Claire followed Mel out of the house. Claire was amazed at how nice the neighborhood looked. She turned around and noticed what her house looked from the outside and was amazed at how huge it seemed. “Wow, we are wealthy.” Claire stated.
“Haha, yeah we are.” Mel responded with a smirk.
Mel continued “Now let’s get going, I’ll try to show you a few things on the way to school. We are currently in the Noble Sector, Everton College and my school are both in the Merchant’s Sector so that’s where we are heading.” They started walking away from the house. The sidewalks were gilded with gold and glinted in the morning sun. They passed mansion after mansion, the occasional upscale shop, and a few fancy restaurants and theaters.
“This is one of my favorite places to grab a bite to eat. It’s called the Veil and Veal” Mel said as she pointed at a restaurant. A little bit further down Mel pointed and said “Oh and this is my favorite theater, The Laughing King. They show mostly historic comedies.”
The streets were wide and spacious. They hardly passed anyone on their walk. When they did pass someone, they both received warm smiles and a friendly nod in their direction. There were towering lamp posts that looked to be filled with the same glowing liquid Claire had seen in her house. They soon came upon a gate which separated the two sectors. Guards wearing the royal colors stood at their post. There was a short line and once they got to the front they were waved through quickly. It reminded Claire of security at an airport, for rich people that is.
There were immediately noticeable differences between the two sectors. It was much more crowded, noisier, less clean, but still looked kempt enough. The Merchant’s Sector was the right word for this place. Rows of shops of all types lined the streets. Claire and Mel occasionally bumped shoulders with people. Claire saw that the Crimson Castle necklace she was currently wearing was quite popular. She estimated about a quarter of everyone was wearing it. Claire would continue to wear it, it helped her blend in and she didn’t want any unwanted attention coming her way. Plus she kind of liked the thing.
A couple of horse drawn carriages rattled along the stone-covered streets. If Claire had to guess, it looked like Dal’s time period was right before the industrial revolution. One of the biggest giveaways was the lack of electricity. Several Hawkers lined the streets advertising their stores.
“Get your potions here! We have all varieties! Health Potions, Love Potions, Illumination Potions, Sleeping Potions! If the wilderness produces them, we have them!”
A faint smell of oranges was coming from the shop the hawker was standing in front of.
Another Hawker jumped in front of the girls and said, “Hey there lassies, come on into Jack’s Blacksmithing shop, we have the finest weapons forged in Dal! We also have a wide variety of weapons from the wilderness, especially for Rangers like you Lass!”
“No thanks.” They both said in unison.
Mel turned to Claire and said “As you can see, life in the merchant’s sector is a little bit more lively than in the noble sector. People who live here are always in a hurry. Time is money, as they say. We are almost to my school, it’s right around this corner.”
On the corner there was a cafe with people playing what looked to be a game very similar to chess. Claire was curious so she stopped for a second to watch one of the games in progress.
Mel stopped besides Claire and said “We really have to get going. I’m surprised you are interested in Odaswan though. You never were before.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“That’s the name of the game, Odaswan?” Claire asked.
“Yeah, now let’s go. We are going to be late." Mel said. As they walked away from the cafe a quest notification popped up.
You now have the side quest Champion of Odaswan: Win a game of Odaswan to complete this quest.
Rewards: Title: Champion of Odaswan Effect: Perception + 1 and unlock the skill gaming
EXP 400.
Claire was decent at chess in the real world, this may be an easy quest. She would have to learn the rules of Odaswan though. Claire wondered what exactly the gaming skill would do.
As they turned the corner Claire saw a roach scuttle in front of her. Claire soon got the similar feeling she had had last night. She quickly stomped on the Mesmerroach before the feeling became more intense.
Level 1 Mesmerroach destroyed.
EXP gained 10.
Destroyer of Mesmerroaches: 2/10.
“Ugh, those are so annoying” Claire said as she removed the gunk from the bottom of her boots. “Haha, I usually stomp on a few a day, especially in the merchant’s sector.” Mel replied.
Mel and Claire came upon a gated building. “Well this is my school, your school is a couple of blocks that way.” Mel pointed in a direction “You can’t miss it. It’s literally straight ahead. Oh by the way, today is Quiz day for all the schools in Dal, so you should get out pretty early. I’ve got to go. Come pick me up after school!”
As Claire left Mel and continued to walk through the foreign town she began to see more students dressed in the same uniform. She was starting to get first day back to school jitters. She really didn’t know what to expect. It wasn’t just a new school, it was a new school in a new world!
As Claire passed by what looked like a restaurant, a guy dressed in her school uniform rapidly approached her.
“Hey Clairebear, why are you so late today? I wanted to get some making out done before we went to school.” The guy came in very aggressive and tried to hold Claire down for a kiss.
Claire pushed back at the stranger and said “What the hell do you think you are doing?”
The boy had a puzzled look on his face. “What does it look like?” He went in again for the kiss but was denied a second time. “Stop it, creep!”
“Stop playing games Claire, this is starting to get annoying.”
“Get away from me, I don’t know who you are!”
“Let me remind you then!” As the stranger went in for the third time, Claire pushed him back hard into the wall and decided to run for it.
Claire ran as fast as she could. Once she had put a good distance between her and her attacker, she looked back to make sure the creep wasn’t following her. “Who the hell was that? Was that my boyfriend in this world? What a creep” Claire thought to herself. Claire eventually reached what she thought looked like a university and was out of breath. She stood with her hands on her knees panting heavily by a gate.
A person approached Claire “Ah Claire, there you are! I’m your teacher, Mrs. Condor.” Mrs. Condor extended a hand to shake. Claire shook it but ended up getting sweat all over Mrs. Condors hand. Mrs. Condor looked down at her hand, let out a nervous laugh, and wiped her hand with a handkerchief she had in her front pocket. Mrs. Condor was tall for a woman. She must have been over 6 feet. She had a long brown hair tied in a ponytail and a plain face. She appeared to be around forty years old. “I’ve been told what happened. I’m truly sorry. But don’t fret! My great aunt actually had to go through the same process. Welcome to Everton College. Let me give you a very quick tour and then we will head into your homeroom class, where I am your teacher.”
Claire was still out of breath so didn’t say much as she followed Mrs. Condor. They entered the main courtyard of the college. “Over here we have the cafeteria, We have some of the best food in the merchant’s sector. That building is for the Clerics, it also holds the church. That building is the for the Tanks and that building in the distance is for the warriors. And here we are, my favorite building, Ranger’s college.” Mrs. Condor said with a smile.
All of the buildings looked like they were from a medieval university, with massive stone walls and colored glass. As they entered the Ranger’s College, Garth was standing in the lobby way.
“You must be Mrs. Condor, I’m Garth, head of the royal guard, nice to meet you. I’ve heard great things. ” Garth said. Garth and Mrs. Condor shook hands. Garth turned his gaze to Claire and said “I hope you are doing well Claire. I’ve come here to make an announcement to the class about what happened. He then turned his gaze back to Mrs. Condor. “The criminal that amnesiaed Claire might be in your classroom.”
“Well let’s hurry in, we are already late!” Mrs. Condor said.
All three of them walked down a hallway and into a classroom.