit and make sure he eats it all, will you?”
Theona nodded and left. I made my way slowly to my now usual corner table. By the time I got there, Theona was waiting with a large platter piled high with a mix of meat, vegetables, and some sort of red potato looking starch.
“I’m not sure I can eat all this. There’s just way too much here!”
Theona laughed and said, “It goes down easier than it looks. Most melee type adventurers need a bit of a pick me up now and then. This always does the trick. Once you start eating, it’ll be down in no time. Trust me.” She gave a smile and I shrugged and dug in.
I had the whole platter down in under 10 minutes. I burped a little to relieve some of the pressure on my gut and sat back some more in my chair.
“That was absolutely amazing. Give my praise to the chef. I truly didn’t believe it would all go down, but I feel better than ever now that it has. And thank you and your dad too.”
Theona started getting the platter and mug that she brought over together. “Of course. Just ask any time and it’ll be right up. The first plate oh this is free, but future plates will be a little extra. Now head upstairs and take a nap. If you come back down in a few hours, you’ll be just in time for dessert.”
The thought of more food was almost repulsive, but I did as she asked. I couldn’t even set the barrier in front of the door before I passed out.
I woke up what felt like a full day later and ran downstairs. I felt fully rejuvenated. Looking at my status showed that all my resource pools were full as well.
Shit. Maybe I really was asleep for a full day!
I rushed to check with Theona or Thaggerd and see how long I was out for. Thaggerd just laughed at me and said, “The sun’s barely set! Don’t worry about it. That’s just how good food can affect the body. Now go and see Theona about getting some rum cake. It’s the best in the town, you have my word!”
I skeptically headed for the dining room, only now realizing how much more lively it seemed than the last few times I was in here.
Theona spotted me and came over with a smile. “Judging by the confusion on your face and how well you’re walking again, I'd say it worked. How are you feeling?”
“A whole lot better, thank you. What was in that stuff, anyways?” I had to find out.
“Nothing special, that’s just the power of a proper cooking skill. Now come have a seat with me so we can have cake and a drink.”
I followed her as she led me to an already crowded long table. We sat at one end to chat and a moment later another dwarf came and dropped off two slices of cake with two large mugs. I tried to thank him, but he was gone before I could get the words out.
“Don't worry about your thanks. You're too polite for your own good. We dwarves understand appreciation a lot better when said with coins anyways!” She laughed and downed half her mug in one go. She poured a good splash over her cake too before grabbing her fork and digging in.
“It sounds like you’ve already had a few mugs of rum yourself. You celebrating anything today?”
“Not at all. Today is just a rare night off for me. So I like to live a little, and drink a lot more.” She gave a cheeky grin at that before drinking the rest of her mug and grabbing another from a passing dwarf.
“Sounds like a plan! Next round is on me!” A dwarven server stopped and gave me a side eye.
“Hey, let me get a round of your strongest stuff! We’re going to be having a bit of fun tonight!”
“Are you sure sir? It’ll be 1 silver a mug if you are. It’s usually saved for more prominent celebrations, if you get my gist.”
My face contorted a bit at the price and I looked at Theona.
“You don’t have to! It’s a bit on the pricier side, and we’re just having fun tonight. Just get the rum and we can still have fun!”
I turned to the dwarven man who was stroking his dark beard, trying to hide a smile. That settled it for me.
“Screw it, we party!”
He looked surprised at my brazenness, and left to get the drinks.
He came back 5 minutes later with two silver mugs, Thaggerd in tow. Apparently he wanted to confirm first that I truly wished to order their “strongest stuff”.
“I said what I said, and I try not to have any regrets. So let’s have it!”
“Alright, but don’t go crying to me tomorrow when you wake up.” Thaggerd waved his finger at me. “‘Theromear’s Fire’ has one hell of a kick. Even we dwarves struggle to keep it down. But if you insist, Thalfro, give it to them.”
The server handed a mug to Theona and I each, and I could smell the alcohol from the table. Theona took a small sip of hers and cringed then smiled. I picked my own mug up. Everyone was staring at me, the dining hall having gone quiet over the minor commotion. It seems that I have made a bit of a spectacle.
Well, no going back now. Here goes nothing.
I lifted the mug to my lips, and the next thing I knew, I was laying in bed, hoping I was in the right room and feeling the worst I have since being on this planet.