“What do you want?” My voice quivered as my body froze up. If I turned around, maybe it would spark an aggressive response from the person behind me. The person's voice sounded high pitched and whiney, but this was a new world. I couldn't judge anything just yet, so it was best to be cautious. 

“Er… everything?” The voice sounded confused at my response. Things weren’t going as it had expected. The conversation had frozen, so it was time to take a chance. I spun on my heel and took a step away from the person who had spoken to me. What came into view confused me even more.

A young boy stared up at me, his confused eyes narrow as watched me suspiciously. I opened my mouth to respond several times but no words came out. My gut reaction had been right. 

Am I so weak even a kid wants to rob me?

“Oy, Robbie. What’re you doing!”

A woman darted towards the child and grabbed him by the ear. The boy yelled in pain as the girl pulled him away. Their argument gave me a chance to escape as I backed away from the pair.

“Oh, hello!” The girl smiled at me as though her hand wasn’t clasped around the boy's ear like a vice. “I’m sorry about him. He’s an annoyance, isn’t he? He wants you to sell your loot to me, but he's an idiot. Sorry.”

“Uh, no. It’s fine.” It wasn’t as though I would own up to how scared his little act had made me. I didn't have time for this, and it wasn't like I had any loot to speak of. The magical voice had made sure of that. “I need to go. Have a nice day.”

“Wait!” The girl stepped towards me with the boy in tow behind her. “Robbie, apologise. Now!”

The boy was pushed towards me, his hand pressed against his ear. Whatever he muttered could have been an apology, or it could have just been some words he picked at random. The girl stared at me expectantly after he had finished.

“It’s fine, no harm done.” I nodded at the pair and turned to leave. The sooner I got to the guild, the better. This was just a small misunderstanding. I was on edge due to the fact that people in this world openly wore weapons, so my mind had twisted his words into an attempted robbery. Now that was cleared up, there was no need to hold a grudge against a kid.

“Are you an adventurer?” The girl glanced at my outfit. “Never seen someone dressed like you before.”

“I guess so.” I turned back to the pair and forced a smile onto my face.

“Oh, really?” The boy's eyes sparkled as he stepped towards me. “Are you really strong? What's the biggest thing you’ve beat up?”

“I’m not strong... I beat a slime queen, if that counts?” I glanced at the pair as guilt tugged at my mind. Technically it had been beaten by me, but would you count accidentally falling on top of your enemy as a valid strategy?

“A slime queen? WOW!” The boy grabbed my arm as his mouth opened wide. “You really beat one of those? How did you do it? Did you use-”

“Oy, back off.” The girl pulled the boy back once more before she quietened him down. “Sorry, you must be busy. Come by my stall if you need supplies in the future.”

I glanced at the wooden stand she had waved at. If you imagined a farmers market cart that sold traditional products, you wouldn’t be far off. It even had a little awning on the top to shade the products from the sun, though the cloth was drab in comparison to the usual bright colours I would have imagined. Many different things sat around the surface. Food, utensils, bags of various herbs and even a few weapons.

“Can you tell me where the guild is?” I glanced back at the girl. She frowned for a moment before her expression relaxed once more.

“Oh, you’re new here. Go to the end of the street, its the building with the big shield sign on the side. Can’t miss it.”

I thanked the girl and turned away. The guards had suggested for me to go to the guild, so it made sense for it to be my first goal. A street seller wouldn’t be a good fit for the kind of questions I wanted to ask.

“Promise you’ll show me the slime queen core later!” The boy shouted at my back. I didn’t have a chance to reply before the girl launched into another lecture. She seemed nice, though I couldn’t let that distract me too much right now. 

Several other sellers yelled out to me as I walked towards the Guild. It didn’t take too long to find the building in question, marked as it was by a huge shield-shaped sign on its wall.

All I had to do was enter. I took a deep breath, pushed the door open and walked in.

A rowdy din greeted me. Lamps hung on the wall, their light blue flames cast a faint glow on the crowded hall. Tables dotted the room randomly, each one surrounded by far more people than their design permitted. The men and women in the hall shouted and laughed as they drank. Rather than a Guild, wasn’t this just a pub?

“Hello! Welcome to the guild.”

A woman waved at me from the side. Her desk was far more organised than the mess on the other tables as she motioned for me to approach. I stepped towards her, glad to meet someone who wasn’t obviously drunk. Maybe she would be able to answer my questions.

“Hi, the guards told me to come here. Nice to meet you.” I smiled at her. Manners cost nothing, as my mother often told me.

“Oh, you must be a potential.” She smiled. “Can I see your ID card, please.”

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“Uh, I don’t have one.”

The woman cocked her head to one side, her eyes narrow as she looked me over.

“Lost, I imagine? Not to worry, we can sort that.” She pulled a small orb from a drawer on her desk. “Here, hold this for a minute. It won’t take long.”

The orb was heavier than expected, around the weight of a large rock. I glanced at the woman as she watched the sphere intently.

“Ah, I see.” She looked up at me, her gaze unreadable. “You’ve had it tough, haven’t you?”

“What do you mean?” I frowned down at her. “I mean, I was attacked on the way here…”

“I meant that you're a Supporter. Where’s your party?”

“What do you mean, Supporter?” I glanced at the orb which lay in my palm. Nothing showed on its surface as I turned it back and forth. “What does that mean?”

“Ah, maybe we can take our conversation to a private area.” The receptionist glanced at the crowd behind me. Their revelry had paused at some point prior as they listened in to our conversation. “I apologise, we don’t see many Supporters here.”

I nodded to the woman, uncomfortable under the numerous avid gazes. It would be best to move from here before someone made a scene…

“You’re a Supporter.” One man stared at me with a cocky grin. “Bet you’re pretty strong, eh.”

Several members of the crowd chuckled at his words. Without any experience of these people, it wouldn’t be a good idea to reveal any information about myself. The receptionist took the hint and moved towards a doorway at the side of the hall.

“Maybe not. You seem pretty weak.” The man took a swig of his drink. “Probably useless in a fight, eh.”

I couldn’t find the energy to defend myself. He could be right, after all. The slimes that had attacked me on the way into town hadn’t been the most difficult of foes. The slime queen had been a bigger deal, but if he forced me to explain how I beat such a monster it would more likely embarrass me than shut him up.

“Oy, shut up! He’s well strong!”

I turned to the doorway to face the person who had defended me. The boy from earlier had appeared once more, his face livid as he faced down the man who had insulted me.

“Oh, he’s strong? How do you know, you little rat?” The man set down his drink and turned to face the boy.

Oh, please no…

I waved at the boy to catch his attention. Unfortunately, in his anger, the child missed my hint.

“He just beat a Slime Queen. Bet you can’t do that, can you?” He grinned towards me. “You did, didn’t you. You got a core too, didn’t you?”

“Uh, yeah.” I muttered. The crowd turned to face me, their expressions a mix of doubt and contempt. I hadn’t explicitly said I had the core, but technically I did have it… somewhere. Asking this man how to bring it out would end in tears.

The receptionist should know...

“Oh, a slime queen, eh? I misjudged you, Hero.” The man bowed towards me, though he didn’t rise from his chair. “Care to show us the core you looted. Get you a pretty penny, that would. I know some strong people, so I can help you find a buyer if you want?”

"I'll sort it myself, thanks.” I glanced at the receptionist, who watched on in silence. It was clear I had made a mistake when I said I had the core before I had figured out how to actually retrieve it. Even if I could have pulled it out, that would just make me into a target. The receptionist noticed my gaze and moved to intervene.

“I’m sorry, I need to speak with this man in private.” The boy’s gaze followed me without a break as the receptionist pulled me out of the hall. Whilst I hadn’t lied, it still hurt to see his confidence crumble. The crowd turned back to their conversations, though the few snippets I caught did show a general discontent.

No one liked a liar.

“Sorry about that. Not a good first impression.” The woman waved me to a nearby seat. She took another chair behind the single desk in the room and rested her palms against its surface. “So, what can we do for you?”

“Ah, I had a few questions.” I glanced back at the closed door, worried someone would interrupt our session at any moment. “I guess I’m just a bit lost, really.”

“Oh, right. I guess something bad happened to you, right?” She pulled a small leaflet from the desk and passed it to me. “Well, here’s the basics of the guild. If you want to know anything else, there's a library across the street. They allow anyone to enter but you need to pay to borrow the books. Was there anything specific you wanted to ask me?”

"Well... how do you access your inventory?" I asked. That seemed like the most pertinent question currently. If the voice stole every item in the world and I couldn't bring it back, that would lead to some very awkward situations.

"What do you mean by 'inventory', exactly?" The receptionist tilted her head to one side. "Most people just put things in their bags..."

"Oh, right. That makes sense.." I shook my head and pushed myself up. From her response, it was clear a system like mine didn't exist in this world. If others caught wind of it, the possibility of them trying to take advantage of my power was high. At best, I would be turned into a bulk delivery man, and at worst... 

"Well, if you're talking about a skill, maybe the library would be helpful. Their selection is quite varied, and you don't have to pay to browse." The receptionist's practised smile popped back up as she made the suggestion. 

"I'll do just that then. Thanks." I pushed myself up and turned to the door. I had already asked a suspicious question due to my own ignorance, so it would be worth checking a few books for so I could get a basic level of knowledge before I really put my foot in it. 

"Oh... OK." The receptionist's smile faltered for a second before she perked back up. "Was there anything else?"

“It's fine." I shook my head. Until I had a basic understanding of what should exist in this world, further questions were off limits. I didn't want to walk into a minefield and have to figure my way back out of it. "I'll come back if I have any more questions."

“That’s no problem, come back to me if you need assistance.” The woman smiled as she moved back towards the door. “I’m happy to help. Your guild card will be completed in the next few hours, which you can use as your identification.”

I nodded towards her and stepped back into the hall. A sea of eyes turned greeted me, and most of them were unfriendly at best. The boy was still standing by the doorway, his gaze locked on me as I moved towards him. I didn’t manage to reach the door before a voice stopped me in my tracks once more.

“There’s your hero, kid.” The man who had offered his assistance earlier spoke up once more. “Wanna show us your loot now, eh? I'm starting to think that you might be exaggerating things.”

“Shut up, you overgrown slime-bag.” A woman swatted the back of the man's head as she stepped past him. “Pick a fight with someone your own level.”

“I was only having a bit of fun with the rookie.” The man waved his mug toward me with a grin. “No harm done.”

“That’s what I thought.” The woman moved toward me. Her brown hair hung below her shoulders, its tips rested upon the think metal pauldrons of her armour. It was a surprise that she could move with that much metalwork on her, though the general design of it was dull in comparison to the guard's uniforms. She held out a hand, a warm smile on her face as she looked at me. “Nice to meet you. My name's Claire.”

“Before that, I had a question.” The man interrupted Claire, his gaze locked on me. “Fancy a duel, rookie? If you can do damage to me, it’s your win.”

“No thanks.” Why would I sign up for a beating from someone like him? I saw the kid's eyes darken as he watched me back away from the fight. "I have something I need to do, so find someone else to fight. I'm not in the mood."

“Oh, don’t say that. It should be easy for someone that beat a slime queen, eh.” The man grinned at the boy who waited by the door. “I’ll just want your help with one small task if I win. We’ll even give you an even split on it. What do you say, eh?”