*Klop, Klop, Klop*

Horses hoof met with the ground rhythmically as the coachman drive the carriage carefully down the road. He watched the road before turning his head sideways, talking to a young man seated beside him. “Nice day, huh?”

That young man was, of course, me. “Yeah, the sun is shining and everything,” I hummed along with the tune of the sun.

The coachman skillfully handles the reins while observing me at the same time. “Aren’t you a little too young to be adventuring?”

I avert my attention from the big blue sky into the coachman and casually said, “Yes, yes I am.”

I was prepared that people would judge me poorly for this; instead, the coachman’s expression brightens. “Hahaha,” the coachman laughs out loud. “Yes, young men should be like you. Adventurous and brave. Unlike that son of mine, who’s content staying at home every day,” he patted my back.

Huh, my eyes widen in surprise. “Haha, you flatter me too much. I’m sure your son will become great in the future,” I casually said, not knowing that this coachman son would one day, indeed, have a successful future.

He laughs heartily. “Hahaha. If he indeed becomes great in the future, I’ll remember what you say.”

Smile formed from my lips. “Sure, sure.” I looked at this old carriage and pondered for a bit. “Why don’t you change into the mechanical carriage everyone been raving about?”

“Nah, doesn’t suit my taste” the coachman spat the leaf in his mouth. “Magi-Tech these days advance so fast. Young people only want new stuff, so who’s going to take care of the old stuff if old men like me don’t?”

Technology in this world is all called Magi-Tech, short for Magical Technology. They were called that because Magi-Tech used Mana Crystal as fuel. Magi-Tech used to use exposed Mana, but it didn’t last long as the emission it produced was so toxic and unstable.

I admire the coachman’s outlook on the situation. “I admire you, coachman.” I gave him a thumbs up. He gave me a hearty laugh again.

My trip from Bora Village to Borea City is as smooth as a baby bottom. I say goodbye to the coachman before gazing at the marvel in front of me. Borea City’s famous windmills stood tall on the city’s outskirt while its bustling street and the unique building structure that takes full advantage of the strong wind blowing in the city distinguished Borea City from other places in Zephyr.

I toured around the city. Magi-Tech complements the traditional building in Borea City, making a unique spectacle to marvel. I looked around my surroundings, finding people talk with each other, laughing with each other, and sometimes arguing. Seeing different cultures than the ones from Earth really reminds me that I’m not there anymore. Seeing Elves bartering with dwarves merchant, humans flirting with elves, and dwarves drinking on a tavern together with gnomes, I sometimes wonder, is racism not a thing here? If so, then it’s good.

I make my way into the Adventurer Guild. Unlike the Adventurer Guild that appears in the manga and novels, where it’s a grand building with loads of rowdy and rude Adventurers by their lobby. Instead, it’s a humble building with a ‘two-gauntlet shaking hands’ logo, the symbol of the Adventurers Guild; inside the building, the lobby is neatly ordered. As I entered, I was met with the receptionist desk with boards containing requests placed orderly in a row on my right side.

“Welcome to the Adventurers Guild. How may I help you?”

Huh, a receptionist who’s a male. That’s new. “Hello, I want to join the Adventurers Guild.”

“Oh. Let me find you the registration form. If you could wait for a second.” He went into the cabinet behind him and took out a folder. He took the registration form from the folder before putting the folder into the cabinet.

“Here, sign this” he hands me the form together with a pen.

I examine the form in my hands ‘Huh, it’s like opening a bank account.’ I finished filling the form and handed it back to the receptionist.

The receptionist scans the form, scrutinises every little detail before asking me a few questions.

“You’re from Bora?”

“I am”

“How old are you?”

“16”

“Hmm, any letter of recommendation?”

“No. Is it necessary?”

“No, but without a letter of recommendation, you need to take the test.”

“Test?”

“The Adventurer test. Come back next Saturday. I’ll register you for the 3pm one.”

I have to wait for three days, huh. I look at my pocket before sighing. Guess I’m staying on the street. I walk away from the receptionist but seeing my dejected look, he stopped me and told me a good and cheap inn to stay at. I thanked the receptionist before leaving the guild building.

I head towards the inn, but not before I enjoy the sight Borea City provides. After the sun went down, fatigue finally got to me, so I decided to go to the inn the receptionist recommended to me.

‘Modest but Beautiful Inn’

Like its name, the building is not too big; in fact, comparing it to another inn’s in the city, ‘Modest but Beautiful Inn’ is one of the smallest.

“Welcome!” a friendly woman greeted me. Standing beside her, a burly man stood tall, glaring at me with scary eyes. Is this the legendary troupe of a beautiful inn owner with her husband whose bear-like appearance frightens the customers?

“Hello. I want to ask, how much for a night?” I politely ask the friendly woman.

She smiled at me gently, “150 Bani a night. You’ll get breakfast and dinner, coupled with hot baths too.”

“Hmph,” the burly man grunted.

“150 BANI?” I yelled out loud, “Is it that expensive?” My shoulders drop. I only had 400 Bani, not enough for 3 days.

“This is the cheapest inn in town; if you don’t like it, go away.” The burly man irritably said.

“Can you reduce it for a little? I only have 400 Bani.”

The woman and the burly man looked at each other, deliberating whether to allow it or not. Then, as if by magic, a person appears behind me, “I’ll pay the rest of it.”

I, the woman, and the burly man turn my head towards the voice. A shy girl stood behind me. She had braided red hair, round glasses covering her eyes while she wore some kind of a uniform. “Um, I can pay for it, if you don’t mind.” She shyly said.

I held the shy girl’s hands. “Thank you,” I expressed my gratitude to her. She blushes, averting her gaze away from me. “Your welcome”

===

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. Since I don’t have money apart from the 400 Bani my parents gave me, I stayed in my room all day long. The girl who helped me, by the way, was called Davida. She’s from the South Coast. She says that she’s on her way to the capital to meet with her sister. How do I know all this? Well, like a proper gentleman, I accompany her to dinner after she helped me.

I checked the price of another inn in the city, but what the receptionist said was true. Modest but Beautiful Inn really was the cheapest inn around. Every inn, even the one that looks shabbier, has a higher price.

Packing my bags, I said goodbye to the owner of the inn, Bob and Bailey. We’ve gotten closer these past three days. They even offered to give me a portion of the money I used for my room. I politely refused, but they insist.

In the end, I only accept a portion of the money, which is 100 Bani. Sadly, I did not see Davida again. Bailey said she only stayed for one night before checking out. Too bad, she is cute.

I look over the streets and see the familiar guild building. As I entered the building, I saw a lot of people gathering in front of the receptionist. I scan the participants before finding a familiar person.

“Yo, Davida, small world, huh?”