As I crept my eyes open, I found myself alone in a room. I was used to seeing the ceiling of my room painted in white, so the change in scenery surprised me at first.

This is a different world. I mustn't forget.

Slowly rising up from the bed, I rested my back against the wall behind me. There was a window nearby, and the sun was already out. It made me wonder what time it is already.

Searching for anything that resembles a clock, I looked around the entire room, but there was none. In fact, the room would be no other than void if we remove the chair and the wooden bed underneath me.

Is this a prison cell or something? But it doesn't seem to be tightly guarded.

I was about to leave the bed when the door suddenly opened. Shortly after, a man entered the room.

He was wearing a thin leather armor, accompanied with a sword on his waist. Right below his coiffed brown hair — the same color as mine — was a faint smile that contrasted his sharp, fierce-looking blue eyes.

As he approached me, I felt the need to thank him so I took the initiative.

“Thank you for helping me earlier, Sir…”

“Alstrann,” he finished the sentence in my place.

“Sir Alstrann.”

“No need to be formal. Just call me Alstrann.” He shook his head. “Your name?”

“Ah, I am Leighton Grenville.”

“Leighton Grenville… such a unique name.”

I responded with a troubled smile.

Yours is weirder though…

“Well, let’s cut to the chase. Can you tell me what happened to you in the woods?”

I nodded and told him the whole story I’ve made up. It took me about 20 minutes to finish telling him the story because at some point, he questioned me about something he wanted to clarify. And I thought the conversation would already end there, but I knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

“From what country do you live, Leighton?” he asked me.

Thankfully, I was prepared for this.

“Um, I’m from Straostyn.”

“...From where…?” he asked me again, confused from the fake country name I had told him.

“Straostyn,” I repeated.

“...I haven’t heard of it.”

I showed him a surprised expression.

“Really?”

“I’m not sure…” He put his right hand on his chin. “I’m only a guard, so I’m not very confident with my knowledge about other countries.”

“Is that so… Wait, you’re only a guard?” I tried changing the topic.

“Yes…? What about it?”

He had a doubtful look on his face while saying that.

“You were pretty cool back there when you took the initiative and command the other guards for my rescue, so I thought you had a higher rank like a head chief or something.”

“N-no.” His gaze went to the other direction for a second as the corners of his lips slightly turned up. “Our chief guard is far more amazing than that.”

Then, he cleared his throat and showed me a stern look on his face, saying,

“Going back to the topic, are you sure you’re not mistaking about the country’s name? Straostyn, was it?”

Yikes. It didn’t work. Time for Plan B.

“I’m certain. That’s what my father had told me. To prove it, do you have a map?”

He didn’t respond right away. Instead, he took out a small black stone from his belt pouch and touched it with both of his hands. Later on, it faintly glowed in purple as a rolled brown paper took into form.

What…

“There you go,” he casually handed it over to me.

“—” I took it without saying a word, spreading the paper open as I studied its contents. Then, I pointed my finger at a random area in the middle of an ocean. “It was right here, but it’s missing…”

“......Hey kid, are you joking with me?”

It seems he was already getting ticked off.

“No, I’m serious! And sorry to change the topic, but can you tell me what that thing is? I’m a little curious.”

Seeing that my index finger was pointing toward the small black stone on his palm, he gestured to confirm if that was what I’m referring to.

“This?”

I nodded in response.

“Sheesh! Are you raised by ignorant parents? It’s their responsibility to teach you basic knowledge about accessories.” He sighed. “This is a dimensional stone. It acts as a storage for objects. The capacity depends on its quality.”

Still continuing on the act, I apologized.

“I’m sorry… I have already seen that stone before actually, but my father gets mad at me whenever I ask him anything that’s not related to my magic training. I was never allowed to leave the house, so if I wanted to get fresh air and sunlight, our backyard was the only place I could go.”

“A-are you serious?”

“Yes…” I lowered my head with a gloomy look.

“You poor kid.” He clicked his tongue. “I bet your parents are nobles.”

“They are…”

For some reason, I was starting to feel guilty for going this far.

“As expected.” Furrowing his eyebrows, he went on. “They have the worst mindset. Just by seeing their child having a little potential in swordsmanship or magic, they will train them hard, stealing away their childhood experience just for their own gain. Your case is even worse! They didn’t educate you about basic things and lied to you about your home country. I’m really glad that I’ve settled in a town instead of a city. Grr! Thinking about them never fails to get my blood boiling.”

Damn, man. I understand, but chill… I thought as I remained silent. His words were more than enough to give me the slightest view of his hate for nobles. Something bad must’ve happened to him in the past that involved them.

After he had calmed down, which basically took a whole minute, he spoke up again.

“Sorry about that. I lost my temper there for a while. Anyway, your clothes are not in a good condition, so change into these.”

The black stone glowed in purple again, revealing a set of clothes afterward. Then, he threw them in my direction. There was a plain white shirt, a black pants, and underwear…

“Those are my old clothes so they should fit you. I keep a few of them in the dimensional stone just in case incidents like this happen.” Turning his back on me, he began walking toward the door. “Make sure you’re already changed before I come back. I have to tell the chief guard first about your case. See you in a while.”

That being said, I was left alone in the room again.

Right after I was finished changing my clothes earlier, Alstrann arrived at the room and invited me to take a tour around the town.

From what he said, the name of the town was Ascot.

The tour wasn’t really that eventful, but I made sure to take a note of important things. There are Inns — an important place for someone lost like me. Of course, it costs money, which is something I don’t have right now. However, there’s a certain building that could help me with that…

The Adventurer’s Guild.

Alstrann had told me that it’s a perfect place to earn quick money, especially for a magic user like me. We are free to choose any tasks; But the higher the difficulty, the higher the pay.

Since he was a former member of the guild, he gave me a few tips, but if I tell you honestly, it wasn’t really that helpful. I still didn’t know the currency of this world, so I asked him about it instead.

Luckily, it was pretty simple:

1 Copper Coin = The lowest currency

1 Silver Coin = 100 Copper Coins

1 Platinum Coin = 100 Silver Coins

1 Gold Coin = 100 Platinum Coins

Because his break time was already over, he bid me farewell.

“I need to go back now. If you run into a problem or you need help with something, don’t hesitate to look for me at the guardhouse.”

“Will do. Thanks for your time, Alstrann.”

He nodded in response with a smile before he broke into a run.

To be honest, I don’t think I’ll bother him any further. I kind of feel bad for making him sympathize with me. If I don’t want any emotional attachments to someone, I must become independent and act on my own starting today.

But, I’m really grateful to him. I’ll return the kindness when I get the chance. That way, it’ll be easier for me, knowing that we’re already fair.

Currently, I’m standing near a stone well. A lot of houses were in the surroundings, but not to the point that it seemed suffocating. It was a pleasant sight if you ask me; There were adults conversing to each other, laughing their hearts out from time to time. There were children running around, playing with each other. There was a bright sun above, showering us with comforting warmth.

If someone asked me to paint a picture of a peaceful town, this place is a perfect fit.

Brushing off the smile on my face, I began moving my feet as I made my way to the Adventurer’s Guild.

I shouldn’t forget my goals and priorities. I’m here in this world to play that killing game.

Earlier, while Alstrann was still here with me earlier, we had already been there so I knew the way. As a few minutes had trickled by, a tall building was now right in front of me, labeled with the words “Adventurer’s Guild” on the door plate.

Gathering up all my courage, I began walking towards the door, ready for what’s to come.