“Can I help you?” The voice from behind the door said.

All I could see was a bloodshot eye hiding behind a chain in the darkness.

“Hi, sorry to bother you so late. We were looking for somewhere to stay the night.” I said, feeling a little awkward about asking and trying to sound as friendly as possible.

“Where are your pants and what’s that on your penis?” The voice asked in a monotonous tone.

Before I could answer Panda took over, peaking his large head from around my back. I’d been carrying him since we left the truck. He said his mana still hadn’t recovered but I got the impression he was just being lazy. Either way, it wasn’t any trouble with my new strength, though my stamina did drain faster whilst carrying him.

“Pardon the intrusion, my friend and I were attacked by monsters and his clothes were ruined in the battle, everything except for his cloak and socks you see. Naturally he decided to use a sock in an attempt to make himself look a little more decent.”

“Ah,” The voice said. “That makes sense. You can sleep in the barn if you want to.”

Before we could reply the door shut and the porchlight turned off. We turned towards the barn.

It was large and covered in hay. Naturally there were stacks of haybales in there too but no horses, at least none that I could see. In fact I hadn’t seen a sign of any animals at all which was a little odd for a house with a barn.

Either way, I guess it wasn’t my place to pry. Panda and I entered the barn and chose a corner away from the door.

“This place isn’t a safe area but I doubt we’ll get attacked in here. The main roads are some of the safest places around and if that little girl can live in a house by herself and be safe then we should be fine.” Panda said as he began curling up and padding down some loose hay for his bed.

“How did you know she was a little girl? I couldn’t tell at all.” I asked as I unceremoniously plonked down onto the hay and placed my arms behind my head.

“Call it sage’s intuition.”

“Fair enough, but is it really safe for a little girl to live out here?” I asked as my eyes began to feel heavy.

“Probably not but we have bigger things to worry about.” Panda yawned.

Up until now I hadn’t felt much fatigue even though I’d been fighting pretty much since I’d arrived in Celestia. However, a few moments after my head hit the hay I was out like a light.

The next morning I woke with the sun’s rays as the light shone through a crack in the wooden, barn roof and lit up my eyes.

I sat up feeling refreshed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. I hadn’t felt refreshed from sleeping in years. I couldn’t remember the last time I didn’t wake up feeling like a swamp monster in dire need of some coffee.

I was one of those people who couldn’t even talk to someone before he’d had his morning caffeine. I was dead to the world for at least an hour after waking up no matter where I was or how much I’d slept.

So naturally, waking up feeling refreshed was a welcome feeling as I stretched and jumped to my feet.

“Come on Panda, let’s go.” I said, nudging the sleeping furball with my big toe.

“Five more minutes.” He moaned, swiping at my foot lazily with his paw.

I decided to have a quick look through my stats to check my hypothesis as he came around and, to my delight, I’d hit the nail on the head. After sleeping both my HP and Stamina were full. That meant all I had to do was sleep after every fight and I’d be fresh for the next one.

I doubted that was going to work out considering how many fights I’d already been in, but it was still useful information.

After Panda came around we left the barn and little house behind and headed towards the city once more. We weren’t far off at that point; in fact the city was closer than I’d realised the previous night when we decided to stop at the house.

The closer we got the busier the road became. Carts trundled past, seemingly pulled by magic and we ran into other people walking in the opposite direction. I kept my hood up and my robe pulled shut to avoid awkward conversations about my sock.

I was weary of the people of this world. I didn’t know how many of them wanted to skin me or if they could tell I was an outworlder. At the very least I wanted some proper clothes before I started striking up conversations.

I considered asking Panda how well known the tattoo thing was in Celestia but thought better of it. There were too many people crossing paths with us now and the last thing I wanted was some creeper earwigging and trying to flay me.

Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

Instead we walked in silence for about an hour, right up to the city gates.

The gates themself were more like a guard post at a bridge than a castle wall gate. The city didn’t have walls, likely because of the moat.

Instead it had a few different bridges. The one Panda led me to was supposedly the closest to where I could get some clothes and my class sorted out.

As we approached a tall creature stopped us with an open palm and the shrill sound of a whistle.

“State your names and business for the record please.” He said in a deep voice.

The creature looked like a man with a wolf’s head and fur. His eyes were a piercing blue and his chest muscles popped even through his thick, black fur.

He wore an open, military-style shirt and combat pants but no boots. It was honestly a bit off putting and I found myself at a loss for words.

“Panda and Kaleb and we’re here so Kaleb can join the Adventure Society.” Panda said politely, speaking up in my place.

“Go on ahead then.” The wolf man said and I walked past him, trying, and failing, not to stare.

Once we hit the bridge and were sufficiently out of ear shot I turned to Panda.

“What was that?”

“That is a Lycanid, why don’t you turn back and actually look at him instead of staring at him out of the corner of your eye and I’m sure the system will tell you everything you need to know.” Panda said, sounding a little annoyed.

“Oh yeah, the passive aggressive Pokedex.” I replied wearily.

I concentrated on the creature and after a few seconds a notification popped up. It was useful to know that the system would give me information on races too.

You have discovered a new race:

Lycanid

Half man, half wolf. The Lycanid has existed in various forms and by many names across many universes. They’re a common race in Celestia, often used to guard the houses of the rich. Some are even kept as pets and trained to “play dead” or to “fetch”.

They love nothing more than chasing sticks and sniffing other Lycanid’s asses.

They are a proud warrior race.

Racial features include enhanced perception, racial specific skills related to smell and a tendency to get fleas.

“Panda, I’m not sure how accurate this is. It’s mostly just quips about them being like dogs.” I complained as I finished reading the notification. “Is the system always like this?”

“Most of the time yeah, but if you ignore its personality issues it’ll still give you the information you need most of the time.” Panda replied.

“Also, what was that about me being here to join an Adventure Society?”

“That’s how you get your class. Celestia’s culture is centred around the society system and since you can’t use magic and you’re new here Adventure Society seems to be the best option for you.

“There are lots of other societies of course, but Adventure Society is the biggest and the easiest to get into. They need all the warm bodies they can get.” He chucked and began to swing his arms as he walked, bamboo pipe dangling lazily from his lower lip as he occasionally took a drag.

At the end of the bridge we reached a sprawling cityscape. It was a hybrid of wooden, medieval style stores and inns and the occasional large, glass skyscraper. Hanging over the edge of the bridge was a sign that was written in a strange language I didn’t recognise.

As I squinted at it the letters changed before my eyes and became English. It must have been thanks to my skill Speak English Damnit! That was going to come in handy.

The sign said: Welcome to Havar, a recognised independent port city.

“Havar.” I said aloud, muttering to myself as I read the sign.

“Yup, this is the city of Havar.” Panda said as we walked, “It’s only a small place but it’s the biggest city on the island and the only place on the island you can book travel overseas.”

“We’re on an island?” I asked.

“Yeah, have you not checked your map?”

“I don’t have one.”

“We’ll get that fixed when we get your class. First though let’s think clothes. I know an excellent tailor who has a shop just up here.” He said and began trotting off up the cobbled street.

I followed him, delicately weaving past groups of people and creatures, and he stopped outside a wooden store with a green sign on it. The sign had a large pair of scissors painted on it and the words: Taylor’s Tailor written in fancy, cursive writing.

I opened the door and walked in at Panda’s insistence. Inside was a few mannequins dressed in bright colours and a counter with a bright-eyed cat woman stood behind it.

You have discovered a new race!

Catonid

Catonid’s are a demi-human race that are half cat, half human. With a natural affinity for agility, their cat-like reflexes can leave you utterly Cat-atonic.

It’s common for humans to find them attractive, honestly a little too common. I guess bestiality is a common fetish for your kind huh?

Anyway, stop staring at this notification and go talk to her, what’s wrong, cat got your tongue?

Then again you’d probably like it if she did wouldn’t you, you sex pest.

“I swear, every time I read a notification it gets more and more insulting.” I muttered as I approached the desk.

“Good morning! How can I help you?” The Catonid greeted in a chirpy voice.

Unlike the Lycanid I’d met on the bridge she didn’t actually have that much fur. She was mostly human, but with a fluffy ginger tail, fluffy ginger cat’s ears and yellow feline eyes.

Other than that she had wavy ginger hair and porcelain skin and was wearing a plaid skirt and a button up blouse with the sleeves rolled up.

“Hi Taylor!” Panda shouted, jumping up and grabbing the edge of the counter with his claws, his feet kicking as he struggled to find purchase.

Taylor rushed towards him and scooped him up, helping him onto the countertop.

“Panda! How great to see you.” She said, pulling him into a hug. “What brings you back to town?”

“I need to get some threads for my human.” He said, nodding in my direction.

“Well I can certainly see that he needs them. Why is he wearing a sock over his penis?” She asked Panda as if I wasn’t even in the room.

“That’s not a sock, it just looks like that because of a vicious bacterial disease.”

“Hey!” I shouted, mostly at Panda. “I’m standing right here! It’s not a disease and what happened to spending the last thousand years in some purgatory waiting to be summoned?” I asked, feeling a vein pop out on the top of my forehead. “How do you two even know each other?”

“As you can see, he’s a little sensitive about his penis issue.” Panda said, covering his mouth with his paw as he ignored me and continued speaking to Taylor the Catonid.