“You’rrre a what!” Joana slurred.

“I'm a monster. A big bad in the form of the human drinking before you” John cheered while raising his mug to the party seated around a wooden table in the center of the crowded Pub.

The place was packed wall to wall with adventures, humans and variant humans alike. Most dressed in combat gear. Swords, shields, armor, and the like. Apparently it wasn’t actually the only pub in town, but the only one worth mentioning if you’re an adventurer.

The party raised their mugs in return as John toasted. He had to really raise his voice in order to be heard over the rowdy crowd.

“To my new friends and... to Earth”

“To Earth” they replied.

Vanessa raised a brow and asked “Earth”?

“It’s where i'm from before” John explained.

“Hmm, I haven't heard of this continent” Tina said quietly.

“Thashh because itz reary fawr” Joanna slurred.

“You know, big guy. For someone who’s part Giant, your a huge lightweight”

Joanna shoved John, muttering something about “you're a lightweight”.

Vanessa looked at John seriously.

“If Arther isn’t messing with me, like always” she shot him a glare “then this is huge. I'm actually well versed in the study of spirit beast as it is a field of interest for me at the tower. The implications of all this is astronomical. I can’t believe we’re just sitting here drinking with a Spirit-Man. You shouldn’t even exist and to top it off, you claim to be from a different plane of existence. I don't know how it is on Earth but here, we have gods that govern the forces of nature. Necaris, the Goddess of Death, would never allow your existence if she learned of it”.

John rolled his eyes at the mention of a so-called god of death. He was a firm non believer in the divine. So far, the introduction of magic into his world view hasn't changed his beleifs. He was starting to rationalize it by thinking of spiritual energy as a type of fuel source, and magic as a complicated reaction to using it.

“What can I say, I suppose if my existence is so unordinary then it's because I’m extraordinary” John drunkenly exclaimed..

Arther looked at him with a gleam in his eye saying, “Yes you are. I can’t wait to see what you can do when we polish you into a real fighter”

“Hmm, I might be extraordinary but I’m probably not good with a sword. And why do you want on sending me into a dungeon anyways?”

Arther replied “To help our interesting new friend become an adventurer, obviously.”

John paused for a moment before saying “I only just showed up here. Adventuring seems fun and all, but what's the point? It seems like a dangerous way to spend my time.”

The group looked at each other for a moment but before anyone else could answer, Joana jumped in.

“You see- adventuring isn’t jush a job working for the guild. Ish a lifshtyle. We live. We are free... and we get paid enough to live how we want.”

Arther looked down at the table for a moment before looking back up to John and meeting his eye. “Right now you are in a tough position. While it may not have sunk in yet, you are clearly in a strange situation none of us can relate to. Your life, whether it was good or bad before you ended up where you are and what you are now, has seriously changed. I can relate to the lack of control in your life and one way to take the reins is by consolidating enough power to control your own destiny...”

Vannese put her hand on his shoulder and slightly squeezed sympathetically.

She said, “Everyone chooses this life for different reasons. To escape the shadow of their circumstances like Arther, for freedom like Joanna, or for a way to understand magic like myself, but everyone who stays with it does so for the same reason. Once you’ve figured out how to use the magic within you and how to put it do good use... there's no going back”.

John sat there silently for a moment. He had arrived in this world not knowing that everything that he thought he understood about the world would change. His meager expectations and predictions for the trajectory of his life went out the window. He had been pushing down the feelings of loss he felt for the family and friends he may never see again and now wasn’t the time to let those emotions out. He needed to make a place for himself here and these people seemed more than willing to help him out.

He considered how maybe if he discovers how to use this magic he could find a way back home? Would he even want to go? He pondered to himself before looking up at the table grinning like an idiot.

John stood up in his chair. He looked across the rowdy bar filled with drunk adventures that looked to be out of a fairy tale.

Raising his glass he yelled as loud as he could “If I’ve really woken up in a world filled with monsters, magic, and adventure... I’d be a damn fool to turn down whatever magical spiritual powers y'all are offering!”

The room cheered despite most being confused as to why. One man, who was large enough to look as though he’d been using some sort of magic steroid for the past decade, called out “Get that Lunatic off the chair before he cracks his head open and spills blood all over my pub.”

“Tina, Vanessa didn’t mention you. Why are you an adventurer” he asked.

Vanessa took a deep drink from her glass.

The cute and petite beast girl, with black hair and cat ears, reddened in the face while looking down at her fidgeting hands. She then smiled coyly, “because I fell in love with that feeling you get when you stab a strong foe in the back, and watch them fall to their knees in disbelief at their impending death knowing that they won't ever even know the face of the one who killed them because you've already disappeared into the shadows”.

She turned to John with an almost coquettish look and John nervously sipped at his drink.

Joana groaned uncomfortably and Arther sighed at his murderous teammate.

“Anyways” Vanessa said composedly, and clapped her hand together. “Let's get hammered.”