Wynn looked at the papers on his desk, and let out an audible groan. He placed his arms on the desk, folded into each other, and rested his head in them. There were plenty of papers everywhere, including some pinned or tapped to the walls, and others were laid out across the floor. A large number of them were travel permits, there were also business agreement paperwork, some complaints, notifications from innkeepers, store owner notifications/complaints, and more. Not to mention, road clearing scheduling as well.

"I hate it when these high ranking guys come and make a public visit" Wynn cried, as he buried his head on the desk. Serafyna set down a glass of juice on the table next to him, managing to not disturb a single paper in the process. He glanced at the drink. "Do we have anything stronger?"

"You cant drink before such big meetings you have coming up. Especially considering there is a royal carriage coming here".

"Why is that thing even necessary! Cant they just, not make a big fuss?!"

"They are royals after all. They have to make such grand things to show off, make themselves look even better, and establish dominance. Its basically PR".

Wynn looked miserable, and those words did not help at all.

"You think we can pretend we never got them?"

"A royal messenger delivered them by hand because you did that last time, and we fielded even more complaints. Look, we have an entire stack of paperwork generated just from the people who are reminding you not to forget or slack off like last time".

Last time this had happened, Wynn had more or less evaded all the hassle completely by running away and throwing all the work on everyone else. Because of that, Serafyna was watching him like a hawk, and there were others throughout the guild keeping vigilant watch as well.

"...maybe I should try making a clone again".

"No. Just no. Last time that happened, it got turned evil, and we had to fight someone with all of your experience, powers, and abilities. Never again, you are banned from clones".

Serafyna, in a rare moment of true expression, looked terrified. Her eyes became large and pleading, her body was shaking a bit, and she clutched her own hands and her breathing became abnormal.

"It will be different this time!"

"No clones! The city nearly got destroyed because of Evil Wynn!"

While they were bickering, the door opened, and a new face entered.

"Umm, excuse me, is the guildmaster in?"

Wynn looked at the newcomer.

"Hmm. I don't remember you. Are you new?"

"Who are you, the guildmaster's son? Yes, I am new...ah, you must be the Guildmaster then!"

The boy showed his ID. His name was Izo, and he was a rank F adventurer. He looked like he was only ten years old. He was a Silver Wolf Beastkin as well, so he was likely much stronger then he looked. Although certainly there were many beastkin who tended to grow large and muscular, in truth those with true strength oftenn internalized their power instead, especially for beastkin. They looked small and childlike, but they tended to hold real strength.

He immediately walked up to Serafyna. Wynn meanwhile looked incredibly disgruntled by the assumption that was just made.

"Before coming here, I was asked to deliver this letter to you from the Caibrum Guildmaster".

He handed over a letter, which she accepted.

"Well, it looked busy, so I need to go find a room now. Excuse me" Iko said, before muttering something under his breath. "...maybe if I am lucky, one with modern plumbing".

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Ah! Nothing, nothing!"

Izo left, but Wynn was somewhat interested. He had some theories and thoughts, and he knew he had to confirm and...

"...your not planning on investigating that boy as an excuse to run away again, are you?" Serafyna's chilly voice ran shivers down Wynn's spine.

"O-of course not, I was just curious!"

"Good. Because you have way too much paperwork to do right now".

And so, Wynn got buried under a pile of paperwork as his escape method was blocked.

----------------------------------------

Izo meanwhile had left the office, and returned downstairs. He had a blade that looked like it was right in the middle of a long dagger or a short sword, but otherwise was just wearing basic gear. Fangboar hide boots, well made and refined so they looked nice and proper, but nothing shiny or fancy looking, with laces. Shorts that just was short of the knees, good for moving around in especially with the temperatures warming up, but were in fact made of fabric that was made with Ekarian Spider Silk, an E-ranked monster known for making very durable and sticky webs. The same material was used in his T shirt, because the material was also light, was easy to breath in while also offering a good deal of protection. He also had a sleeveless jacket, it had some pockets, and it was made out of Thermal Bear hide. It helped prevent one from getting too cold, and was good against fire attacks. Although nothing was really flashy, those with a good eye could tell they were of good quality for someone his age and rank. At the very least, most commoner families wouldn't get something so nice for a growing boy, as they knew he would grow out of it soon enough.

Izo however, sighed as he looked at his own clothes, before heading over to the request board to see about taking a quest.

I guess I am used to them now, but I still miss the clothes of my own world.

In fact, Izo was actually someone who had reincarnated into this world. He had the memories of his previous life, and as a result knew quite a few things. He regained his memories at around six years old, so four years ago, and had adjusted since then. However, Izo had discovered two things. First of all, while he was able to train and was good with magic, he didn't seem to have any "cheat abilities". He was gifted sure, but that was it. Secondly...all those protagonists that just happened to somehow know or remember how to make all that stuff in the novels and manga he had read were frauds, or the writers were at least. He tried, but there was no way he could remember all that or have such convienent knowledge. In fact, he was sure almost nobody outside of professions that dealt with them knew how to make them.

In other words, he hadn't been all that remarkable. At least compared to the stories he had read. However, even still, he had managed to join the Adventurer's Guild at age 8, and reached F-Rank b age 10. In truth, he was close to reaching E-Rank, and only needed a bit more achievements to qualify.

Not only that, but he was a spellsword, capable of using both magic and the blade, although he tended to use a sword that was right inbetween a long dagger and a short sword.

As he was looking at the board, someone bumped into him. It was a large muscular person, who was like three times his size, so he didn't engage in the end, however...

"What's a pipsqueak like you doing here? Don't you know adventuring is for real men and women with strong muscles?"

Uhg, its idiots like those people.

While Izo thought about that, he noticed that not many of the others looked at him favorably, but there were others in the guild who saw them with recognition. Izo still decided not to get involved, but the man saw that as ignoring him, and raised his hand and smacked Izo.

However, Izo was surprised to see that he felt no pain, nor felt a sting on his cheek. In fact, the force of the blow didn't seem to reach him, and instead the man stumbled backwards.

"...noisy" a boy wearing a hooded cloak said, walking through the two. For some reason the man had a smack mark on his own cheek.

The boy took a quest, and then another boy with fox ears and a fox tail ran up to him.

"Did you find a good one Ciel?"

"Mhm. Should help rank up. Lets go".

"Got it!"

The two boys walked off. One appeared to be a mage, while the other was a swordsman. For some reason though, they had taken an E-Rank quest, which meant their average rank had to be about E-Rank. The receptionist seemed to sign of on it no problem after all.

The larger muscular man seemed quite annoyed and embarrassed, and looked at Izo with contempt. Apparently he thought Izo was making a fool of him, so he tried to stand up to strike again, only to slip and fall back down. For some reason, his shoes seemed to have difficulty with having any traction or friction, because they slipped incredibly easily all of a sudden.

One of his friends came over though, and picked up Izo by the neck of his shirt.

"What sort of cowardly trick is this! Real adventurers just need strength and muscles, this sort of weak trick from such a scrawny babe proves how weak this guild is!"

Apparently they were not from the guild, if their word choice was anything to go by. As the man pulled back his fist, Izo placed a hand on his blade and prepared to draw. However, the man's arm seemed to stop, as a handsome elf appeared at his side and held it back with one hand.

"Submaster Owyl!"

"Ah! The Submaster is here!"

Owyl looked over at the man who had been shouting. It appeared the elf's name was Owyl, and he seemed quite well known. Furthermore, he was the Submaster of the Guild. Within the Guild hierarchy, the one at the top was the Guildmaster. Then there was the Vice Guildmaster, and then there was the Sub Guildmaster. It was designed this way so that way, if the Guildmaster had to go to some major conference or meeting out of the city, and an emergency happened that required one of the Guildmasters in the city to be present, they would have someone who could stay back and organize things, or be deployed to any additional emergency that requires a Guildmaster.

Of course, there have been occasions where all of them have been busy, as well as their staff, which can cause plenty of hectic situations to occur within the guild. But it was the Adventurer's Guild. Hectic Situations were regular occurrences, and receptionists seemed to encounter a lot of "firsts" or "abnormal never happened before situations", at least that they have heard of.

In truth though, Izo was a bit curious as to why he was reincarnated. No one ever explained anything to him, no god or goddess or anything like that. He felt like there was something he was forgetting, but he couldn't place it. However, he did know that he was not the first Otherworlder. Apparently the Hero who defeated the Demon King 90 years ago was an Otherworlder, of the Summon type. He had been intentionally summoned due to an overwhelming crisis.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Izo wasn't some idiot or adrenaline junkie either, so he was more then happy to not be around for what could have been the end of the world. As for why he became an adventurer however, there were...well, he had his own reasons. Also, while he lacked cheat like abilities, apparently he had natural and intuitive talent for it. There was also his unique style as well.

And if he was being honest, the idea of magic did excite him a bit. But also, he couldn't stay in his home town. It was a rural farming village with no semblance of modern technology, magic tools, or other things he was used to in his previous life. Not only did he have to deal with culture shock, getting used to an entirely new culture, which had been difficult due to some core differences, but he also had to adjust to a lack of modern plumbing in general. Bathing in a river with over two dozen other kids instead of a personal bathtub. A lack of things like ice cream and video games, novels, air conditioning as well. There were many things he took for granted in his previous life, that he really missed here.

As such, Izo had a dream. Aside from seeing the fantastical sights and places he had heard about, and learning this cool power called magic, he had another desire. To collect loads of money, buy a lot of magic tools, and create a place as close to the comforts he was used to! Vacuum Cleaners, Refrigerators, games, anything he could get his hands on! He lacked the knowledge to modernize the world, but at the very least, he could try and scrape together whatever he could.

He certainly understood now that the idea that one could be reincarnated into a world without modern conveniences, or even just modern underwear, and not complain, was utterly absurd. And this wasn't some sort of cheap gimmick world, where they conveniently had things like that. This was a true and proper fantasy world, with all the inconveniences involved. Everything wasn't all super convenient or was there just to progress some sort of story either, it was a rich world full of culture and detail.

He had spent four years in this world now, so he had gotten used to it to some extent, but as someone who knew modern comforts, he couldn't help but long for them.

Either way, he had resolved to at least try to live in this world, maybe find a way back to his old one, although he was sure that would cause all sorts of issues as well. He could imagine the difficulties, some random person with no background or origin just appearing. Its not like he could just resume his previous life after all.

"Now good sir, I believe you are causing problems. Lets go to the back and talk about it, shall we?"

Owyl's intimidation hit him hard, causing him to drop to his knees. His friends also seemed to be affected by the sheer pressure, and frankly even Izo, who was just nearby, was feeling its veracity. Had that been directed at him, he didn't have confidence in his belief he would not soil himself.

Owyl then dragged the man into the back, partially be force, partly by sheer intimidation power. Izo was able to get back on his feet, and brushed himself off. He made a mental note to not cause any problems in the guild.

Focusing back on the quest board, he noticed something. An investigation request for the forest that was F-Rank, in a place called the Shifting Woods. Apparently due to some great magical battle long ago, the woods there are in a state of spacial flux, so they regularly want to map it to help make sure in case of emergencies they can navigate it to the best of their ability. There was actually some concern it was like a pseudo-dungeon, but so far dungeon like qualities have yet to be witnessed. Since the monsters were mainly things E and F rankers could handle, at least in the lighter areas closer to the city, this was an F-Rank Quest.

There was also another request, which was to help run some safety drills with townsfolk. Apparently, they wanted to make sure that in case of an emergency, they could respond properly. It was an F-Ranked request since they needed at least some experience, which meant H-Rankers often learned at these drills.

But the one that drew his attention the most was a request that was F-Rank, but was located inside the city. It wasn't a drill mission however, nor was it to act as a sparring partner for someone. It wasn't an errand type quest either. It was to explore the Shifting Sides and cut down the monsters found within, to help cull them and ensure they cant get anywhere near enough numbers to become a threat to the city.

Apparently the Shifting Sides was a quasi-dungeon like area located within the city itself. It had a lot of connections all over the place, and like the woods, was spacially unstable. It was limited to the side alleys, and one could generally avoid it if they paid attention. But it was still rather easy to get in and out of. Furthermore, for some reason this one was more like a dungeon then the woods, so it would produce monsters.

Apparently it could get dangerous the deeper one went in, but the outer ranks were culled by adventurers regularly, as well as "helpers", although they were not specified at all. Either way, it was close by and Izo kind of wanted to see such a weird place, so he decided to investigate. He went to the counter and accepted the request.

"I haven't seen you around before. My name is Allie. Are you new here?"

"Yeah, I just came to the city".

"I see. We have certainly had a lot of people arrive lately, though thankfully not everyone is like those ruffians there. They came from a different city, with...strange standards, to say the least. Lately we have had a lot of problems due to the influx of traffic as of late, so do be careful".

"Okay, thanks for letting me know. I am Izo. By any chance, do you know of an Inn with good plumbing and amenities?"

"Thats quite pricy for an adventurer your age...unfortunately, all the high class inns are totally booked solid, but even if they weren't. It would cost you a few medium silver pieces per week, not including food costs".

Izo paled. That was definitely way over his budget. It went copper, bronze, silver, gold, and then platinum coins. He was talented, so he could make enough money that he could pay in large bronze coins, but silver? And medium silver at that? He would have to work nonstop every day of every week for every month to be able to keep that up. When he could take higher paying jobs, that was one thing, but he was still in those beginner ranks, an F-Rank. He would need to be D-Rank at least before he could really start affording that. Or get insanely lucky.

"The guild does also have some spare rooms for novice adventurers who just arrived or have other reasons they cant sleep at home, as well as a bath. There are no specific times for boys or girls, so you can enter whenever you want, although it might be crowded sometimes. However, the rooms themselves are very basic, and they are shared types as well. Up to four people can be in one room".

"I-I see. Well, give me a few recommendations for nearby inns, and if I cant find anything, I will come back here".

Adventurers were people who traveled around a lot, so they tended to pack light. And as it was normal to sleep in the nude, especially for children, and especially for adventurers who moved around a lot and were rarely home. After all, Adventurers couldn't just pack a bunch of spare clothes, they had to save room for potions, weapons, camping gear, food, medical supplies, and such. As such, they typically maybe had some spare underwear or socks maybe, or a shirt or shorts, but that was just for when doing things like laundry or such.

In fact, in his village, it was common to air dry in the sun after a bath, under an open sky on a towel. Izo had to admit, it was incredibly relaxing and nice.

And things like "Item Bags" or "Storage Magic" generally didn't exist, at least commonly. And none of them had infinite capacity. Infinite Capacity would require infinite magic, and Storage Magic would need to be maintained constantly while in use. Item Bags could feesibly be recharged as a magic item, and built for maximum efficiency, but that means their capacity was minor too, and it was very complicated to build one. And still could be rather pricey to maintain. So it was not really practical for adventurers to have them.

Once again, Izo cursed at those frauds in isekai stories who had such convenient things not bound by logic, like this world was.

He left the guild and sighed, deciding to check out the inns on the way to the Shifting Sides that were feesibly in his budget. Although certainly, none of them looked worn down or rough, or nothing so exaggerated and comical, it was truly a fantasy world from a medieval era. Some had wells and basins that one could wash themselves in, although it was out in the open with no privacy. Others only had shared rooms available, and some just were already fully booked. Furthermore, even navigating the streets was tough, because there were so many people.

He eventually found one, a single room that was decent. He would have to bathe in the river though, or go to a nearby public bathhouse, but he had to concede on those points for now.

And then, he headed into the Shifting Sides. At first, it looked like any normal sidestreet. Any normal alley. But the moment he crossed the threshhold, he felt disorientation for a moment, and recognized the space itself felt different. He could not identify which way was the way out, despite having only just entered, and everything felt like it was moving.

It was quite obvious this place was easy to get lost in, so he wondered why it was made to sound like it was not as difficult at all. As he took another step forward, he was able to stabilize himself, as he looked around. When he did, a few giant rats appeared. They were nearly as big as he was mass wise, and were certainly hostile. He drew his blade, as the rats charged in. The first one he side stepped, and he cut through the second one. The third and fourth one came from the left and right at the same time, but he spun around and blades of wind formed around him, cutting through them.

He then charged towards the final rat, and cut through it as well. It was only the first battle, and giant rats were ranked G monsters, so it was not too surprising he had it this easy. However, he was still tense.

There is something else. Watching me.

As he looked around, those guys from before that tried to mess with him came out. He was already surrounded by these three, large, muscular guys, who looked at him with disdain.

Uhg, great. Its these kind of idiots.

Surely enough, they threw insults his way, blaming him for their predicament and how he had embarrassed them with his "cowardly magic". And to think, idiots like that were becoming more common in this area lately. It seemed things were going to get quite annoying.

That said, Izo couldn't really look down on them. One moved far faster then Izo had expected, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and slamming him into a wall. A fist was raised to punch him, but Izo slashed at him with his sword. He blocked it, parrying the blade with the blade he had suddenly drew and then going back for the punch. And yet, he suddenly got slashed anyways. A grazing slash on the abdomen, but still painful enough that he threw Izo, sending him sprawling across the floor.

"You bastard!"

The man charged at him. and Izo drew his blade back. He then slashed forward, but as he did the man was cut in the back. This caused him to drop his weapon, and receive another cut. The man behind him also charged towards him from behind the first, who was collapsing from the wounds, only to deflect a blow that came from the front with his sword. Izo recklessly slashed forward a few times in a panic, but he managed to dodge them all this time, learning. Izo dodged out of the way, as a third guy tried to bring a hammer down on his body.

Shit! These guys are seriously pissed off! They might actually kill me!

Izo quickly dodged, and readied his blade. However, as they came towards him, he swung his blade again to swipe them all. They all dodged it by stepping back, and then they charged forward. However, in that instant, they all suffered a myriad of attacks from behind...including a few throwing knives. Izo raised his own sword, and blocked an invisible attack.

"Sorry about that, but it seemed like someone might die if we didn't step in. Never fear, we only paralyzed them" a boy said, his face hidden by a hood. Izo was surprised, he had not sensed their presences at all, and their attacks had come from nowhere. "Still, that was an interesting magic you used there. I doubt these idiots realized what it really was though".

"...you realized it?"

"Most people think of magic as just the elements, but true magic users like yourself are far more capable. In your case, your special magic involves delaying cause and effect, isn't that right? The slashes you made, you could cause them to strike again in a sense. I guess you cant end it after its triggered though, if you had to block your own technique".

Izo kept his eye on the boy, as others appeared. They seemed to be capable of picking up the adult men, although Izo could sense quite a bit of mana from them.

"That said, your technique is quite nasty. One can take measures if they know about it sure, but they would have to remember each individual slash in the air. Furthermore, it looks like you can make it go forwards or reverse, and even make it fly out some distance. The longer you fight, the larger the minefield you make is. That is quite nasty indeed".

"...you say that, but I think someone like you, who can see through things in an instant, and was able to get here so easily without anyone noticing, is the real scary one. If you wanted to kill me, I doubt it would be difficult for you, would it?"

The boy hesistated, if only for a second, before he reacted.

"It seems I am not the only one with a keen sense of observation. In any case, the residents of the Shifting Slides would certainly appreciate you taking out as many monsters as you can today, so keep up the hard work".

"Residents...people live here?"

"Of course. Its easy to lose your way, but at the same time, its not that difficult either. Its nice and hidden, and you can sneak all around the city in here. I believe there are even ways outside of the city through here, but if so, they are well hidden and kept secret. I suppose you could say this place is like the slums in a way, but it looks nicer".

"...just what caused such a place to be created in a city?"

"A great and terrible battle long ago, and two powers that fought each other afterwards. In the end, the corpse decomposed into magical essence in this place, at least part of it. Another part became the Shifting Woods".

Once the unconscious troublemakers were brought away, the boy bowed to Izo.

"Don't be too surprised. This is nothing compared to some of the other things out there. To Adventurers, this is an every day occurrence".

"R-right..."

The F-Ranked Izo acknowledged that, as the boy melded into the shadow of a building, and disappeared from sight.

"Well, I guess I better finish hunting then. Its weird though, how can a place be easy to get lost in, but also easy to enter and exit? Well, whatever".

And so, Izo went and finished his job.

----------------------------------------

Wynn watched from a rooftop, nodding.

"As expected, not only is he an Otherworlder, but he is also a user of that kind of magic. How nostalgic".

Those words which were heard by no one, vanished into the wind.