Darren walked into Bluepond fresh as fuuuuuuuuck.

The bath in the lake, his furious scrubbing with a rough rock finally got rid of all the dried blood and slime and his newfound wealth made feel like a new man. He passed the familiar tables, followinf the firepit towards the counter in the back.

"Welcome back! what can I help you with?" The woman said, the blue wisps above pouring a warm light.

Shit, she remembered. Darren gave and awkward smile, a little sweat ran down his back. No, I have money now, its fine. He straightened his back and clinked five silvers on the counter.

"Id like to join the guild"

The waitress..receptionist?..staff? The lady scooped the coins off the counter. She placed a small card under a contraption that was basically a crystal ball on a golden stand.

"please put your hand on top sir" she smiled

Darren placed his hand on the smooth surface of the crystal ball, his mind lost on the thoughts of adventure and riches and not having to work again when he becomes a lord, Gonna get those fat sta--- a sharp pain flared and he reflexively jerked his hand away.

"what the fuck! the fuck was that?" He said looking at his hand, blood was flowing from his middle finger. He looked at the crystal ball, drops of blood clung to it, courtesy of a two inch, thick golden needle that came out of the stand holding the ball.

"Oh pardon me sir, I forgot to tell you that we need a small bit of your blood for your avdenturer's card" She blushed, but Darren could've sworn there was a small smirk on her face.

The ball glowed a yellow light and the blood slowly began to disappear, the lady dropped a silver coin and it sank right into the ball as if it was made of water, small ripples unsettled it's smooth surface. A few seconds later, what seemed to be a yellow laser shot out underneath the gold contraption holding the orb and started to engrave the card underneath it.

The lady took a look at the card, then handed it to Darren with a smile.

"Your agility and dexterity are slightly above average, but some of your other stats are below average especially your Luck most people usually have more than five. looking at your stats,may I suggest specializing into a rogue or ranger class later on? I can give you a list of the nearest guilds for those classes"

Darren looked at his adventurer's card

Name: Darren Torres Reed | Race: Human | Class: ~ | Specialization: ~ LvL:1 Exp: 865/1200 Health: 65/65 Mana: 55/55 Stamina: 85/85

STR:9

CON:8

INT:11

WIS:10

AGI:13

DEX:12

END:10

CHR:8

LCK:1

Abilities:

Common Tongue Skills: ~ Resistances: ~

The lady explained how to use the card. From what Darren could gather it was basically a magic iPad card. When the lady finished her explanation, Darren giving in to his curiousity, pressed the Common Tongue ability on his card. The text shifted on the card the same way one of Darren's ebook readers would. Words appeared below the ability he touched.

Common Tongue:

The ability to understand the most used language immedeate area.

"Oh damn" he put the card inside of his book. The ability he had eliminated the need to hire translators, since he was sure those were for hire, every time he went to a different place.

Darren walked towards the quest board. It was a big board, there were lines that ran vertically down the board and divided into nine parts, there a lot of papers posted in the leftmost part then the amount of papers decreased each part until it reached the rightmost part where there were only five quests with pictures of dragons and other monsters.

He put his hand on the board "Before I forget,how do these quests work?"

"Quests are divided into nine tiers, F, D, C, B, A, S, SS, SSS. To qualify for a certain tier you must pass the level requirement, because you are still level one you can only accept F quests, the lowest paying quests but also the most simple" she brought out a thick book, one that even rivaled Darren's, dipped a quill in an inkpot then looked him in the eyes with a smile "so what quest will you do today? Sir Darren"

Darren looked closely at the F tier quests. He glanced at the different quests, ignoring some like being a test dummy for a noble's son, bait for a monster hunt, or any quest that required him to go to a scary sounding place,even if it was with more experienced adventurers. Whispering wood? Rockjaw Cave? fuck that.

He settled on one quest he was sure was easy.

Quest (F) (repeatable): Green Vermin (repeatable)

Reward: 25 silvers

Requirements: None

Where: Eladrian wood (near farms)

The farmers near Pondcross are being plagued by goblins that have settled in sections of the Eladrian wood nearest to the farms, crops and livestock are being stolen leaving some farmers hungry and also making it hard for them to sell any produce because of the fear of a goblin attack while harvesting.

To complete: Bring 10 goblin ears

Bonus: 5 gold if proof a goblin chieftain's death is presented

Darren picked the paper off the board. 25 silvers for 10 goblin ears was an excellent deal considering that goblins were the weakest enemies in any game, ever. Plus most goblins had two ears so he only had to kill 5 goblins? Darren walked on over to the counter and gave the paper to the lady, whose name Darren was still too shy to ask.

She looked at the paper then proceeded to record it on her tome "good choice sir Darren, you can repeat this quest when your done" she handed the paper back to Darren.

An easy money stream.

Darren couldn't stifle his grin. he was going to be paid good money for killing starting fodder monsters! he got the paper and placed it between the pages of his book. I really need to buy a pouch. He looked at the lady for another question last question " How about if the monsters drop anything?"

"its yours to do with as you wish, or you can sell it here if you can't find a buyer, we will buy it for lower the usual price and then sell it to the next merchant who is interested so you dont have to wait" she closed the book and put it under the counter.

Hmmm basically paying for the convenience of finding someone who would want or afford the item Darren nodded his head. "One last question" Darren put on a serious face earning a strange look from the lady "Do you have any food for sale?" a growl from his stomach emphasised his words.

The lady chuckled "Oh my" she stood and called a waitress

"okay, Alia!" the waitress smiled looking at Darren then walked quickly to the kitchen

Boom got' it ! her name is Alia Darren thought with triumph. he knew the name of a pretty girl, a feat that was next to impossible for him, even in his world.

"That will be 4 silvers sir Darren" Alia held out her hand with a smile and a wink.

Darrens business senses kicked, kinda like Peter Parker's spider sense only his would turn on when he needed to pay any amount of money. Not even a beautiful lady in a fantasy world prevent him from getting a good deal! Darin all the people who sell, they add high price always , people steal from you if you let them anak. his mother's advice rang in his mind.

"Can I have it for 1?" He reached into his pouch

"Oh dear, Im afraid we cant give you it for 1 silver sir. We can do 3 though" she smiled

"2?" Darren got that amount from his coin pouch, and closed it.

"very well" she took the coins from Darren.

Alia gestured him towards some tables.

All the tables had people in them though. Darren's social awkwardness senses were tingling, and the thought of talking to people he didnt really know for a long time brought sweat to his forehead. Fuck this small talk is gonna be harder than those SSS quests he chuckled to himself then approached the waitress and asked her something. the waitress smiled and pretty soon she came back with his food wrapped in a big green leaf and secured by twine, kinda like how people brought food down from his mother's province wrapped in banana leaves. he gladly took his take out meal from the waitress and went back to Oz's place not even the rain could dampen his mood.

"What do ye want you bugger?" Oz said as he opened the door Darren could tell that he disturbed him from his sleep.

"Oz! wake up you geezer! Im an adventurer now and I brought us food to celebrate" holding up the leaf package.

Oz took a second, Darren could see the gears turning in his sleep addled mind. Then he lit up with a smile.

"I'll be gettin the plates" he said, as he rushed inside, leaving Darren to lock the wooden door. Darren put his book down near his bedroll, The embers were burning but there was no pot. Darren sat crossed legged on his bedroll and waited for Oz, he returned with 3 wooden plates and 2 spoons. Darren placed the food on a plate and unwrapped it. It was a wooden bowl with a piece of brown, not black, brown bread. Darren almost shed a tear of joy.

He got the bread of the bowl and handed half of it to Oz. The smell quickly filled the hut. Oz put some wood into the embers, the fire cast a warm light as they ate. What Darren thought was a wooden bowl was actually a mushroom cap. The soup inside had pepper and other spices he couldnt tell, rosemary maybe? It had peices of beef, a true livestock animal not another reptile like frog they found on the outskirts of town. it also had peices of carrrots and potatoes floating in the broth.

They wolfed the bread and broth down with lightning speed, both their days work making them ravenous. after they were done with the soup they broke the mushroom bowl down and ate that too. The mushroom was spongy in Darrens mouth flavor flowing out of it every time he took a bite, again and again and again. The next thing he knows hes on the floor with a full belly and a grin plastered on his face as he falls into a deep sleep the warmth of the embers beside him.

•••••

Elanil stumbled inside her makeshift shelter, it was 2 sticks that were shaped like the human letter, Wai, there was a long stick in the middle and she used broad babao leaves for cover. she lay down on a wooden platform protecting her from the forest's denizens that crawled, or slithered in the night. The cold humid air was filled with mosquitos and the smell of fallen leaves and rotting wood. She could handle this though, just a little more time she arrive at a human settlement, it is common knowledge to settle near a forest and a source of water. Her maps showed her there was a lake a day's travel from where she was. She would be an adventurer, she would hunt monsters that threatened lives, she would be alive.

She took a bit of everseed bread she brought, it filled her growling stomach but it was bland and hard like stale bread. At least it gave her energy, Fertris below knows she needed it.

She slapped her neck, the mosquitos biting her like needles to her skin. Then she heard it. The rustling of bushes, the faint crackle of leaves being broken underfoot, or underpaw, her enhanced hearing picking up the slow breathing of a predator. She sat up tensing her muscles like the very predator that hunted her, tight ,waiting , ready to jump at first sign of danger.

She heard a growl, the foosteps soming faster now. She thanked Fetris too soon.