Chapter 1: The Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony

“Next in line, please come forward.”

In the hallowed church hall, an elderly priest dressed in holy vestments called me forward. Before him stood a pulpit engraved with a cross, and resting atop it was a large, blue crystal. The priest picked the crystal up with both hands, holding it above his head.

It was my turn to participate in the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony, a mandatory rite of passage for every subject in the Meldrake Kingdom the year they turned sixteen.

The ceremony revealed in each participant a latent class affinity and special skill. Just as the name suggested, it was an opportunity to receive a blessing from heaven.

There were several different types of classes that each participant could manifest, including your standard combat classes, such as fighter, mage, and knight; noncombat classes like merchant, blacksmith, and farmer; and even specialized classes like sorcerer, paladin, and spellsword.

Special skills were generally closely related to your class, and regardless of your socioeconomic status, it was possible for the ceremony to reveal an advanced class affinity that would reward you with celebration and support from the kingdom. No matter who you were, the ceremony offered the opportunity to turn your entire life around. It was hardly an overstatement to say that it was the most significant milestone in a person’s life.

Most people looked forward to receiving their blessing and eagerly awaited their moment in the ceremony...but not me.

My name was Chris Sparring, and I was born into an esteemed family lineage of sword fighters. The Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony had bestowed sword-wielding classes upon generation after generation of Sparrings, and the affinity held by the head of the family had always had a profound influence on our family’s prestige.

My father, George Sparring, also possessed a sword-wielding affinity just as his forebears had—but his specific one, “seasoned swordsman,” was the lowest-ranking affinity that any Sparring head had ever been given.

Maybe that explained why he had a bit of a complex about class affinities. Since I was the eldest—and my younger twin brother had a weak constitution—my father had subjected me to strict training from a young age, hardly ever letting me out of his sight.

That was what the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony represented for me: the weight of all my father’s expectations on my back.

I knew that it would probably go just fine, considering that every member of the Sparring bloodline had received a sword-wielding class...but when I stopped to dwell on the one in a million possibility that I might be the one to break this pattern, it was hard to suppress the tremble that came over me.

There were probably plenty of people out there who envied me for how easy I seemed to have it. From the outside, it must have looked like I wanted for nothing. But, no matter how difficult their lives might have been in other ways, I would have done anything to trade places with the kids who didn’t have to bear the burden of their parents’ unrealistic expectations.

As I made my way slowly toward the podium, doing my best not to throw up, I heard my brother, Claus, speak from behind me.

“Hurry up and go already. I’m up after you,” he said.

Claus had been frail and sickly as a child, requiring the constant attention of a doctor. But once he turned five, he started to show real signs of improvement, and now he lived a perfectly normal life.

So, you’d think that we would have grown up with a perfectly normal sibling relationship...but for some reason, Claus seemed to hate my guts. Whenever I tried to talk to him, all I’d get in response were tepid one-liners. In all our years growing up, we’d never once had a proper conversation.

Still, as much as I hated bearing the weight of all of our father’s expectations, I guess from Claus’s perspective, it might’ve just looked like I was getting all of his attention.

“Sorry. I’m going.” I sighed deeply and quickened my pace to approach the podium.

Once I was standing in front of the priest, he wrapped his hands, which were like two withered trees, around the crystal and began to chant some sort of incantation.

Only seconds passed, but to me, it felt like an eternity.

Then, as if he had just seen a vision of the blessing I’d received, the priest lowered his hands from the crystal and looked at me directly.

“Christopher Sparring,” he said. “Your affinity is farmer. Your special skill is poison resistance.”

The second I heard his proclamation, my head began to spin, and a sudden sharp pain seized my chest. It felt like someone had my heart in a stranglehold.

F... Farmer?

Did he just say...I’m a farmer?

The priest’s lips were still moving, but nothing else he said penetrated my ears. The nausea I had fought so hard to keep at bay was now threatening to erupt.

“You got a farmer affinity?! How awful... But hey, don’t worry! You’ll be all right! Cheer up, brother!” Claus exclaimed from behind me, loud enough for everyone in the church to hear.

I turned around and saw him looking at me with an expression of unadulterated delight.

Out of instinct, I almost leaped to cover his mouth. But I knew it was too late. The damage had been done.

All of the strength left my tightened muscles. Claus stepped closer to where I was standing and patted one of my slumped shoulders.

“Hey, thanks. Now I won’t have to worry so much about going up for my blessing,” he whispered into my ear before jostling me on his way to the podium.

In a stark contrast to his confident stride, I shrank myself as small as possible as I tried to make a discreet exit toward the church doors. It was there that I spotted my father, standing with his arms crossed.

Even from a distance, I could see how angry he was—angrier than I’d ever seen him. He didn’t waste a single minute laying into me.

“You good-for-nothing clot! You imbecile! I spent all those years training you only for you to be a farmer?! With poison resistance?! How dare you disgrace me like this!”

“I-I’m sor—” I began stammering in strangled tones, but my apology was drowned out midway by loud cheers from behind me.

I turned around to see the priest patting my beaming brother on the shoulder. The church crowd began to murmur excitedly, and before long, the news on their lips reached my father and me.

“I think he just got the ‘sword god’ affinity! That would make him the fifth sword god in history!”

“But...how? Surely that can’t be possible?”

Bewildered, I turned to face my father again. The hitherto unforeseen rage that had filled his eyes was now replaced with hitherto unforeseen joy. They sparkled as he looked proudly up at Claus, who stood at the podium.

I had already long vanished from his gaze. It felt as if I were suddenly all alone among the throngs of people that filled the church hall.

“F-Father... I... I’m sorry,” I blurted out.

When he glanced over at me, his gaze was full of pity.

A pain seized my chest again—that same feeling, like my heart was being constricted. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. No matter how much air I took in, I felt like I was suffocating.

I clutched at my chest as my knees collapsed from underneath me. But before they could hit the floor, a pair of hands caught my armpits to push me back up. I wasn’t even allowed to faint.

Slowly, I lifted my head to see who had come up behind me. Looking down at me was none other than Claus, who regarded me with a smile even crueler than the one he’d worn before.

“Come on, now, brother. You’re not trying to steal the spotlight with this little stunt, are you? This is a big moment for our family, now that one of us has been given a sword god blessing. If you want to have a fainting spell, then do it in some back alley where no one will see you. You can cry your eyes out there all you want, farmer.”

Furious, I balled my hand into a fist, ready to strike him. But within moments, the sobering clarity of the difference in our fortunes quelled my fiery instincts. Instead of raising my fist, I simply hung my head.

As soon as Claus realized I had no will to fight him, he let go of my arms. Amid a chorus of cheers and applause, he turned to our father.

“Father, I’ve just received the sword god affinity. It’s a real shame that Chris turned out to be a farmer...but God hasn’t forsaken us. At least one of us can carry on the Sparring family legacy and preserve our honor.”

“Y... Yes, you’re absolutely right. Well done, Claus! Well done! You really are a Sparring. I hope you’ll continue leading our family down the path of greatness,” our father said, overcome with emotion as he wrapped his arms around Claus in a tearful embrace.

Claus, for his part, looked quite pleased with this turn of events too. Onlookers watched the heartfelt father-son hug and broke into riotous applause.

Meanwhile, I could only reel from the irony of it all. As I wheezed, clutching at my painfully constricting heart, only one thought kept spinning around and around in my head:

I can’t believe how stupid this is!

I’d spent my whole life forced to undergo rigorous training, all to fulfill my father’s selfish ambitions and expand the Sparring family’s influence. And now it was all for nothing. I was destined to be treated like worthless trash just because I’d lost the blessing lottery.

To pour salt on the wound, my father was now tearfully expressing his pride toward the son he’d basically abandoned for half our lives all because he was sickly. I mean, he’d barely even had a proper conversation with Claus even once.

Instead of taking out his anger on our father—who actually deserved it—Claus beamed as he hugged him, and directed all of his anger at me for all the years he’d been neglected.

I was subjected to raised, angry tones and sarcastic jeering, even though I hadn’t even done anything wrong.

But worst of all, I just stood there and took it. No matter how much they made a fool of me, I couldn’t bring myself to say a single thing in my defense. All I could do was stare back at them, and I hated myself for it. How could I be so pathetic?

I clenched my empty fists as hard as I could and left to head home, alone.

Two days had passed since the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony.

My father had officially kicked me out.

It had apparently taken only a day for his elation about Claus’s blessing to subside, and for his rage to rekindle. At his command, I’d spent all day yesterday fighting the Sparring trainees alone and unarmed as he hurled an endless stream of vicious reprovals at me.

Why the hell are you so angry at me? I thought, trying in vain to fight off the sense of emptiness that had taken hold inside of me.

When he’d finished upbraiding me, all he left me with was this:

“Leave this house and don’t ever come back. You’re a failure.”

My entire body stung and ached from the beating I’d gotten, and I felt every bit as worn down mentally as I did physically. Pitiful tears streamed down my cheeks as I packed my things into a small bag.

That was all the space I needed—and it was still half empty by the time I was done. Once I’d finished getting dressed, I’d been sternly reminded that most things I might have thought to include belonged to the Sparring family, not me, which left me with very little to take along.

With my small, lightweight bag slung over my shoulder, I trudged toward my bedroom door. But as I walked through it, I tripped over something and fell forward straight onto the floor.

I looked up to check if anyone had seen me and saw Claus standing just in front of the doorway, as if he’d been waiting for me.

“You know, I saved your ass the other day. Were you really gonna just walk out of here without even saying a word of thanks?” he said, in the most condescending tone imaginable.

At this point, it would have been perfectly natural to wonder if I’d done something to Claus to warrant this much vitriol. But honestly, I never did anything to him.

We’d never had a fight or even an argument. In fact, we’d never even really had a conversation.

We’d always been so distant that one might even wonder if we were really family at all.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you. Why are you coming at me like this, anyway?”

Claus bellowed with unhinged laughter. “Are you seriously asking me that?”

Then his expression suddenly shifted, and he looked at me with fury in his eyes.

“Why don’t you think back to how I’ve been treated all these years, huh? Does that ring any bells for you, brother? You got pampered like a prince and given the right to inherit the family title, all because you were born just a few dozen minutes before me. My only sin was exiting the womb a little later than you, and yet father ignored me for my entire life just for that. I’d say my reasons for coming at you are pretty straightforward, wouldn’t you?”

“That had nothing to do with our birth order. Father neglected you because of your frail health, remem—”

“Shut up! I’ve always hated the way you talk down to me, like you’re better than me. Well... Look how the tables have turned!” At this point, Claus broke out into maniacal laughter, the furious expression still fixed on his face. “The Heavens are on my side, brother! They gave me the good blessing and left you with the scraps!”

Part of me felt a little afraid of how unstable he was acting, but the other part of me was bursting with anger for how he was speaking to me like this and treating me like an idiot.

What gave him the right to say all of that to me?

Thanks to his fragile health, our mother had never left his side when we were kids, and the rigorous training my father put me through had barely given me time to spend with her anyway. So, if anyone deserved to feel shortchanged, it was me.

It was hard to say, from an objective perspective, which of us really had it better...but I’d always been jealous of how coddled Claus had been.

“Ever since we were kids, you got all of the attention. Father poured everything into raising you as a proper heir and swordsman. So, tell me, brother: How does it feel to get kicked out, saddled with the fate of toiling the rest of your life as a farmer?!”

“Shut up!” I yelled, pushing myself to my feet.

All of the anger building up inside of me was ready to burst.

For a moment, Claus seemed to recoil. But his expression remained fixed as he unsheathed his sword at his hip and pointed it straight at my face.

“God, will you stop yelling like that? You’re hurting my ears. Listen, you’re not a Sparring anymore, and you’re really pissing me off. You want me to slay you right here, right now?”

The tip of his sword grazed my forehead, drawing a drop of blood that ran down my cheek.

It was a real, steel sword, but I wasn’t the least bit afraid. Any fear I might have felt was probably overshadowed by my anger.

Now that Claus was pointing his sword at me, surely no one could fault me for returning the favor?

After justifying my next move to myself, I grabbed my own sword—a mock, wooden one—from its place at my side and struck the flat of Claus’s sword.

Steel versus wood... This ought to be interesting.

If you were judging by swords alone, then I was clearly at a disadvantage. But as long as I kept striking with the flat like this, I had a fighting chance.

Ironically, this was a chance to put to use the skills I’d built through the grueling training that had taken up my entire childhood.

“What’s this? You really want to fight?” Claus taunted, sniggering. “Fine. Come at me!”

Unable to hide his fury that I dared to fight back after all his jeering, Claus faltered on his feet.

His defense was as shaky as his balance. His sword shook unsteadily as he swung it, leaving him wide open for an attack from any angle.

I landed a heavy blow to his right hand, which seemed to radiate up his wrist and all the way to the other side of his torso.

He buckled—presumably from the pain—doubling over to his right, and I immediately took that opportunity to strike his left shoulder and stab his unguarded chest with all the force I could muster. He tumbled backward, as if his feet had lost all traction.

It was a perfect hit. I knew that the force of being struck in the chest like that would probably knock the air right out of him.

I looked down at him as he lay on the floor, motionless. Feeling the bile rising in my throat, I grabbed my bag and made to leave, when...

“H-Hey! I’m not finished with you yet!”

I turned around to see him clutching at his chest, his face contorted in a look of agony. Despite the pain he must have been in, he stood up, ready to continue.

But there was no point in dragging this out.

“We’re done here,” I said. “You really ticked me off, but I’ve no interest in kicking a man when he’s down.”

“Shut up! I’ll kill you!” Claus wheezed out a yell.

The moment the words left his mouth, a strange light began to emanate from his sword. It would be hard to describe what it looked like, exactly, but suffice to say that it clearly held tremendous power.

As soon as the light engulfed his blade, Claus regarded me with a vicious smirk.

“You’re dead. Sacred slash!”

He swung his sword horizontally, and a flash of light suddenly flew at me.

I’d never seen power like that before in my entire life. I fell backward onto my rear, unable to stand. In fact, I couldn’t move at all.

I must be dead.

It took me only a fraction of a second to realize that, but the beam of light moved so fast that I couldn’t even follow it with my eyes as it whizzed right over my head, just barely missing me. It obliterated the room behind me into smithereens, transforming it into nothing more than a breezeway, and vanished into the distance.

I felt a strong wind at my back, channeled by the breezeway, as I broke out into a full-on cold sweat, chilling my body to the core.

My heart was pounding in my chest louder than ever before, including during the most strenuous periods of my training. I could’ve sworn it might leap right out of my mouth.

“Tch! Guess you falling on your ass made me miss. This power is too strong for me to master my control of it yet. But I won’t miss again, mark my words,” Claus said, sounding deeply disappointed, as he resumed his previous stance.

I... I can’t do this. There’s no way I can withstand an attack like that.

I was painfully aware that all of the swordsmanship and combat training that had been drilled into me would be useless against him. I was no match for his overwhelmingly powerful sacred slash.

My whole body began to shake violently, filled with fear at the prospect of facing a foe as merciless as Claus.

I’ll die if I stay here, I thought as I scrambled to get away. I knew I had only one viable escape route, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

I was too paralyzed with fear to move normally, so I just thrust my entire body toward the stairs with enough momentum to tumble down them toward the front door. Knowing that it was the only way to escape with my life made the pain a bit more bearable, at least.

As soon as I began rolling down the stairs, Claus unleashed his second strike from the upper landing. The sound of the impact filled my ears, followed by the thumping of his footsteps as he ran down after me.

I felt like an absolute coward for running away like this, but I had no choice if I didn’t want to die here.

After what had happened here today, it seemed like a safe assumption that I wouldn’t ever be coming back. So, on my way out the front hall, I grabbed anything I could get my hands on that looked like it might be worth something and shoved it into my bag. Then I fled the home that I’d lived in my entire life, never to return.

I had nowhere to go, but I just kept running. I had to get away from Claus.

Once I’d run past the borders of Dezhil, my beloved hometown, I made a break for the nearby Patia Forest. I finally stopped when I reached a small spring not far past the edge of the tree line and slumped down onto the soft dirt.

My heart was beating so fast that I thought it might burst. I couldn’t help but fear that Claus might still be chasing me, but it seemed I’d managed to shake him off.

It was strange, though... I was basically a sitting duck with these injuries, so I was sure he would’ve caught up to me.

Then again, I suppose I outclassed him in terms of sheer physical capabilities. Just like I’d trounced him at the start of our face-off, when we were relying solely on our swordsmanship skills, I probably was able to outrun him too.

Still... That didn’t change the fact that my whole body hurt like hell.

I hadn’t felt the full brunt of it earlier because I’d been so focused on running away, but now that I had a moment to sit down and take a breath, the pain was starting to hit me. Everywhere I’d struck on my way down the stairs was now aching really, really badly.

When I assessed the damage, I found countless swollen bruises across my entire body. My right wrist was especially red and puffy.

Things were really not looking good for me. I’d just been chased out of my home, with nowhere to go, and now I was nursing some nasty bruises. I could sit here and catch my breath for a while, but I really needed to figure out what my next move was going to be.

Realistically, there was a good chance my family would send out a call for my arrest after the flagrant theft I’d committed on my way out. With that in mind, I’d have to be careful leaving the forest.

I’ll probably have to hide here until everything blows over...

“Please tell me I put some food in here,” I said, rummaging around in my bag.

It quickly became apparent that my fervent wish was in vain. I’d packed a few personal items, as well as the accessories and the pocket watch that I’d stolen from my mother and father, respectively. Other than that, all I had was a nearly empty waterskin and what could have been generously called a “handful” of beef jerky. Honestly, I could have probably finished what was in there in one sitting.

I’m not gonna last more than a week here like this, I thought in dismay.

If not for my injuries, I could have probably hunted some of the wildlife and monsters in the forest for food...but there was no way I’d be doing any hunting in my current state.

Despair was quickly sinking in. I even briefly entertained the idea of turning back around and begging my family for forgiveness. As soon as the thought came to me, though, I thought back to the ruthless stream of abuse my father had hurled at me after the ceremony, and how he’d kicked me out without a second thought. Hell, he’d even let my brother beat me to a pulp on my way out.

I pictured Claus’s face when he’d lashed out at me, taking out all his anger at our father for ignoring him his entire childhood on me. Unreasonable as it was, he’d been seriously prepared to kill me.

Going back home wouldn’t do me any good. At best, I’d get handed over to a guard, and at worst, Claus might kill me. I couldn’t fold here. I wasn’t about to let my father—or Claus—win this fight.

“I have to live...no matter what.”

Determined, I tore off the sleeve of my shirt and used it to make a crude splint with a stick I’d picked up, wrapping it tightly around one of my injured joints to keep it straight.

I was still in no shape to fight any monsters, but now I could walk, at least.

I needed something to eat, so my first order of business was finding something that looked reasonably edible. Back at the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony, I’d assumed that I’d probably go my whole life without ever finding a need for my useless poison resistance skill...but now it was going to come in handy. I could probably eat whatever I wanted without worrying about any toxic effects.

Its usefulness might have been limited to wilderness survival, but at least here in the woods, I would be able to get a lot out of it. It didn’t matter that this was probably all it’d be good for, because right now, survival was the only priority.

As I steeled myself to spend several weeks in Patia Forest, I readied myself for a long journey. Growing up, I’d never been allowed past the periphery of the forest. But if I was going to find a suitable campsite to sustain me in the long run, I knew I’d need to venture deeper into the woods. So, off I went.

I spent several hours on foot, constantly surveying my surroundings to make sure that I wasn’t at risk of running into any monsters. The woods grew gradually more and more dense until the tree cover blocked out so much sunlight, it might as well have been night.

I’d trawled the woods with my father many times in our hunting outings, but I’d never gone this deep into them before.

The deeper I got, the fewer signs of life there were—not just of monsters but of normal animals too. The sound of my footsteps and rustling leaves were all that filled the silence of the dense woods.

An oddly desolate, eerie mood pervaded the forest here. I felt a chill run down my spine, but the fear that gripped me felt entirely different from the fear I felt in the face of monsters. Still, I kept going.

Finally, I came across a promising spot for a campsite beneath a cliff. Well, technically, it was more like two large boulders. There was a space between them that looked like a perfect shelter.

The boulders were overlapping, forming something like a roof. The entrance to the little hollow beneath them was only wide enough to fit three of me, so there would be no risk of finding myself surrounded by predators. Larger monsters wouldn’t even be able to reach the hollow in the first place.

It also offered a strong defense against the elements. I’d be safe here from the wind and the rain.

The only concerns I had were the overgrowth of moss and the hordes of disgusting-looking bugs that had claimed the hollow, but even those weren’t really a big deal.

I didn’t want to waste any time in making my new shelter hospitable, so I quickly set about clearing the moss and exterminating the many-legged bugs. My next task was to stabilize the muddy ground. After gathering up some sticks and leaves and blanketing the mud with them, my simple shelter was complete.

All that was left to do now was wait for the time to pass...

Unfortunately, though, even doing nothing makes a person hungry.

To make matters worse, I hadn’t had breakfast this morning. I’d also had to fend off Claus in an adrenaline-fueled fight which almost ended in him killing me, after which I’d made an escape deep into Patia Forest, wounded and exhausted.

I’d never been this low on energy before in my entire life. I was so hungry that even the sight of my disgusting centipede neighbors was making my mouth water. But I wanted to leave them as a last resort food source, and besides, I had to relieve myself, so I figured I might as well use the opportunity to gather some plants to eat instead.

I left my simple shelter and grabbed some nearby vegetation, shoving it immediately into my mouth.

The first plant I ate bore an uncanny resemblance to a human face, with two white flowers wrapped in vibrant red leaves. Initially, it tasted sweet, but the second the flowers touched my tongue, their acrid taste assaulted my senses.

The stark contrast between the slight sweetness of the leaves and the intense bitterness of the flowers only amplified the latter’s harsh flavor. My body fought against me, protesting my attempts to swallow, but I forced myself to gulp it down.

Whew...

All I’d done was eat a small handful of forest vegetation, but it had really taken it out of me.

I decided to lay off the countless human-faced flowers that covered the ground in front of me for now, opting instead to try my luck with some plants that had small, dainty purple flowers.

Unlike the creepy first flowers, these purple ones looked pretty inviting. But unfortunately, they were every bit as astringent and bitter.

I managed to choke them down too, along with the harsh reality of my circumstances. It was becoming clear to me that I couldn’t just ingest the forest’s vegetation raw like this. Toxic or not, they were inedible.

But since my stomach was completely empty, I forced myself to eat the plants anyway for the nutrition. I foraged a number of suspicious, poisonous-looking mushrooms to shove into my mouth too.

Aside from the human-faced flowers, most of the suspicious-looking plants I encountered actually turned out to be surprisingly edible. Once I’d found which plants tasted best, I ignored their unappetizing appearances and set about harvesting as many as I could, shoving them into my bag until it was bursting with greenery.

Once I got back to my shelter, I took them out of my bag and found a spot to store them.

The next step was to get some water. I needed to rehydrate and fill up my waterskin for later.

While I was gathering the plants, I’d also done some scouting for any nearby creeks or streams, but the most promising water source I’d managed to find was a shallow, muddy puddle.

I hadn’t spotted any other sources of water since I’d left the spring at the edge of the forest, so that left me with only two options: I could either walk all the way back to the spring, or I could drink from the muddy puddle.

The spring was certainly the more palatable option, even if it would take a while to reach it. But just as I was seriously considering making the trek, I realized I didn’t even know how to get there.

I’d been so desperate to escape from reality that all I’d been able to think about was running deeper and deeper into the forest. Now, I had no idea how to return. I was basically stranded here.

Guess I’ll just have to slurp up that muddy water, then...

Just like with the plants, my poison resistance would probably ensure that I didn’t suffer any physical consequences from contaminated water, but I couldn’t help recoiling at the thought of how it was going to taste.

I wondered if I could sustain myself with the water I’d have ingested from the plants, but I knew, realistically, that it wouldn’t be enough to stay hydrated. If I didn’t drink from that muddy puddle, I would probably doom myself to death by dehydration.

I headed over to the puddle, bracing myself. Cupping both hands, I scooped up some water and poured it down my throat.

The stench and putrid taste were exactly what you’d expect from the murky black water. Bits of grit clung to my tongue. I was on the verge of throwing it all right back up, but I forced myself to keep drinking.

No real food...and no water fit for drinking either.

As I took in the full wretchedness of my situation, I felt bitter tears prickling at the corners of my eyes. But, as awful as this was, I’d already made up my mind to do whatever it took to survive.

I won’t rest until I’ve had my revenge. Claus and my father will pay.

Spurred solely by the force of that resolve, I stood up again, wiped my mouth, and returned to my shelter.

Several days had passed since I’d entered the forest and set up camp.

I tried my best to drink rainwater whenever possible, but when that wasn’t enough, I hydrated myself with the muddy puddle water. For food, I’d been subsisting on plants and bugs.

Yesterday, though, I’d actually managed to find some kind of meat in the woods.

It had spoiled to the point that it was impossible to tell where it had come from or what it was, but after eating nothing but bugs and plants for days, it looked like a real feast.

Although I wouldn’t have ever dreamed of touching the stuff before I’d entered these woods, I picked the rotting meat up as if it were some priceless treasure and carried it back to camp with me.

It smelled absolutely awful, but I had a feeling that roasting it with some herbs might fix that. Excited, I experimented a bit to see which herbs might complement the meat best. In the end, I wound up with what was probably the best meal I could cook, given the circumstances.

I was under no illusions that, objectively speaking, this meat wasn’t the worst I’d ever had in my life. But right now, after all I’d been through, it tasted like a sumptuous delicacy.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I savored the taste of my rotten herb roast. Full for the first time in days, I managed to push past the urge to indulge in a food coma and set out again in search of my next meal.

The lack of wild animals in the woods was a blessing in some ways, in that I didn’t need to worry much about being attacked, but it did make scouting for food a whole lot harder. It felt pretty inefficient having to spend an entire day in search of one day’s rations, but that was my life now.

Fortunately, some of the plants I’d been eating must have had some sort of medicinal effect, because the wounds from my fight with Claus had almost completely healed. I’d even managed to make a crude axe out of a broken rock, which I fastened to a tree branch. I was itching to start hunting some wild animals or monsters.

Sometimes I’d stop in my tracks and stay very still, trying to discern if there might be any signs of life nearby, but all I could ever hear was the sound of leaves rustling or the warbling of small birds.

Man, I sure was lucky to come across that meat the other day... Rotten or not, that was a rare find, I thought as I set off to procure the day’s meals.

Suddenly, I heard the sound of something—or someone—pushing its way through the brush. It was coming from the east, and whatever it was, it was different from anything I’d heard before.

All this time, I’d been on high alert as I walked through the forest, always keeping an eye out for predators. But now, finally, the perfect prey had presented itself to me.

There was just one issue: I could tell from the sounds it was making that it was big. Now that I’d had a taste of meat again, though, I couldn’t restrain myself. Whatever it was, I had to pursue it.

I ran as fast as I could in the direction the sound had come from, desperate to find my prey before it escaped. I followed every trace it had left, calling on all five of my senses to track it down. I’d never been so focused before in my entire life.

I started by zeroing in on the vegetation that had been disturbed. Then I noticed the faint footprints it had left. I picked up on a whiff of some gamey, beast-like scent and seized upon it, at last catching up to my quarry and fixing it in my sight.

The prey I’d been following turned out to be none other than the most stereotypically dangerous monster of all: an orc.

I’d only ever seen an orc once before now, but this orc looked even bigger.

Maybe it owed its large size to growing up in the forest without any natural predators to worry about...or maybe it just looked big because I was sizing it up with the intention of fighting it.

Either way, one thing was certain: It was definitely dangerous.

The time I’d witnessed an orc as a kid, my father had faced and felled the monster alone. But despite him being blessed with a seasoned swordsman affinity and never skipping his daily training, the orc had still been formidable enough to give him some trouble.

When we sparred without the use of special skills, I managed to hold my own pretty well in matches against my father, so if this orc was similarly strong to the one he had fought, I figured we’d probably be a pretty even match.

It wasn’t only a matter of ability, though. Taking into consideration my shoddy equipment, I knew that trying to take on the orc was an insanely bad idea. But right now...all I could think about was how good he’d taste roasted over a fire.

I hesitated for only a moment before fully committing to making a meal of him.

Once I’d made up my mind, I began to close in as quietly as possible so that I could get a blow in before he noticed me.

The moment I felt I was close enough to make my move, I burst into a sprint, lifting my axe above my head to swing down over him.

But he sensed me behind him at the very last second, rolling to the ground to dodge my blow.

Well... There goes the element of surprise.

After successfully avoiding my swing, the orc momentarily looked like he was considering making a run for it. The moment he saw how much smaller I was compared to him, though, he flashed an ugly smile and began to tromp over to me.

Our positions were completely reversed now: The hunter had become the hunted. But I didn’t feel even a trace of fear. Even now, when I looked at the orc, all I could see was a tasty meal just waiting to be seasoned with some herbs.

Thank God he didn’t flee, I thought. Now...how do I fell this monster?

The orc had the upper hand when it came to size and physical strength, but our close quarters put him at a significant disadvantage. It wasn’t going to be easy for him to maneuver through the dense trees that surrounded us.

Plus, if I could use the trees to shield myself from his attacks and the foliage to vanish from his field of sight, then I actually had a pretty good chance of beating him.

As the orc closed in on me, I stuck to my plan and hid behind a tree, waiting for an opening to attack. He swung his club at me, but I weaved through the trees to avoid him and fortified my guard.

Our close-quarters dance of offense and defense was playing out exactly the way I’d expected it to. The dense trees severely restricted the orc’s movements, making it difficult for him to even swing his club.

I kept it up, waiting until the perfect opportunity to launch an attack of my own, then leaped out from the trees with my weapon aloft.

Startled to see me suddenly standing there right in front of him, the orc wasted no time brandishing his club for a blow, but just before he swung it down on me, I rolled into a dodge.

He chased after me, raising his club above his head again and again, but before the orc could land a hit on me, his club hit a tree instead.

The blow was so forceful that splinters exploded from the tree as the club bounced back in a recoil, jolting the orc. It must have really shaken it, because the orc just stood there for a moment, trembling and terrified. Seizing my chance, I gripped my axe and sprang at him.

Focus on speed. I’ll just chip away at him little by little to slow him down.

That was my mantra as I lifted my axe and struck his back, cleaving a deep gash in his skin.

The orc’s anguished cry echoed throughout the forest. My axe was destroyed. It was like it had shattered from the blade down, and I was left holding nothing more than a wooden rod in my hands.

I was so startled from this unexpected casualty that I felt my heart threaten to leap out my throat. I couldn’t believe I’d just lost my weapon. Fortunately, though, as the orc was left twitching on the ground, he didn’t seem to be at any risk of rallying again.

I was so stunned by this unexpected turn that I just stood there for a while, frozen, as I gripped what was left of my axe tightly.

Did I miscalculate how forceful that hit was? Did I kill him?

I stared at the fallen orc in astonishment, trying to make sense of it all. But the postmortem could wait; right now, the priority was dealing with the body.

The orc was lying face down in the dirt, so I carefully rolled him over, ever vigilant for any signs that he might just be playing dead. As soon as he was face up, his vacant eyes fixed on me in a limp glare.

While the deep gash on his back had rendered him immobile, it apparently hadn’t killed him.

I didn’t let myself be startled by that fact; instead, my mind immediately turned to the question of how to fix it.

I lifted the wooden rod—formerly known as my axe—above my head. Then, hoping to put him out of his misery as quickly as possible, I aimed a final strike at the crown of his head.

The force of my hit crushed his skull, smashing the rod into smithereens with it.

I was shocked that what had been left of my axe was now completely destroyed too, but I didn’t have time to think about that. I needed to focus on getting the orc’s body back to camp.

Thanks to my poison resistance, it wouldn’t really be an issue if the meat spoiled. Still...after stealing the orc’s life, I figured that I at least owed it to him to enjoy the meal he’d make as much as possible. It was only polite.

I didn’t have any tools left that I could use to field dress the body, so I had to just peel his skin off with my bare hands from the gash I’d carved in his back, trying not to touch the stiff, needlelike fur.

After peeling away the skin from his back to his hips, I carefully removed his internal organs. I handled them delicately, trying not to squish or break them. Once I’d removed everything, my dissection was complete.

The whole process probably would have gone a lot smoother (and would have been a whole lot cleaner) if there’d been a river nearby. Unfortunately, though, there was hardly even a puddle in sight, so I just had to endure the mess.

As soon as I’d finished with the dissection, I started thinking about how I could bring the body back to camp with me. Even though the orc’s head was smashed, and I’d removed all his organs, he was still several times my size. I didn’t even want to think about how heavy he’d be to carry.

I considered dismembering him to make the task easier, but I had a feeling that that might actually backfire on me. It seemed decently likely that, the smaller the pieces I divided him into, the more awkward it would become to handle. Besides, I didn’t even have my axe anymore to do that anyway.

It was going to be pretty tough work, but I didn’t see any real alternative to carrying him on my back.

Bracing myself for the slog back to my shelter, I buried all of the organs I couldn’t carry back with me in the ground and hoisted the orc carcass onto my back, piggyback style.

Unsurprisingly, I found myself bending forward from the weight. He was heavy, all right...but he was actually not nearly as heavy as I’d expected.

I might have been absolutely covered in orc blood, but once I found my balance, I was able to walk pretty normally. Still, I was careful to watch my step. I didn’t want to stumble when I had a giant orc on my back.

It took a lot longer to get back to camp than it would have under normal circumstances, but I made it eventually.

Since I didn’t have anywhere to wash off, I absolutely reeked of blood. But when I thought about the giant supply of fresh meat I had, I didn’t care at all.

It was time to start dividing the meat. I fashioned a simple knife by banging two rocks together and set about the long, slow task. It was a real undertaking, thanks in part to the orc’s massive size. That wasn’t the only thing slowing me down, though. I couldn’t rush it without risking causing damage to my knife.

It had been morning when I’d killed the orc, but by the time I’d finished cleanly dividing all of the meat, it was completely dark. The orc’s blood that covered my body had dried up and crusted.

It was completely worth it to have all this meat, though.

I set aside enough for dinner tonight and meals for tomorrow. The rest, I would dry and preserve for later. Once I’d figured out a way to hang the meat so the bugs couldn’t get to it, I was satisfied that I’d done all I needed to.

Whew...

It had been a grueling day. I’d fought an orc at least twice my size and had lugged him all the way back to camp, where I’d spent several hours butchering him and figuring out what to do with the meat. But I knew that the massive effort it had taken was sure to pay off.

My stomach let out a pitiful growl. I was itching to eat the orc meat I’d just procured, but I wanted to wash off all the pungent blood covering my clothes and skin first.

Exhausted, I made my way down the dark road until I reached the muddy puddle. Instead of plunging directly into it, I scooped up little handfuls of water to splash the blood off. It was tedious, but that was the only way I could think of to avoid contaminating the water with it.

Once I’d sufficiently rinsed myself off, I drank some water to rehydrate and returned to my shelter.

I can’t wait to finally have some fresh meat.

Despite their beast-like appearance, orcs were still humanoid monsters, so it was kind of taboo to eat them. But given the circumstances, I didn’t really care.

I grabbed the meat that I’d set aside for tonight and skewered it on a stick. Then I set it up over the fire for a slow roast.

Unlike the rotten meat I’d cooked before, there were no putrid odors. The only smell that wafted throughout my camp as it cooked was the savory smell of bona fide fresh meat.

My stomach immediately reacted, growling aggressively, but I waited patiently until the meat was cooked through. When it was roasted to perfection, I brought the skewer to my mouth and sank my teeth into the fatty meat.

“This is...heavenly...”

An explosion of flavor and juices filled my mouth with every bite. It was almost dangerously delicious, sending an intense—you could even say violent—rush to my head.

Thank God I persevered and survived. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on life, I thought, from the bottom of my heart. That was how sublime this meat was.

Now that I’d had a taste, I was insatiable. I pushed more and more meat onto the skewer and roasted it over the fire. By the time I was finished, I’d even wolfed down the portion I’d set aside for tomorrow. I’d fully intended to try out all different kinds of cooking methods, but I was so lost in my meal that I just kept refilling my skewer without a second thought.

Once I’d finished eating, I lay down right then and there. I was full, exhausted, and eternally grateful to that orc for providing such a nice meal.

I felt like I might drift straight off to sleep, but before I did, I found myself replaying the fight from this morning in my head, conjuring an image of the deep gash I’d cleaved in the orc’s back with my axe. I still couldn’t believe that my one hit had been enough to do him in.

I’d dissected him with my own bare hands, so I knew how stiff his fur was, how thick his skin was, and how impenetrable the heavy layer of fat underneath it was. And that was to say nothing of the muscles that had protected his organs like armor.

I had a pretty good sense of my capabilities. Even if I had somehow landed the perfect blow on him, it should have been impossible for me to take him out with just that. Realistically, I shouldn’t have been able to bash his head in like that or to haul his body—which weighed a ton—back to camp with me either.

That is...unless I’d recently grown much, much stronger in an insanely short amount of time.

The only way I could imagine that happening was if my blessing from the ceremony had bestowed me with some kind of extraordinary strength. Even a low-tier farmer affinity would come with a bit of a power-up, I knew, but still... Surely it couldn’t have made me that much more powerful?

For that to be true, I would have had to have gotten way more of a power-up than my father had received from his seasoned swordsman affinity, and that just didn’t make sense.

Maybe I’d grown stronger after getting pummeled so thoroughly in my fight against Claus? Just like with muscle growth, being pushed to the breaking point like that must have made me come back even stronger. Honestly, that was probably the most plausible explanation.

It was still weird that I would have gotten this much stronger so quickly, but I really couldn’t think of any alternative explanations that would have explained it better.

Whatever had caused this growth, though, I certainly wasn’t about to complain. It was pretty handy to be powerful enough to take down an orc single-handedly.

And, now that I’d proven that I could survive out here in Patia Forest, all that was left to do was wait for some time to pass.

There were still plenty of puzzle pieces that weren’t quite fitting together for me, but I forced myself to leave them be for now. I let the sounds of the forest wash over me and drifted into a deep sleep.

***

I’d been living in the woods now for roughly a month.

I still hadn’t ventured outside of the forest at all. This whole time, I’d been camping out at the same shelter I’d found when I’d first arrived.

I’d originally planned to stay here for around a week at most, but the orc meat had lasted me a lot longer than expected. It had taken about a month to eat all of the jerky I’d made from the portions I’d dried and preserved.

If I’d been living my usual carefree life back in Dezhil, I probably would have discarded whatever meat I couldn’t eat right away and left the forest long ago. But that life was long gone now...

Now I knew the pain of going hungry. Besides, even if that orc was a monster, I’d killed him all because I wanted something tasty to eat. It didn’t feel right to let any of his meat go to waste.

Life in the forest had been pretty rough at first, but honestly, things had gotten a lot more comfortable ever since I’d procured that orc meat. I wasn’t really in any hurry to leave.

The one-week timeline had been my estimate (and a worst-case scenario one, at that), but that didn’t mean that I was bound to that time frame. There was no real reason I had to be out in exactly seven days.

I’d actually grown a lot during my time here—not just physically, but mentally too. It was pretty eye-opening to learn that I could survive here in the woods, where there was practically nothing. The whole experience had given me a new sense of self-confidence.

I was getting so used to my new lifestyle, in fact, that I would have almost been content to stay here in Patia Forest for a few more months. But now that I’d run out of orc meat, I wasn’t especially thrilled at the prospect of eating bitter plants for every meal again.

Besides, now that the fuss had probably died down, I was eager to leave the forest and head back to civilization. I could handle a sword better than most, so I figured I’d probably be able to eke out a living as an adventurer.

My plan, for now, was to keep surviving, keep training, keep getting stronger. Then, one day, I’d show Claus and my father exactly what I was made of. That was my ultimate goal.

Considering that I was up against a sword god, it was a pretty lofty goal—but that was exactly what I needed. Without something big and bold to aspire to, I felt like I’d wind up wallowing in the heartbreak of being driven out by my one and only family.

Feeling fired up, I gave my cheeks a firm slap to get me going. I dismantled my shelter, returning the hollow to the state it had been in when I’d first arrived, and packed my few belongings into my small bag. Then I hung my waterskin, which was full of rainwater I’d gathered, and what little was left of the orc jerky on my belt.

I turned around to face the little hollow that had been my shelter for this past month, protecting me from the elements, and bowed deeply in thanks. As I began my journey out of the woods, a pang of sadness hit me. I was kind of going to miss this place.

After leaving the hollow, I walked for about half a day. I got lost at several points along the way, but I finally made my way back to the pristine spring I’d encountered on my first day in the woods.

I’d been able to store up some water to drink when it rained, so I hadn’t had to rely solely on that muddy puddle, but this spring was technically the first real source of clean water I’d encountered in a whole month.

I’d gone most of my life taking clean drinking water for granted, so I would have never anticipated that the taste of it would move me so much.

I dunked my whole head into the spring, taking in such massive gulps that I honestly could have drowned. There was no grit, no impurities... It was just pure, clean, delicious spring water.

Once my stomach was fit to bursting, I stripped until I was completely naked and ready for a bath.

During my monthlong stay at the hollow, I’d occasionally found soft leaves to wet and wipe my body down with, but that was hardly a proper wash. If one thing was clear, it was that my hygiene had been severely neglected.

I hesitated to contaminate the spring with all the grime that was caked on me, but I couldn’t exactly waltz into town looking like this. So, immersing myself slowly in the water, I set about desperately scrubbing off the month’s worth of filth that had accumulated on my skin.

As soon as I finished bathing, I grabbed my clothes, ready to give them a wash next. But as I held them in my hands, I realized for the first time how worn and tattered they’d become. They were in such a sorry state that calling them “clothes” was a bit of a stretch at this point.

I’d had a feeling that they must have had some holes, since I was used to feeling the wind directly on my skin in several places, but I’d had no idea they were this bad. Honestly, the integrity of my clothes just hadn’t been at the top of my priority list.

Yeah... I can’t leave the forest looking like this, I thought.

I considered what to do as I dunked them in the stream and came up with an idea: I could repurpose the orc leather I’d fashioned into a waterskin. I could unfold it, spreading it back into its original shape, then tie the leather around my waist to cover my tattered pants.

I knew it probably wouldn’t be a great look, but it had to be better than being mistaken for a flasher, at least.

If only I’d been able to bring a change of clothes from home, I thought. Oh well...

I regretted that I’d only grabbed some of my parents’ accessories to take with me. They hadn’t been any help at all to me this past month.

As I stewed on my regrets, I tied the leather around my waist and exited the trees, leaving Patia Forest behind me.

Chapter 2: Realzahd

After leaving the forest, I walked down the highway single-mindedly until I reached Realzahd, a city neighboring the royal capital.

It really wasn’t all that far away from Dezhil, but taking into account the month I’d spent in the forest, it felt like I’d come a long way.

Owing partly to its proximity to the capital, Realzahd was a prosperous, bustling city. That made it the perfect hiding spot, since I could easily blend in among the crowds. Plus, Claus probably would have been summoned to the royal capital after getting an advanced affinity like “sword god.” Here in Realzahd, I’d be able to keep tabs on his whereabouts from a safe distance.

I hadn’t pinned down the details of my plan yet, but as long as I could ensure my safety here, Realzahd seemed like an ideal base.

A line had formed outside the city gate, so I took my place at the back and waited for my turn at the gate inspection.

Dezhil had a gate too, but people were free to come and go as they pleased, so this would be the first time in my life that I’d ever had to go through security at the gate like this.

I’d heard that Realzahd was only about a fourth of the royal capital’s size. Honestly, though, it looked plenty big to me. And, judging by the number of people who were lining up and subjecting themselves to a gate inspection all to enter the city, it was clearly flourishing. I actually couldn’t imagine a city four times bigger than this.

I tried to make myself as small and unnoticeable as possible while I waited, embarrassed by my tattered clothes. I hadn’t anticipated that the crowds would be this big. Finally, though, it was my turn to go through inspection.

My heart pounded in my chest as they examined my bag and checked my identity documents. Not only was I dressed like a weirdo, I was a fugitive. After patting me down, the guard gave me a suspicious look, but since I wasn’t carrying anything dangerous (not even a sword), he let me through the gates without any issues.

It was very much a cursory inspection, probably owing to the fact that there were just so many people to get through. But if the crowds had been thinner, and the guards had had more time on their hands, things might have gone very differently for me. I was probably lucky that I’d arrived when I did.

It left me with a weird feeling—like I’d crossed a bridge on the verge of collapse without even realizing it. But as long as I’d gotten into Realzahd, that was really all that mattered.

The city was magnificent. The first sight that welcomed me when I passed through the gates was a gigantic fountain. The roads were perfectly paved, without any holes or chips that exposed the bare dirt underneath, and everywhere I looked, there were streetlamps. All the buildings looked brand-new, and the alleyways were spotless. It was a truly astonishing sight.

Dezhil, the town I’d grown up in, was certainly no Podunk village in the middle of nowhere, but Realzahd was on a whole different level.

As I looked around me, taking in the splendor of the city, I made my way toward the bustling commercial district.

All I’d eaten so far today was orc jerky, so I was hungry and eager to find food. I knew I’d need to find somewhere to stay the night as soon as possible too. Once those tasks were taken care of, new clothes and a new weapon were my next priorities. I’d made do with a handmade weapon in the woods, but I really needed to replace the wooden sword that Claus had broken during our fight.

And for all of those things...I’d need some money. Unfortunately, at present, my entire life savings consisted of three silver coins and a few dozen coppers. It was probably enough to afford a new set of clothes, dinner, and a place to sleep for tonight, but that didn’t fill me with much confidence for the future.

My plan was to make some money as an adventurer, but there was no guarantee of any income in the short term.

I glanced down at my small bag and double-checked that the trinkets I’d stolen were still inside. Sure enough, there they were: my mom’s accessories and my dad’s pocket watch.

I’d taken them in a fit of emotion, so overwhelmed by all the complicated feelings swirling inside me that I hadn’t even stopped to think about what I was doing. I didn’t want to sell off stolen goods except as a last resort, but things were looking pretty dire. It felt like I had little choice if I wanted to survive.

Having made up my mind, I decided to start by looking around for a good shop to try and sell them to.

After walking up and down the commercial district’s main street a few times, I only found a single shop that looked promising: the Golden Pawn. It was a large secondhand shop that looked like it was run by a major company, and it occupied the best spot on the main street.

It looked pretty fancy from the outside, with several customers going in and out of the building. Glancing at it from a distance, I could tell that it sold all kinds of different items—including secondhand ones, which meant it was probably safe to assume that it bought them too. Plus, if it was indeed run by a major company, then they weren’t likely to try to rip me off with a lowball offer.

All in all, it seemed like the perfect place. I hesitated for a moment when I looked up at its fancy exterior, but after working up the nerve, I headed inside to do some negotiating.

“Dammit... Should’ve known they’d be fussy,” I grumbled to myself, frustrated.

I’d just left the Golden Pawn in disgrace after a miserably failed attempt at pawning my things.

Everything had been going just fine when they thought I’d been there to buy, but my luck took a turn for the worse when I told the store attendant I had some items to sell as well. He led me into a separate room to meet the store’s appraiser—who was clearly a much higher-ranking employee.

The moment I saw him, I knew I was in trouble. He took one look at my scruffy hair and tattered clothes and snorted a mean-spirited laugh.

I was irritated by how rude he was being, but I still did my best to sound polite and humble as I requested to sell my things to him. He didn’t even so much as look at what I had to offer. All he said to me was “Not a chance, kid,” and “Try the backstreets.”

With that, I was kicked out of the shop.

I was a little pissed about how I’d been treated, but when I heard the front-of-store staff I’d originally spoken to getting an earful from the appraiser, my anger drained away.

Damn... I thought that would be the perfect place, but I guess it was a bust, I thought as I walked away from the Golden Pawn. No, who am I kidding? There aren’t many establishments out there that would trust a guy looking as ratty as I do right now. The store isn’t the problem... It’s me.

I found myself with some slight regrets, wishing I’d tidied up a bit before trying to pawn off my parents’ trinkets. The spring in my step that had been there when I’d first entered Realzahd’s gates was long gone now, replaced with a reluctant trudge as I exited the city’s bustling main street.

My new destination was the appraiser’s recommendation: the backstreets.

I’d caught glimpses of the backstreets from a distance earlier when I’d been walking up and down the main street. The commercial district was already near the southern end of the city, but if you went even farther south, you’d run into a filthy-looking tent bazaar that seemed wholly out of place in the sparkling clean city of Realzahd.

Honestly, I would have been a lot more comfortable settling my affairs on the main street...but if they were going to turn away my business, then the backstreets would have to do.

Beggars can’t be choosers...

As I looked around once more for a store that might take my items, I noticed that the clientele in this area was completely different from the shoppers on the main street.

Hmm...

My search would have been a whole lot easier if the shops here were stalls where you could easily see their wares; unfortunately, though, the street was filled mostly with nondescript tents that gave no indication of what they might be trading.

If only they’d put a sign out front or something... I really don’t want to have to peek in the tents to see what they’re selling, I thought, paralyzed with indecision about what to do next.

Just then, I felt someone tug on my shirt from behind.

I turned around to see a kid standing a bit shorter than me and looking every bit as shabby.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?” I asked. “Are you lost?”

The kid was wearing a cloak with a hood drawn low over their eyes, so I couldn’t see their expression, but from the way they were tugging so adamantly on my sleeve, I had to suspect they were in some kind of trouble.

But just as I was about to bend down to talk to the kid—

“Hey! Ow! What’re you doing?!”

—they threw something that they must have had clenched in their fist straight at my face. Suddenly, all I could see was red.

Now that I was caught off guard, the kid seized their opening and snatched my small bag from me with the ease of a seasoned pickpocket. For their final blow, they kicked me in the chest with as much force as they could muster and ran off.

The kick was actually pretty weak, but since I’d been bending down when the kid’s foot hit my chest, I lost my balance and stumbled, whacking my head on the ground.

Crap...

I couldn’t let someone steal all the stuff I’d already stolen. My entire savings—and my only lifeline, in the form of the trinkets I intended to sell—were in that bag.

I immediately splashed some water onto my face from my waterskin, washing off whatever the hell that red stuff was. Then I picked myself up off the ground and set off chasing after the kid.

They threaded through crowds of people to throw me off their trail as they ran, but I managed to catch a glimpse of them every time they were about to vanish from my sight. Thanks to the month I spent in Patia Forest, I’d developed a keener eye for small details.

I certainly hadn’t expected to be reflecting on my growth while chasing at full speed after some kid who’d stolen my stuff, but here we were.

The kid was making a pretty impressive escape. I could tell they had a lot of experience running through a crowd. When it came to overall physical capabilities, though, I had them severely outclassed.

I pushed through the people as I ran, and just as the kid was about to turn into an even deeper back alley, I grabbed them.

“Whew... Finally got you. You’ve got some nerve, taking advantage of people’s kindness like that.”

“Huh...? Hey! Let go of me!”

From the sound of her voice, I realized the kid I’d been dealing with was a girl.

Her voice trembled with panic as she shouted; she obviously hadn’t expected to be caught.

“Hey! Stop that! Put a lid on it, or I’ll smack you!” I threatened in the most menacing voice I could muster.

The girl clamped both of her hands over her mouth immediately, nodding her assent. As she did, I finally got a view of her face. She looked to be roughly my age—probably around fifteen years old or so.

I’d assumed from her short stature that she was just a kid, but now that I thought about it, she was actually about the average height for a young woman.

She had youthful, well-proportioned facial features. Her teary eyes almost made me feel like I was the villain here, but I knew better: She was the one who’d brought this whole mess on herself with her sticky fingers.

I wasn’t actually going to hurt her—I wasn’t the kind of guy who’d hit a kid—but I needed some leverage if I wanted to get the whole story from her. Now that she’d stopped yelling, I dragged her into the alley she’d tried to escape down earlier, away from any prying eyes.

“Well? Why were you trying to steal from me?” I asked, plopping her onto the ground and looking down at her.

Refusing to meet my gaze, the pale-red-haired girl mumbled something inaudible through the hands clasped over her mouth.

“How am I supposed to hear a word you’re saying when you’re covering your mouth like that?”

“B-But you said you’d smack me...”

“I will, if you don’t start talking.”

At this, she let out a little yelp.

“No particular reason. I mean, I guess...I did it to survive...?” she said, her voice still shaking. My attempt at intimidation seemed to have worked on her.

I get it. She must be barely scraping by if she’s out snatching bags on the street, I thought. But why steal from a guy in as rough shape as me, then?

I couldn’t help but wonder why she wasn’t out on the main street, targeting some wealthier-looking shopper instead.

To be fair, though, I’d probably looked like an easy target. I’d been trudging along the backstreets pretty pathetically after getting kicked out of the Golden Pawn. I must have had “poor sap” written all over me.

“So, you steal to survive, huh? You seemed like you knew what you were doing, so I’m guessing I wasn’t your first target. Don’t you have parents or a guardian to support you?”

“No.”

“What about friends, then?”

“N-No,” she said again quietly, after a noticeable pause.

She’d answered almost immediately when I’d asked about parents, but the second question had made her eyes dart around wildly.

Yeesh... She’s a terrible liar.

If she had some friends or accomplices who were in on her pickpocketing schemes, then I wanted to give them a talking-to too. So, I pressed her.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?”

“N... No.”

“Oh, come on. That was so unconvincing, you might as well have just said ‘I’m guilty,’” I said. “Look, you don’t have to tell me the truth...if you want me to take you straight to the guards and tell them what you did, that is.”

“N-No, don’t! Please, anything but that!” she cried.

I didn’t really want to cross paths with any guards myself, so I wasn’t actually serious, but it seemed to have been a pretty effective threat.

“Then stop lying and tell me the truth,” I demanded.

“Okay... I do have a friend. We live together in an abandoned house near here.”

“How many of you are there?”

“Just two of us, including me.”

“Right... So, you two are both pickpockets?”

“Y-Yes.”

I was still on guard for more lies, but I could tell from her response that she was probably telling the truth this time. So, did that mean that she and this housemate of hers had conspired to steal from me?

“And where is this housemate of yours now?” I asked. “Are they waiting nearby?”

In response, the girl slowly lifted her hand to point at a house farther down the alleyway.

I see... That must be their hideout, then. She must have thought she’d be safe if she could keep me off her tail until she made it there.

“All right. Take me there with you, then.” When I saw the look on her face, I added, “Don’t worry. As long as you don’t try to ambush me there or something, I won’t hurt you.”

“Y-You swear?”

“Yeah. I swear.”

Man... I can’t believe how much this has sidetracked me. I still have a lot of stuff I need to take care of today, I thought.

If the girl had been acting alone, I would have just made her promise to keep her sticky fingers away from me in the future and sent her on her merry way. But now that I knew she wasn’t acting alone, that wasn’t an option. I’d need to instill some fear in her conspirator too.

This detour had turned into a real pain in the butt, but I couldn’t afford to let it slide. I’d be up a creek if they tried to steal from me again.

The girl eyed me suspiciously, but she had no choice but to comply. So, reluctantly, she led me back to her hideout with her.

There was a real risk that I might get ambushed the second we entered, so I kept my guard up as we approached.

“Hester!” A boy cried, frantically running over to the girl as soon as we stepped through the door. “Do you have any idea how late you are?! I was worried sick! I thought you might have been arrested!”

He looked to be about my age, with blond hair—a muted shade, just like the girl’s—and masculine features.

That was when he suddenly noticed me standing there behind her. He froze, his eyes widening.

“I...got caught,” the girl said.

“Wh-What do you mean, you got caught?! Why the hell did you bring him back here to our hideout?!”

“’Cause...! ’Cause he said he’d turn me over to the guards if I didn’t!”

The boy looked absolutely panicked as he reached for the dagger holstered at his waist.

“Watch it,” I warned him. “There’ll be hell to pay if you try to attack me.”

“R-Ralph! Put that back!”

My threat—along with the girl’s protest—seemed to be enough to encourage the boy to resheathe his dagger.

From the way he moved, I could tell he must have had some experience with martial arts or sword fighting, but his unbalanced stance immediately signaled him to be an amateur. He’d be no match for me.

If he did come at me with his dagger, I knew I’d be able to put him in his place...but I would have much preferred to settle things peacefully.

“Wh-What do you want?! We don’t have any money, you know! We wouldn’t have to resort to stealing if we did!”

“I just came here to give you a warning, that’s all. I thought you ought to know that next time you try to steal from me, you won’t get off so easily.”

For several moments, the boy was silent.

“What...?” he finally murmured. The expression on his face made him look almost disappointed. “That’s... That’s all?”

Honestly, it was a fair question. This had become a whole ordeal, some maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask for some compensation for not turning them in to the guards?

“He’s right. It’d be a waste to just give them a warning and leave,” I muttered to myself.

The boy’s face contorted into a grimace as he realized his mistake.

There was just one little problem: They were so poor that they’d tried to steal from me, so they probably didn’t have much to offer in the way of compensation.

Maybe I don’t have to demand material goods, though... What if there’s something else I could make them give me?

Just then, an idea struck me.

“In exchange for turning a blind eye to your attempted thievery, I want information. This is actually my first day here in Realzahd, so I’m still getting the lay of the land. These backstreets are particularly tricky, so I’d like you to give me a tour,” I said.

“S-Sure... If that’s really all you want,” replied the boy.

“Are you okay with that too, Miss Redhead?”

“Huh? Wait, you want me to come too?”

“Of course I do. Your friend here may have been in on your schemes, but you’re the one who actually picked my pocket.”

The boy and girl obviously weren’t too pleased about my demand, but I decided I’d make them give me a tour—even if I did kind of have to force them into it.

Until just a few minutes ago, I would have thought this was a crazy idea, walking around town with the girl who’d just tried to steal from me. But Realzahd was completely foreign to me, so any information I could get about it was priceless.

As pissed as I’d been that the girl had tried to take advantage of my kindness by stealing my only savings, our encounter may have actually turned out to be a real stroke of luck for me.

Now that I had two knowledgeable tour guides at my side, I set off again down the backstreets with the boy and girl in tow.

“So, what exactly do you want us to show you?” asked the boy.

“I want you to point out any cheap lodgings or good food in the area.” Then, after some thought, I added, “Oh, and where do you sell the stuff you steal?”

“The Seven Fortunes. It’s a pawnshop in the backstreets, owned by a friend of ours. He buys everything—even stolen goods.”

“Huh... Good to know that there’s somewhere around here like that. Show me to that shop later,” I said.

As soon as the boy and girl heard that, they whipped around to look at me with suspicion in their eyes. They obviously thought I was up to no good.

“Hey, don’t worry. I’m not planning to rat anyone out. I’ve got some stolen stuff I wanna sell too, that’s all.”

“Wait... What? You’re a thief too? You had no right to chew us out like that!” the boy cried.

“It was just one time—and it was from my parents.”

“So?! Theft is theft, even if your parents are the only victims! You’re no better than us, you hypocrite!”

“All right, you got me there. That’s why I’m letting you off the hook with tour guide duties, though. Besides, I didn’t say you couldn’t ever steal again—I just said you couldn’t steal from me. Feel free to pick anyone else’s pockets.”

“You promise you won’t turn us in to the guards or cause a scene at the Seven Fortunes?”

“I already told you, remember? As long as you show me around town, I won’t cause a fuss. Hey, what’re your names again?”

“Like we’d tell you!”

“Okay, fine. Be that way. I already heard them anyway, when you were talking earlier. This is Hester, and you’re Ralph, right? I’m sure we’ll only be crossing paths briefly, but since we’re fellow thieves, let’s at least try to be friendly.”

“Y-You already got our names?! Ugh, forget it. I’m not interested in being your buddy, all right?!”

And just like that, the two of them showed me around the backstreets as Ralph kept lashing out at me.

They told me that they’d grown up in this area, and their story checked out. They seemed to know about all kinds of different shops and restaurants, and the ones they introduced me to were much better than I could have ever hoped for.

Taking into consideration that I was no longer a noble and had nothing to my name except for a few coins and trinkets, the backstreet shops were probably much more my level than the glitzy ones on the main street. The quality of the goods sold here might have been a bit questionable, but the prices were certainly right.

Despite how close they were, the backstreets were the polar opposite of the flourishing city center. But for a disgraced heir like me, it was perfect.

“Thanks, you two. I appreciate the tour,” I said, genuinely grateful.

“We didn’t do this as a favor to you, you know,” Ralph replied.

“I know, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I plan on sticking around here in Realzahd for a while. I’m sure we’ll cross paths from time to time at some of these shops you’ve shown me, so I guess I’ll see you around.”

Hester and Ralph just looked back at me with unrestrained distaste. In fact, Hester hadn’t even spoken a word to me this entire time. I couldn’t help but think it was a little rich for her to bear so much animosity toward me when she’d been the one to try to steal from me.

“Well, if we’re done here, then we’re gonna head home,” Ralph said.

“Hold on. You still haven’t shown me the place I want to see most.”

After a purposeful silence, he replied, “I gave you the name, didn’t I? I’m sure you can find it by yourself.”

“The backstreet stores don’t have signs, remember? Besides, I want you to introduce me to the shop owner. I wouldn’t want him to be suspicious of me.”

“Tch! Fine... But after that, we’re leaving.”

With that settled, I followed the two of them as they reluctantly led the way to the Seven Fortunes—the shop that supposedly accepted stolen wares.

I could tell from what they’d told me that it was no normal pawnshop, but I couldn’t help but wonder who in the world must run it.

We made our way even deeper into the backstreets via an alleyway until we came upon a small, run-down hovel. Hester and Ralph had stopped walking, so this must have been the place.

I followed them into the hovel. It was dimly lit, and it didn’t seem like anyone else was here, but despite its dingy appearance, the small shop was crammed full of various items. It was a pawnshop, all right.

There were bags, clocks, and books; weapons, armor, magical items. There was such a wide variety of different goods, and no consistent theme that tied any of it together. As my eyes darted between the hodgepodge of items on display, a sound came from the back of the store.

I turned to see an old man with a cane walking slowly toward us. He must be the owner, I thought.

“Well, if it isn’t Hester and Ralph! And I see you’ve got a newcomer with you... Now then, what brings you here today?”

“Yeah, we, uh...just met him today. Said he had some stuff to sell. Will you buy from him?”

“Just today, huh?” the old man repeated. Then, after a pause, he turned to me and asked, “Not that I care either which way, but is this ‘stuff’ you’re lookin’ to sell dangerous?”

Dangerous? Well...if you consider stolen goods to be dangerous, then I guess so. But none of the items are dangerous in and of themselves, I thought, unsure of how to answer him.

Ralph looked uncomfortable, like he didn’t want to just wait around and watch this play out. Seemingly unable to contain himself, he answered for me.

“The goods are stolen, but I doubt they’re dangerous. He just wants to sell some accessories he swiped from his parents.”

“Is that right? Well, I shave a twenty percent commission off of anything I pay for stolen goods. If you’re happy to swallow that cost, then I’m happy to buy. But first... What’s your name, son?”

“It’s Chris.”

“Chris, eh? A fine name. Mine’s Lugentz. Nice to meet you.”

The store owner—Lugentz—offered his hand with a smile. I gripped it lightly and gave him a handshake.

“Now that we’re properly acquainted, I hope you don’t mind if I get straight down to business? I’d love to see these items you’re hoping to sell.”

With Lugentz’s encouragement, I pulled the trinkets out of my small bag and placed them on the table.

I’d done my best not to get them scratched up or dirty while I’d been living in Patia Forest, but I wasn’t certain they were still in good shape, so I couldn’t help feeling just a little bit nervous as I retrieved them.

“Oho... These certainly look promising,” said Lugentz. “Why don’t you take a look around the shop while I appraise them?”

He took out a magnifying glass and immediately began inspecting the pocket watch and accessories, apparently already lost in his own little world. I decided to leave him be while I checked out the items on sale.

A number of objects caught my eye, but unsurprisingly, the weapons were what interested me the most. I was already on the hunt for a cheap sword to buy, so I thought this might be a good opportunity, but the cheapest one available cost five gold coins. No matter how much it pained me to admit it, I just didn’t have the money for that.

The Seven Fortunes might have been a backstreet pawnshop, but it apparently didn’t sell weapons for cheap.

That being said, the weapons in the store were all obviously high-quality. Swords were what I had the most knowledge about, but even I could tell that the other weapons lined up on the shelves were worth the hefty price tags. It was fun just to look at them all.

Once I’d finished perusing all of the weapons and armor in the store, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself. After a moment of standing around, I decided to take a look at the next most interesting category of items: books.

I’d learned reading and writing at a young age—just like sword fighting—so I’d read a fair number of books over the years. You might even say I was a bit of a bookworm. Growing up, I’d read my favorite books of heroic legends over and over again.

As I scanned the shelves for any interesting titles, an autobiography caught my attention: The Travel Diaries of Otto the Botanist.

I’d never heard of “Otto the Botanist” before, nor did I have much interest in books on botany...but for some reason, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from it.

If it’s reasonably priced, maybe I’ll buy it, I thought. But when I picked it up to check how much it cost, I had to do a double take. It was selling for three gold coins—the same price as the sword I’d been eyeing earlier.

I could understand why old books might fetch a hefty sum, since they were likely to be rare and mostly out of circulation, but still...three whole gold coins was a lot to ask for.

I had no chance of affording it, which kind of defeated the purpose of picking it up in the first place, but seeing just how expensive it was actually only piqued my interest even more.

“You can read?” came a voice from behind me.

I startled, turning to see that it was Hester who’d asked the question. I’d been so engrossed in thinking about the book that I hadn’t noticed her standing right there behind me at all.

As I chastised myself internally for letting my guard down like that, I replied, “Yeah. I learned when I was young. Can’t you?”

“No. Um, hey...” she said, as if preparing to ask me something. Then, after a long pause, she seemed to change her mind. “Actually, never mind. It’s nothing.”

And just like that, she wandered off.

I was curious what she’d been about to say, but not enough to chase after her and press the issue. So, I pulled myself together and returned my attention to the book I was holding.

It was neatly sealed, so I couldn’t even take a peek at what was inside. From the text on the exterior, all I could glean was that it was the autobiography of a botanist named Otto.

I was really intrigued, but when I thought about what money I had on hand, I knew purchasing it would be out of the question.

Maybe I’ll ask Lugentz about it later, if there’s time, I thought.

Just as I was privately resigning myself to the idea that I might have to give up on it, Lugentz called me over. He’d apparently just finished appraising the items I’d brought in.

“Appreciate your patience. I’m all done here, so if you’re satisfied with the appraisal stamps, then I’d be happy to buy these from you.”

Appraisal stamps...?

Each of the items I’d brought in now had pieces of paper bearing various stamps affixed to them, but I had no idea what those stamps meant in terms of valuations. It would’ve probably been obvious to someone who regularly sold goods, but I didn’t have a clue.

“So, do these stamps represent the appraisal values?” I asked. “Sorry, but I’m not sure what they mean.”

“Oh? Well, my apologies. I’ll just give you a verbal appraisal, then. Let’s start with the accessories. These earrings are worth two silver coins, and the ring is worth four. I’ll pay three gold coins for the necklace.”

“Three gold?!” I exclaimed.

“Because of the inlaid sapphires. They’re small, but still quite valuable.”

I was shocked that the accessories were worth so much. My heart started racing as it dawned on me that they must have been my mom’s prized possessions.

But then I remembered how she’d always showered Claus with love and affection, never sparing me even so much as a glance, and how after the ceremony when Claus became the next Sparring heir, no one had been more overjoyed than her.

When I thought back to how Claus had tried to kill me (and had almost succeeded), an anger swelled up inside of me that quelled any guilt.

“Three gold coins?! That’s insane! Over all these years, I’ve only ever seen something valued that high once!”

“Now, now, Ralph. Good boys don’t eavesdrop.”

“Hey, it’s hard not to overhear when he’s literally yelling the price, okay?” Ralph protested. Then, turning to me, he asked, “So, is your family, like, crazy rich?”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to butt in when I’m in the middle of a negotiation? Save it for later,” Lugentz chided him. Then he addressed me again and said, “Now, then...on to the last item. This pocket watch is worth about one gold coin.”

“One gold, huh...?” I repeated.

That was actually a lot less than I’d expected the watch to sell for. Not that I knew all that much about watches, but from the way my dad had treasured it, I’d assumed it was worth a fair amount.

I can’t believe my mom’s necklace was worth more...

“So, what’ll it be? Are you happy with me buying the lot?”

“Hmm... I’d like to sell all of it except for the watch,” I decided.

“All right, then. Here’s three gold and six silver for the accessories.” He handed me the coins, along with the pocket watch I’d decided to keep.

Money was the priority right now, and I knew it was kind of pointless to hold on to this watch...but for one gold coin, I just wasn’t ready to part with it yet.

Was it the lingering guilt for stealing from my parents that stopped me? Or was it the curse it felt like my dad had cast on me at a young age, still binding me even now? Even I couldn’t say for sure as I shoved the money and the pocket watch roughly into my bag.

“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver,” I said.

“No need to thank me. I bought these off you at a discount, on account of them being stolen, and I’ve got no doubt I’ll make a tidy profit off of them. Anything else I can do for you?”

“No, that’s all—” I began but stopped when I remembered the book that had caught my attention earlier.

I’d been so stunned by how much I’d been able to get for my mom’s necklace that I’d completely forgotten about it until now.

“Actually, I was curious about one of the books you’re selling: The Travel Diaries of Otto the Botanist. What can you tell me about it?”

“Caught your eye, did it? It’s a rare find. To tell you the truth, I was pretty taken with it myself—hence the steep price tag. It’s been sitting on that shelf for years now, though.”

“Oh... I see. I thought it must have been about someone really extraordinary to be selling for that much, but I guess not, huh?”

“Well, Otto isn’t exactly a household name, is he? I’m sure it won’t surprise you all that much to hear he didn’t exactly make any groundbreaking discoveries or accomplish anything out of this world. But to the trained eye...I suspect his autobiography would be of profound interest,” Lugentz said, flashing me a smile.

The way he said it, practically with a wink, piqued my curiosity. My excitement was quickly starting to get the best of me, but I knew that I didn’t really have three gold coins to spare.

Taking into account the money I’d just made, I now had a total of only four gold coins.

I’d come here for the express purpose of being able to buy some necessities, so I knew it would be insane to blow most of it on a book. I needed that money.

“Honestly, I’m dying to read it, but...I can’t afford to spend what I just made at the moment. I think I’ll have to pass for now, but I’d love to buy it next time I visit if it’s still here,” I said.

“Dying to read it, you say...? Well, if it’s piqued your interest that much, then how about you take it now and pay for it later? I can wait until you’ve got the money. But when you have enough to pay for it, I expect you to be prompt about it. What do you say?”

I stared at Lugentz with wide eyes, not believing my own ears. It seemed like an insane proposal for him to make.

I thought he must have lost his mind, but he just kept smiling at me and looking me straight in the eyes.

“You’d really be okay with that?” I asked. “I might not ever be able to pay you back. And, uh, I know I might be hurting my case here, but...I came to your store to sell stolen goods, remember?”

Lugentz let out a hearty laugh.

“Don’t you worry about me, boy. I don’t go around making offers like this to just anyone, you understand. Besides, you may recall how I mentioned that this book has been gathering dust on the shelf for several years now, and it’s only worth as much as it is because I said so. I don’t lose anything letting you walk out of here with it for free.”

“But...”

“As long as you come back to pay for it one day, it doesn’t matter how long it takes you. Far better than never selling it at all, wouldn’t you agree? And on the off chance that you don’t ever come back, I’ll just make Ralph here your guarantor.”

“Huh?! No way in hell am I paying for that!” cried Ralph, who’d been suddenly roped into our arrangement.

One look at Ralph’s face sent Lugentz into a fit of uproarious laughter.

“Think of it this way: You’ll be doing me a favor clearing off my shelf. So, will you buy it?”

“Well... If you’re really okay with this, then how can I refuse?”

“Hey! Hold on just a minute here! I’m not paying, okay?! You can’t make me!”

Lugentz chuckled. “Just wait here a moment,” he told me. “I’ll grab it for you.”

After one final push from Lugentz, I decided to accept his offer gratefully. Despite Ralph’s fervent protests, I took the book from him.

“I’ll come back and pay for this as soon as I can. I really owe you one for this—and for buying my stuff,” I said.

“It was no trouble, really. Just be sure to pay me back before I’m six feet under.”

“I will. I promise.”

“This transaction’s got nothing to do with me, got that?! I’m not footing your bill!”

After Lugentz and I shook hands, I left the Seven Fortunes, taking the money I’d made and the big old book with me. I’d never forget this pawnshop—not just because I was able to finally sell my things, but because the kindly old shop owner had put his faith in me with this deferred payment plan.

I probably wouldn’t be back again to sell any more stolen items, but I decided that I’d sell anything valuable I picked up on my adventures to Lugentz as a token of my gratitude. And I swore to myself that I would definitely be back to pay for that book.

“Thanks again for showing me around today. I got a lot more for those accessories than I expected to, and I owe that to you.”

“Three gold coins, was it? Lucky you. It takes us at least a few months to make that kind of money, and you got it in one single visit to the pawnshop.”

“Hey, how about I treat you guys to a meal at one of the restaurants you pointed out to me?”

“Huh? Really?!”

“Ugh, Hester! Use your brain for a moment! Not only did we have to hand back everything you stole today, but we wasted the entire day showing this jerk around, and we don’t have a single copper to show for it. We need to get our hands on something we can sell.”

“Okay... But I feel like saying yes to a free meal would be a whole lot easier and more reliable than trying to find someone else to pickpocket...” muttered Hester.

Ralph, who was clearly determined to get rid of me as quickly as possible, seemed ready to argue with her, but I could tell from his face that he knew she’d made a good point. He nodded reluctantly several times.

“O-Okay, fine. I guess we wouldn’t have to scrounge for food money if we’re getting a free meal tonight. B-But...don’t you think it’s weird that the guy we tried to steal from is offering to treat us like this?!”

“I don’t see what’s so weird about it,” I chimed in. “Consider it a token of appreciation for showing me such a great pawnshop. In fact...you can thank the owner, Mr. Lugentz. This meal is technically on him.”

“Great. We’re broke, so we’ll take you up on your offer,” said Hester, and that was that. Ralph had given up trying to argue with her.

I’d only gotten a one-off payment, so I wasn’t exactly in a position to go around blowing all my money...but I felt good about this choice. After all, I’d just spent the past month living alone in the woods. Hester and Ralph might have been pickpockets, but it was nice just to have some company for a change.

Besides, everyone in the backstreets seemed to know them, so it would probably be advantageous to get on their good side.

And so, just like that, the three of us headed to a cheap and cheerful restaurant for a bite.

“Wow... You look like you’re really enjoying that. We ordered the exact same thing, but yours looks a whole lot tastier.”

“I might’ve mentioned this before, but I ate pretty much nothing but unseasoned orc meat the whole time I was living in the woods. It was actually really good, but proper food is a completely different experience. This is so tasty, I feel like I could cry.”

“Wish I could enjoy it that much... But anyway, I’m impressed you managed to survive out there for a whole month without any provisions.”

“It was rough. For the first few days, I ate anything I could get my hands on so I didn’t starve. I even drank literal mud water just to survive.”

As we ate, I told them about my time in Patia Forest.

Remembering those first few days I’d spent there made the food I was eating right now taste even better somehow.

“Anything you could get your hands on...?” Ralph repeated. “But what if you ate some poisonous plants or something? Couldn’t you have died?”

“Oh, I don’t have to worry about that. I’ve got a poison resistance skill.”

“Hey, uh... Are you sure you want to just blurt out your skill like that?”

“Doesn’t bother me to talk about it. I mean, it’s a pretty worthless skill. I may as well not even have one.”

“You’re either awfully trusting, or awfully stupid...” Ralph said. “Anyway, we know a few people with poison resistance, but it doesn’t nullify the effects of every kind of poison. It just gives them a slightly higher alcohol tolerance or makes them a little less likely to get food poisoning... That kind of stuff.”

“Really? That’s weird. I ate a whole bunch of sketchy-looking fruits and mushrooms without anything bad happening. I even ate some rotten meat too.”

As I said this, the two of them exchanged a look of realization and nodded.

“So that’s why he was able to chase after me like nothing happened even after I hit him in the face with an allyl orb! And here I thought I must have missed...”

“Allyl orb? You mean that red thing? Yeah, you hit me straight in the eyes with that...”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me... Allyl orbs shock you so hard you go numb for a whole day. I’ve never heard of them not working on someone before.”

“Jeez... You guys have some pretty brutal methods. Sounds like you could’ve blinded someone if you’d hit anyone but me.”

I was pretty shocked to hear that, but I was also too distracted by the realization that my skill clearly wasn’t just a normal poison resistance to dwell on their actions too deeply.

I couldn’t help but hope that maybe my skill wasn’t a nothing skill after all. Maybe it was actually a super useful, rare skill?

“If even allyl orbs have no effect on you, then maybe it’s not just a poison resistance, but a poison immunity?! That being said...I still can’t imagine it being all that useful.”

“Well, it did help me to survive in the woods for a month—and to get my stuff back after you guys tried to steal it. So, at least there’s that, right?”

I felt compelled to defend my skill a bit, but to be honest, Hester was probably right. Whatever uses my skill had, they seemed pretty limited. Whether I had poison resistance or immunity, it didn’t change the fact that I’d only be able to make use of it in extremely specific situations.

“I guess that’s true... Anyway, what’s your plan now?” asked Ralph.

“For now, I’m thinking I’ll become an adventurer. My sword-fighting skills are nothing special, but I’ve got some training. I’m just looking to make enough money to eat.”

“An adventurer, huh? Fair enough. I guess the only two real options available to you when you’re homeless are a life of adventuring or a life of crime.”

“What about you two? Are you going to keep picking pockets to fill your bellies for the rest of your lives?”

At this, Hester stopped eating and hung her head.

I knew I was probably butting my nose in where it didn’t belong, but I really couldn’t imagine them keeping this up forever.

“Well, that’s my plan,” said Ralph. “If you don’t have what it takes to be an adventurer, you don’t really have any other choice if you want to survive.”

“If anyone other than me had caught you today, you two would probably be rotting in a jail cell right now. I just think you should consider some other options.”

After I said my piece, the table went quiet, and we finished the rest of our meal in silence.

“Wow, I’m so full. Thanks for treating us,” Ralph said as we stepped back outside.

“Yes, thank you very much,” Hester added.

“No, thank you for showing me around town. I’d say this makes us even now, all things considered, so I won’t make any further demands of you. I’ll probably say hi if I see you around town, though. We’re around the same age, so let’s look out for each other.”

And with that, I said goodbye to my two tour guides in front of the restaurant and headed for the main street. After spending a full half day with them, I’d learned that they weren’t bad people—they only stole to survive.

Claus and my dad, on the other hand, might have seemed like upstanding people to anyone who didn’t know them well, but they were rotten to the core.

Thinking about my family made me so angry that my head started to hurt, so I tried to switch gears and figure out my plan for the night instead. There were two lodging options that Ralph had suggested: the Pigeon Inn, on the main street, and the Shangri La Hotel in the industrial district.

The Pigeon Inn boasted a private shower and toilet, as well as good-quality bedding. As far as Realzahd lodging options went, it offered the best bang for your buck. The Shangri La was a lot less luxurious, but it was apparently the cheapest option in the city.

Really, it was a choice between comfort and cost. But there was one more consideration: the Shangri La was located in the industrial district, which was where I’d also find the Adventurers’ Guild. That probably made it the ideal choice for a broke novice adventurer like me.

With that in mind, I decided to stay at the Shangri La Hotel. It would at least give me the opportunity to make some connections as an adventurer—although whether I could actually pull that off was another question altogether.

Once I’d made my way back to the main street of the commercial district, I kept going, walking straight past all the shops as I headed east through the city.

There were much fewer people here in the industrial district, and the streets were crammed with factories. It felt distinctly cold and mechanical.

As I walked farther, though, I came to a bustling street lined with guilds for all kinds of different trades, among them the Adventurers’ Guild, which had throngs of people gathered nearby. It looked even more lively than the commercial district.

Granted, most of the crowd consisted of exactly the sort you’d expect to be standing outside an adventurers’ guild: brawny, scary-looking types. So it wasn’t the most comfortable place to stick around.

Thinking about how I’d have to join that crowd tomorrow made me feel a little depressed, but I didn’t let myself dwell on it. Right now, the only priority was getting a room at the hotel.

I passed the Adventurers’ Guild and kept walking for a bit until I reached an old building, which I knew from its distinctive green roof had to be the Shangri La Hotel that Ralph had told me about.

The hotel was a wooden building that must have been several decades old—maybe even several centuries. I’d never seen a place that failed so spectacularly to live up to its name. Maybe it had conjured a sense of paradise when it had first been built, but the years had certainly not been kind to it. It was in a pretty wretched state.

That being said, it was hard to complain after I’d been living in a rock hollow with a bunch of bugs for a month. The hotel was a proper building, at least—and that was more than enough for me.

I pushed open the misaligned door and stepped into the Shangri La Hotel. As much as I would have liked to say it was nicer on the inside...it wasn’t. The hotel’s interior really showed its age too. If I were to put it generously, I’d say it had “character”; if a little less generously, it was basically falling apart.

I walked over to the front desk, glancing around the reception area.

“Looking for a room?” asked a husky voice from behind the desk. It belonged to a woman roughly my mom’s age.

Actually, “husky” was a bit of an understatement. The woman’s voice was so hoarse and rough that, for a second, I’d thought she was a man.

“Yeah. I’ve only just arrived in town, so I’m looking for a place to stay. How much is it for a night?”

“Our standard one-night-two-meals deal is one silver coin. If you don’t want meals, it’s five coppers. Shared dorm, no meals is two coppers.”

“Two coppers? How are you staying afloat, with prices like that?” I asked, incredulous. I couldn’t believe how cheap that was.

If I only had to spend two coppers per night, I could waste away half a year living here with just the money I had on hand. I wouldn’t even have to find any work.

“Mm-hmm. We pride ourselves on being the cheapest hotel in Realzahd, but then, the shared dorms aren’t exactly the lap of luxury. Try squishing into one of those cramped rooms with two other people for a night and you’ll find out pretty quick why they come at such a discount. Ain’t a lick of privacy.”

“Right... I guess not many people would be willing to share a cramped room with two strangers unless the price was right.”

“That bein’ said, if you’ve got friends, then you’re free to book a dorm with them. Most wind up sharing those rooms with strangers, though.”

So that’s the only reason they’re so cheap, huh? I thought. Considering that most of the guests who booked the shared dorms were probably adventurers, there was every chance it might land me in a room with two muscle-headed dudes.

No thanks...

My finances were a little tight at the moment, which made it pretty hard to turn down a two-copper room, but until I found my bearings, it felt like a safer bet to stick with the private room for now. That way, I could get a feel for the hotel and switch to a dorm later if I wanted.

“I’ll take the single room, without any meals.”

“Sure. You’ll be in room 122, then. Here’s your key.”

“Thanks. I’ll book it for six nights, so I’ll pay the three silver coins now,” I said, handing her the money.

After confirming the amount, she told me, “If you decide to stay longer, just come down to the front desk again to pay. The cutoff to book an extra night is 8 p.m., so make sure you get here before then or you’ll get the boot.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

I gave her a little nod and headed off to find my room.

The room out front was number 101, so I followed the hallway to the left, scanning each door’s number until I found mine: 122.

The lock was a little janky, so I had to jostle the key several times to unlock it. Once it finally clicked, I opened the door and entered the room I’d be staying in for the next several nights.

It was a small, square room—very modest, with the only furnishings being a folded up bedroll and a lamp that were set around somewhat haphazardly. The bedroll was strangely discolored, most likely from mold.

“Couldn’t ask for more,” I said to myself.

I probably would have been pretty put off if not for the month I’d spent living in Patia Forest, but that nasty bedroll looked a whole lot better than the bed I’d made for myself out of twigs and leaves. I guess once you’d suffered through something like that, even the bare necessities felt like a luxury.

As soon as I entered the room, I laid out the worn, stiff bedroll and threw myself down on it, then pulled out the book I’d just gotten from the Seven Fortunes.

I knew I ought to be thinking about my plans for tomorrow, but I kind of felt like I deserved a break after everything that had happened today. I’d spent a big chunk of it walking down the highway to get to the city, and then, on my very first day here, I’d been robbed.

I was exhausted and at my limit. My body refused to even let me think.

But I felt like I needed to do something with this time, so I opened the book and started reading.

I used to love immersing myself in the world of books as a kid, pretending that I was the main character. By projecting myself onto all the heroes in the stories I read, I felt like I could achieve things that would never be possible for me in real life.

I was able to immerse myself in the world of The Travel Diaries of Otto the Botanist now too as he recounted his various travels. I found myself so absorbed that all of my other thoughts seemed to just fade into nothingness.

By the light of the small lamp, I turned the pages and imagined myself as Otto as I read about his journey.

His autobiography was unlike any of the other stories I’d read up until now—which had mostly been about defeating dragons and demon kings. The goal of his journey had been to discover new and useful species of plants.

On the surface, it might have seemed like a pretty uncompelling tale, but after all the plants I’d encountered in Patia Forest, it actually felt extremely timely and relevant to my life.

The names and places that were often only vaguely touched on in autobiographies were described clearly and vividly in Otto’s, and since he was a botanist, his rich knowledge of plant life was plainly evident in the entertaining and easily digestible way he wrote about it.

It was also a really interesting glimpse into a time in history, since some of the plants that he described as “new species” were actually well-known in the present day—so much so that even I knew about them.

What fascinated me the most about the book, though, were the mentions of new species that even Otto hadn’t been able to identify. In fact, he wrote about how he encountered even more unknown plants on his journeys than new species he’d been able to identify.

He described the number and distinguishing features of such plants in each area he visited, most of which were dangerous to humans. And by “dangerous,” that meant anything ranging from mildly toxic to deadly poisonous.

Although Otto was confident that these poisonous plants likely contained latent properties that could be extremely useful to humans, their toxicity prevented him from researching them further. That must have pained him deeply, because he noted his bitter regret about it several times.

I’d been thoroughly enjoying immersing myself in Otto’s story and imagining what it would have been like to be in his shoes, but those hiccups in his research tore me straight back into reality.

There were god only knew how many plants out there that even Otto hadn’t been able to identify, and even now, in the present day, we probably had no idea what kind of effects they might have—all because they were poisonous.

If there really were poisonous plants out there that had valuable latent potential like Otto believed, then...maybe I could identify and research them? Maybe I could put my poison resistance to use and unlock some hidden powers with those plants that would blow Claus away?

I’d struggled to find any real legitimate uses for my poison resistance skill before, but now, it felt full of promise. In my mind’s eye, it sparkled like gold.

Unable to contain my excitement, I read the book until the very end. Once I’d turned the final page, I expelled all the pent-up passion that was welling inside of me with a big sigh.

Rays of sunlight were shining through the window; I’d stayed up until dawn finishing Otto’s autobiography.

After the big day I’d had yesterday, I felt like a bit of an idiot for staying up all night reading... But honestly, it felt like my exhaustion and drowsiness had completely vanished—maybe thanks to all the excitement surrounding the newfound hope that the book had given me.

I knew I’d probably pass out later in the day if I didn’t get at least a little sleep, though, so I did my best to slow my racing heartbeat and, in time, drifted off into a shallow sleep.

Chapter 3: The Business of Adventuring

The next day (if you could call it that, considering I only slept for two hours), I headed straight back into town. Despite my lack of sleep, I actually felt reasonably refreshed.

No matter what my plans were, though, I couldn’t do anything without money.

Thanks to the things I’d pawned yesterday, I wasn’t completely broke. The three gold coins, four silvers, and several dozen coppers I had on hand made me feel pretty flush with cash, but I knew they weren’t going to get me very far if I wanted to finance my search for poisonous plants.

Besides, even though eating the plants in Patia Forest had saved me from starvation, I never wanted to go back to that kind of lifestyle again if I could help it. Plus, I had a debt to pay now. I needed to save up enough money to comfortably pay for the book I’d been given.

Getting better gear was also a high priority, and realistically, I probably still needed to learn a bit more about plants before setting off on any botany expeditions.

What’s more, I’d be spending five copper coins for a night at the hotel and roughly five more for a day’s worth of food; that added up to one silver coin a day. When I thought about how that meant I’d go through one gold coin every ten days, my stomach turned.

Forget the botany expeditions; if I didn’t start earning some money soon, I wouldn’t even be able to afford my day-to-day life.

Even though I’d been given a useless farmer affinity, Otto’s autobiography had given me a glimpse of a way to potentially get more powerful—and if I wanted to pursue that possibility, then I’d have to start by becoming an adventurer and earning a few coins.

At the very least, my motivation for becoming an adventurer was completely different now. Before, I’d only had a vague notion that it was something I needed to do in order to survive, but now, I felt a lot clearer in my sense of purpose.

I pushed my way through the throngs of menacing-looking adventurers and stepped inside the Adventurers’ Guild.

It was surprisingly spacious inside, with not one but four different reception desks: the request desk, the quest desk, the trade desk, and the information desk. There were also enough guild employees to rival the number of adventurers.

It seemed to be only women working the reception desks, but most of the other staff members were men who looked every bit as muscular and aggressive as the adventurers. They also seemed like very capable fighters. Most likely, it was an intentional show of force to scare off any troublemakers and ne’er-do-wells.

There appeared to be fewer adventurers here than when I’d taken a peek from afar yesterday—maybe because it was still early in the morning. I made it to the front of the information desk without even having to stand in line. A beautiful receptionist immediately greeted me with a smile.

“Welcome to the information desk. How may I help you today?”

“Well, uh... I’d like to become an adventurer. Is this where I sign up?”

“Yes, sir. If you’d like to register as an adventurer, then you’ve come to the right desk. The registration fee is one silver. Would you like to proceed?”

“Sure. That’s fine by me.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out a silver coin, which I handed to the receptionist. She gave it a quick inspection to ensure it wasn’t a fake, then smiled at me again and placed a card on top of the desk.

“This is your adventurer card. Please state your details to me, and your information will be recorded onto it with magic.”

“I’m Chris Spa— Actually, I’ll just go by Chris. I’m sixteen years old.”

“Understood. Chris, sixteen years old, yes? And your registered guild will be Realzahd. Give me just a moment and... Done! Registration complete. You can use your registration card to record completed quests, as well as skill assessments conducted at the church. You’ll also use it to verify your identity, so please take care not to lose it.”

With that gentle reminder, the receptionist handed me my adventurer’s card, and I handled it carefully as I put it into my bag, mindful of the warning.

“Now that you’ve registered as an adventurer, you may access the guild’s trade desk and accept quests from the quest desk. Do you have any further questions?”

“Can I accept any kind of quest I want?” I asked.

“No. All quest commissions brought to the guild are sorted by difficulty level. When you first join the guild, you’ll only be able to take on rookie quests. As your rank increases in accordance with the number and rate of completed quests, you’ll be permitted to take on quests with higher difficulty levels.”

“Can you tell me more about the different ranks?”

“They are, in ascending order: rookie, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, mithril, and diamond. It does go above that, with orichalcum and scarlet steel...but those ranks are given to very few adventurers, so don’t worry too much about them.”

“I see. And do you have to have certain abilities to achieve each of these ranks?”

“Skill and class affinity does heavily affect one’s guild rank, as well as the number and rate of completed quests, so I’m afraid I can’t give you any concrete numbers on that. But generally speaking, all stats need to be at about 10 for rookies, 20 for bronzes, 40 for silvers, and so on, doubling each previous rank’s stat requirements.”

That makes sense. So, for gold, each of your stats would need to be at least 80, and for diamond, they’d need to be 640?

I had no idea what my current stats were, nor how my capabilities would even be classified, but I felt like that at least gave me a rough measuring stick to go off of.

“Thanks for that explanation,” I replied. “I just had a few other questions...”

I proceeded to ask the receptionist every question I could think of about being an adventurer.

The smile she’d been wearing began to start twitching impatiently, and I could tell she was desperate for our conversation to be over, but I just continued on until I felt I had all the information I needed.

Information was every bit as valuable as money, after all.

Besides, she’d invited me to ask questions. It seemed only prudent to take her up on that. I wasn’t about to hold back, even if it meant she hated my guts by the end of our interaction.

“Whew...” she sighed. “Any other questions?”

“No, I think that’s pretty much it.”

“Well, I wish you the best on your adventuring, then.”

There wasn’t even a trace of the smile she’d greeted me with initially as the receptionist bid me farewell.

“Thanks,” I replied, giving her a quick bow.

And with that, I left the information desk and headed for the quest desk.

Based on what I’d just learned, I’d probably be able to take care of a rookie quest on my own, so I decided to forgo forming a party for now and start my adventuring career alone.

If I joined or formed a party, we’d have to split the rewards. Going at it alone seemed like the best way to maximize my earnings.

That being said, I knew I could complete more quests in the long term with a party. Plus, the best way to make some money would probably be to increase my adventurer rank and take on some high-paying, high-level quests.

Having a party kind of conflicted with my longer long-term goals, though, because once I’d saved up enough money, my plan was to leave Realzahd and go foraging for undiscovered species of poisonous plants. If I was a committed member of a party by then, it was sure to cause some problems.

Right now, I just need to stay grounded and go slow and steady with some quests so I can gauge my capabilities, I thought as I took my spot at the back of the quest desk line.

“Welcome to the quest desk. How may I help you today?” asked the receptionist when it was my turn in line.

She sounded so much like the previous receptionist, it was uncanny. Maybe they have to follow a strict script? I wondered. Guess it would make sense that the guild would want them to keep it friendly and by the book, though. That’s probably the best way to make things go as smoothly as possible with some of these rough-around-the-edges adventurers.

“I’d like to accept a quest.”

“May I please see your adventurer card?”

I took out the card that I’d carefully placed in my bag earlier and handed it to her.

“Let’s see... Mr. Chris, is it? I see that your rank is ‘rookie’ and that you’ve yet to complete any quests. Would you like to take on your first quest?”

“Yeah. Oh, but I don’t need any instructions or anything. I already got the whole story from the information desk.”

“Understood. I’ll skip the instructions, then. Before I list the available quests, do you have any particular types of quests that you’d prefer?”

“I’d like a monster-hunting quest.”

“Understood. The monster-hunting quests currently available to you include: goblin extermination in the fields to the west, goblin extermination in the woods to the south, and goblin extermination along the abandoned road to the northwest.”

“They’re all goblin extermination quests?”

“That’s correct, sir. Rookie-level monster-hunting quests only target two types of monsters: goblins and kobolds. We currently have no commissions to exterminate kobolds, so that leaves only goblins. If you would prefer not to undertake a goblin extermination quest, might I suggest a fetch quest instead? They make excellent first quests.”

Guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. It makes sense that they’d limit rookie quests to the lowest-level monsters, I thought.

After managing to take down an orc in Patia Forest, goblins didn’t seem like the best enemy to measure my capabilities against, but from what the receptionist said, they were really my only option.

I was a little curious about the fetch quests, but I was eager to start with a monster-hunting quest first.

“That’s all right. I’d be happy to take a goblin extermination quest. I’ll take the one on the northwest abandoned road,” I said.

“Understood. The goblin extermination quest on the northwest abandoned road will reward you with one silver coin to defeat five goblins. Please note that you aren’t limited to a maximum of five, however. For every additional goblin you defeat, you’ll be rewarded with two coppers.”

“How will you know how many I’ve defeated?”

“Monster counts are tallied by the number of left ears you bring back, so please don’t forget to cut them off after you defeat the goblins.”

“Got it.”

“Here’s your adventurer card back. Best of luck on your adventures.”

And with that, I’d become an adventurer and accepted my very first quest.

According to the receptionist, I’d be able to get two extra copper coins for every additional goblin that I killed. Having only ever slain an orc, I had no idea how many goblins I’d be able to defeat (or even how many I’d encounter on the abandoned road), but based on my calculations, I’d have to defeat at least ten to start building up some savings.

As long as I stayed at the rookie level, it seemed like I’d have to live a pretty bare-bones lifestyle if I wanted to keep my belly full.

I did have a buffer from the stolen items I’d sold, but I resolved myself to be as frugal as possible. As I left the Adventurers’ Guild, I psyched myself up to meet my goal of defeating ten goblins today.

But before leaving Realzahd, I knew I needed to stop by the armory on the main road and buy some equipment. I was only after the bare minimum for now: just some leather armor and a leather shield.

I also ended up finding a slightly rusted iron sword that had been thrown haphazardly in the bargain bin, so I decided to buy that too.

It was a pretty pitiful haul, but it still wound up costing me a small fortune of nine silver coins in total.

Unsurprisingly, despite the poor shape it was in, the sword had been the most expensive item—six whole silvers. I kind of wanted to kick myself for nabbing my father’s worn-out pocket watch from my family home instead of one of the countless swords I could have gone for instead.

Oh well. What’s done is done, I thought.

After stopping by the store, I set off down the highway, heading north of Realzahd until I came upon an abandoned road, and made my way down it, on the alert for goblins.

The abandoned road—though I wasn’t sure you could really even call it a “road”—was so overgrown with weeds that it barely accommodated the shoulder width of one person. It was more like a game trail at this point.

I’d assumed from the receptionist’s description of the three monster-hunting quests that the abandoned road would offer the best visibility, and that’s why I’d chosen it, but I was beginning to appreciate that “best” didn’t necessarily mean “good.” Now that I thought about it, anywhere that goblins hung out was unlikely to have great visibility or be frequented by humans, after all.

From what I’d heard, there was every chance that I might encounter monsters other than goblins out here too. I proceeded carefully and on high alert, just like I was used to doing when I’d been living in Patia Forest.

I used to struggle to tell the difference between the rustling of wind in the brush and the rustling of a living creature. Every little sound had made me flinch with panic. After surviving for so long in the forest, though, I’d had no choice but to learn and commit the difference to memory.

I focused my ears completely on searching for any creature noises as I walked down the road, tuning out the sounds of wind just like I’d done when I’d tracked the orc through the forest.

That was when I heard something.

It would often take a whole day of walking around Patia Forest to find any signs of living creatures, so it felt like a real stroke of luck to come across something here after only just beginning my trek down the abandoned road.

Footsteps sounded ahead and to the right of me.

The creature seemed not to be aware of my presence yet. I could hear it pushing its way through the grass as it walked, taking absolutely no precautions.

I’d bungled my surprise attack on the orc, so I was determined to land one successfully this time.

Careful to cushion my footsteps, I crouched down so I wouldn’t brush against the encroaching weeds and began to close in on the creature. Now that I was lower to the ground, I gave up hopes of spotting it with my eyes, but I could still hear it. I let the sound of its movements guide me until I’d positioned myself practically right in front of it.

I knew I’d have to leave the road now if I wanted to get any closer, and there was no way to do that silently. If I was going to launch a surprise attack, then it needed to be from here.

Fortunately, the creature still hadn’t seemed to notice me, so this was the perfect chance to catch it off guard.

I listened carefully, doing my best to pinpoint its exact location. Then, taking in a deep breath, I leaped out of hiding.

I plunged straight ahead, pushing my way through the grass as I zeroed in on my target: a green-skinned little monster with a severely hunched back, covered in dirt. Sure enough, it was a goblin—exactly the monster I needed to kill to fulfill my current quest.

The goblin was a lot slower to react than the orc I’d fought in the woods. It was almost like there was a brief lag between when it spotted me and when it turned to face me.

It brandished the wooden club it was holding in a panic, readying a defense—but it was too late.

I slashed my sword diagonally down at the goblin’s left shoulder as deep as it could go; then, riding on the momentum, I lifted it again to strike the final blow. But just as I moved to aim my blade at the monster’s heart, I realized what had happened...

My previous strike had cleaved the goblin in two.

It lay on the ground, unmoving. There was no need for a final blow.

“Okay... There’s definitely something weird going on here,” I muttered to myself as I looked down at the bisected goblin.

What I’d done to the orc, I’d assumed had been just a fluke. But for this to happen twice...it was hard to deny that, at some point, I must have gotten some kind of extraordinary powers.

Goblins were the lowest-level monsters out there, but that still didn’t explain how easily I’d just defeated one. Sure, I might have switched out my handmade weapon for a proper (albeit rusted) sword, but under normal circumstances, that shouldn’t have made enough of a difference for me to pull off a crazy move like cutting a goblin clean in two.

As I watched the goblin’s purple blood drip off of the tip of my blade, I just stood there, racking my brain.

Just then, a phrase came to me: undiscovered poisonous plants.

That’s right... I willingly ate all kinds of poisonous-looking plants when I was living in Patia Forest, I thought.

It hadn’t hit me last night when I’d been reading Otto’s book, but now, the dots were all connecting. Maybe some of those plants I’d devoured so greedily just to survive had included some yet undiscovered performance-enhancing species?

As I looked down at the goblin’s tragic corpse, I felt my lips twist into a smirk.

Now that I knew that what had happened with the orc wasn’t just a fluke, and that there were undiscovered poisonous plants out there with strong effects, I felt pretty confident that the plants I sought could be found in Patia Forest. I couldn’t say for sure, but chances were high.

I was so excited that I wanted to spring straight for Patia Forest, but I knew that I wasn’t ready for that yet. At this stage, I was still getting my bearings and building a foundation.

I approached the halved goblin and tore off its left ear, which I shoved into my leather bag. Then I continued down the abandoned road, in search of more goblins.

***

Roughly two months had passed since I’d become an adventurer and set off on my first goblin-slaying quest.

My lifestyle was still much the same as it had been when I’d first arrived in Realzahd, but there was one little difference...

“Good morning, Chris. Breakfast’s ready for you.”

“Thanks.”

“We’re gonna head out now, so I’ll let you lock up.”

“Sure thing.”

I’d started sharing a room at the Shangri La Hotel with the two pickpockets I’d met here on my first day.

They’d come to visit me about a month ago. I guess it must have made them think a bit more critically about the way they were living when I caught them trying to steal from me, and they’d decided they were done leading a life of crime.

They’d asked if I’d be open to living with them, and I agreed, since I wanted to keep my living expenses as minimal as possible.

After that, they became adventurers like me. And that brought us to today, where they were just setting off for a full day of questing starting first thing in the morning.

As for me, well, I’d spent the past two months hunting goblins. I’d even managed to make three gold coins for my efforts.

The days had gotten pretty monotonous now that I was spending morning till night doing nothing but goblin hunting, but at least it let me keep my belly full, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. Honestly, it’d been a pretty breezy two months.

What’s more, I’d even increased my rank yesterday from rookie to bronze. It felt like I’d finally taken my first real step as an adventurer...and now I was ready to set off again for Patia Forest tomorrow.

My ultimate goal wasn’t to live as an adventurer; it was to get my revenge on Claus, my sword god brother. Being an adventurer was just a means to that end, so I needed to get stronger as fast as I possibly could.

As I ate the breakfast that Hester had prepared for me, I tried to mentally sort through everything I’d need for my expedition tomorrow. Then, once I’d finished eating, I left the hotel and headed down to the backstreets.

I was kind of excited to go out shopping for the first time in two months, but I’d already decided on what I was going to buy ahead of time, so there’d be no room for impulse purchases. I still wasn’t financially secure enough for something like that.

So, without the means to enjoy my shopping trip too much, I kept myself detached from the experience as I did a lap of the stores that Ralph had recommended to me.

All I bought was a large backpack, some water, some preserved food, a few changes of clothes, and a single vial of the lowest potency healing potion available—just in case. It wasn’t necessarily the perfect equipment set, but I believed it would be enough to get me through my expedition.

The large backpack would be a great replacement for the small bag I’d been using up until now, and it’d allow me to carry significantly more plants back with me.

Most everything I’d bought was secondhand, so it wasn’t exactly the latest fashion, but it was all dirt cheap, so I still left the backstreets feeling pretty satisfied with my purchases.

Once I finished lunch, I headed off to my last destination of the day: the church.

Before I took off for Patia Forest, I wanted to get a clear grasp on my current capabilities. The receptionist at the Adventurers’ Guild had told me that I could go to the church and record my current stats onto my adventurer’s card, so that was my plan.

I wasn’t looking forward to having to cough up a gold coin for the service, but I honestly couldn’t think of any information more valuable than my own capabilities. Plus, in the grand scheme of things, a gold coin was nothing, really.

I wanted to test my theory about the effects of Patia Forest’s plants by recording any status changes I experienced from before and after I feasted on them.

With my current financial situation, I didn’t have enough money to perform the tests necessary to figure out which plants specifically could increase my capabilities, but I could at least confirm or deny the existence of performance-enhancing plants.

So, having made up my mind, I headed toward the biggest building in Realzahd: the church.

It occupied the best spot in town, and gave off a distinctly sacred air. It was on a completely different level to the church where I’d undergone the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony. To start with, it was a whole lot grander in scale. I found myself feeling a bit intimidated as I pushed open the huge, heavy doors at the entrance.

Warm beams of sunlight illuminated the church hall. Whether it was a trick of the layout, or simply by virtue of its holy purpose, the whole place seemed to naturally sparkle—no flashy lights necessary.

A large crowd of people stood facing the priest, their hands clasped together as if they were praying. I weaved my way through them and walked up to the pulpit.

The priest here wasn’t some withered old man, but a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes.

“Hello,” he greeted me. “How can I help you?”

“I’m here for an ability assessment.”

“Ah, you must be an adventurer, then. We don’t conduct ability assessments in the main hall. Please make your way to the room in the back and to the right,” he instructed me with a smile.

I did as he said and found the room he’d indicated, which was dusty, dark, and cramped. It was completely unlike the radiant hall I’d just been in.

In the center of the room was a large blue crystal—just like the one I’d seen during the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony—and a small bell. I rang the bell and stared at the crystal as I waited quietly for someone to arrive.

“Thank you for your patience. You said you were hoping for an ability assessment?”

“Huh? Wait, didn’t I just speak with you in the main hall?”

“Indeed you did. My apologies for the confusion, but we’re a bit short-staffed at the moment, so I’ll be the one to conduct the assessment. My name is Graham, and I’m a priest here at this church.”

“Nice to meet you, Father Graham,” I replied. “Uh... Is it okay to leave the main hall unattended right now, though?”

“Not to worry. If an ability assessment is all you’re after, we’ll be finished in no time at all. I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave the main hall long enough to hear a confession, but...am I correct in assuming you won’t be making one?”

A confession...

An image of myself stealing my parents’ things flashed through my mind for a moment, but I had no intention of making a confession to the church about that. I quickly composed myself again and told him he was correct.

“Yeah. Just an ability assessment, please.”

“Very well, then. We do require a donation of one gold coin for the service.”

I reached into my bag and pulled out the appropriate coin, which I handed to him.

“Thank you for your donation. May I take your adventurer card as well, please?”

“Sure.”

“Please fix your gaze on this crystal. The process won’t take more than a minute,” Graham said, hovering his hands over the blue crystal as he did.

In the next moment, the crystal briefly emanated a pale light, but the light was gone again almost as quickly as it had appeared.

“The ability assessment is complete. Here’s your card back.”

“Where do I find the information about my capabilities?”

“Take a look at the back of the card. I believe it was blank when you handed it to me, but it should now be filled in,” the priest said. “I should return to the service, so I’ll leave you to examine it at your leisure.”

“Right. Thanks. You’ve been a big help,” I said as Father Graham gave a small bow of his head.

After he left, I sat back down in my chair and flipped my adventurer’s card over to look at my abilities.

Chris

Class Affinity: farmer

HP: 10 (+6)

Strength: 5 (+8)

Vitality: 7 (+2)

MP: 1

Agility: 4

Unique Skills: poison immunity

Normal Skills: none

It wasn’t the most detailed breakdown, but it was useful to have a quantified record of my capabilities.

Almost all of my stats were in the single digits, and on the whole, they weren’t all that impressive. After defeating that orc and all those goblins so handily, I’d kind of expected my stats to be a little better than this... Based on the measuring stick the receptionist had given me, these were barely passable stats for a rookie.

I knew that the ability assessment wasn’t comprehensive, since there was nothing in my stats to reflect my sword-fighting capabilities, but I was satisfied with my current physical stats, at least.

A complicated mix of emotions whirled around inside of me. Part of me was disappointed, but another part of me felt glad to know that there was room to improve. As I reflected on this, my eyes kept returning to an aspect of my stats that struck me as unusual: the numbers accompanying the plus signs.

If my initial guess was correct, then the secondary set of numbers in the parentheses indicated stat boosts I couldn’t have possibly acquired on my own. Essentially, they were artificial boosts from potions, magical items...and maybe enhancements from undiscovered plants.

It was certainly a very appealing (and convenient) explanation. But if I ate more poisonous plants and saw even greater stat boosts, then my theory would be confirmed.

For now, though, my stats were right smack in between a rookie and a bronze rank—if I included the numbers next to the plus signs, that was. Also, the skill I had written on my card wasn’t poison resistance but poison immunity.

Just like Ralph had said, my skill was a level above poison resistance.

Maybe the old priest had given me the wrong information, or maybe there was some other reason for the mix-up, but either way, I wasn’t complaining.

I wanted to check out other people’s stats too, but the only other adventurers I knew were the two pickpockets. It would’ve been great if they could undertake an ability assessment too, but they’d only just become adventurers, so I doubted they could afford it. And, as curious as I was to know their stats, I wasn’t curious enough to pay for the privilege.

Happy just to have learned about my own capabilities, I figured it was probably about time to head back to the hotel for the night.

I needed to make sure I got an early night’s sleep, because first thing tomorrow morning, I’d be leaving Realzahd.

Chapter 4: Foraging

The next day, since I’d already taken care of all of the preparations, all I had to do was put everything in my backpack and I was ready to go.

“Hmm?” I heard a voice as I was leaving the hotel room. It was Hester. “Heading out this early, Chris?”

“Sorry, did I wake you?”

“Don’t worry about it. Be careful out there, okay?”

“I will. I’ll be away for a while taking care of some things, so I might not see you for a bit. Let Ralph know too for me, would you? I’ve left some money here to pay for my share of the room while I’m gone.”

“Okay. I’ll let him know.”

“Thanks.”

After giving Hester that heads-up, I left the Shangri La Hotel.

The sun hadn’t come up yet, so it felt like a ghost town as I walked down the typically bustling streets and toward the city gate. They didn’t conduct inspections on your way out, so I exited uninterrupted and started off in the direction of Patia Forest.

Only two months had passed since I’d arrived in Realzahd, but as I walked down the highway, I couldn’t help but reflect on how far I’d come since I showed up at the gates that first day, ragged and desperate. It even made me feel a bit nostalgic, actually.

Then the woods came into sight.

There it is: Patia Forest, my hideout for a month, I thought.

From this distance, where only the tree line was visible, it seemed like nothing more than a peaceful slice of nature. But the sight of it made my pulse quicken. Despite the two months that had passed since my stay there, I felt so anxious that I worried my heart might leap out of my throat.

When I’d left the woods, I’d felt only gratitude for the valuable experience it had given me, but right now, just thinking back on my life there filled me with terror. It was like my brain was releasing some weird chemical that numbed me to all of my senses.

Honestly, though, it was a pretty reasonable reaction. After all, the first time I’d entered, I’d had nothing to eat or drink, nor even a place to sleep. The whole time I was in the woods, I’d been in a pretty precarious position.

As I stepped back into Patia Forest for the first time in two months, I tried to quell my fear by reminding myself that I’d brought everything I needed this time.

A moderate breeze was blowing. The scents of the natural world reached my nostrils, calming me. But I knew it wouldn’t last.

Soon I reached what some might call Patia Forest’s real entrance: a clear spring a short way into the forest. I was painfully aware that this would be the last proper water source I would encounter as I continued deeper into the woods, so I drank some water and refilled my waterskin, just to be safe.

I wasn’t planning on staying for long this time, but you never knew what might happen in the woods. That’s what made them so terrifying.

After taking a brief rest at the spring, I made my way farther into the depths of the woods. The foliage grew thicker and thicker, and the trees gradually began to block out more and more light. I had to count on my fuzzy memories and sense of direction as I continued, trusting that they would lead me to the rock hollow between the boulders where I’d set up camp before.

No matter how long I walked, without any paths, everything around me looked the same. I could only hope that I’d make it there before dark.

“I remember that giant tree there. I’m pretty sure I just have to take a right here and... There it is!”

It had been about three hours since I’d left the spring. I’d been able to find my old shelter between the boulders all too easily.

“Back after only two months... And here I thought I’d never come back here again.”

I was absolutely sure that there were no other people around, so I talked aloud to myself.

I slipped into the crevice in between the boulders, feeling a rush of nostalgia, and set my backpack down.

The gross bugs I’d cleared when I’d first set up camp here hadn’t returned, and even the moss hadn’t grown back all that much. All the place needed was a little touching up to get it back in livable shape.

Since I was planning to stay for a few days, I figured I’d spend some time fixing up my shelter and preparing for the night.

I started by spreading some leaves on the ground. I’d brought a sleeping bag this time, so I put that on top of the leaves. Next, I took out the food provisions and the water I’d scooped up at the spring, and finally, I set out a woven basket I’d brought along with me. My base was now complete.

I knew I could’ve made it even better if I’d put a little more thought and care into it, but for this expedition, I decided this would do just fine. I didn’t come here to go camping, after all. I was here to forage.

I’d arrived at the shelter sooner than I’d expected, so I decided to go out and forage for a bit until the sun set. My plan was to collect as many plants as I could while there was still even a little bit of light.

Using the intel I’d gathered in these last two months from secondhand shops, pharmacies, and the Healers’ Guild, I wanted to focus my foraging efforts on undiscovered poisonous plants.

Once I’d gotten everything I needed in order, I hastily left my shelter and headed out into the woods.

Before hunting that orc, I’d picked and eaten so many of the plants near my campsite that I was almost surprised to see how many were still growing. Armed with new botanical knowledge, I realized now that the forest was full of culinary and medicinal herbs that I hadn’t recognized before. They were pretty much untouched—probably owing to the fact that most monsters and wild animals didn’t eat them.

I found myself drawn to them, but that wasn’t the point of this expedition, so I ignored them and picked all of the poisonous-looking plants I could find instead, stuffing them into my bag.

It would have been a lot easier if I could just focus on the plants I’d eaten during my previous stay, but I’d been so focused on avoiding starvation at the time that I hadn’t really had the wherewithal to commit any of them to memory.

I recalled eating some mushrooms too back then, but thanks to the happy surprise of the orc meat, my memory of them had mostly vanished too.

No matter how much I racked my brain, my memories were fuzzy. Eventually, I had to give up on trying to remember anything and just take whatever I could get my hands on. And before long, my evening of foraging came to an end.

I returned to my shelter and immediately took the plants out of my backpack so I could record my findings on some paper I’d brought with me.

If I’d had the money, then ideally I would get an ability assessment done after eating each variety of plant and record the results. Unfortunately, though, I couldn’t afford that. Instead, my plan was to eat and record all of the plants I’d found on this expedition. If my stats didn’t increase after eating them, then I’d know to avoid all those plants for next time.

If my stats did increase, then I’d divide the same group of plants in half, eat one half, and get another ability assessment done after that. I figured that would be a frugal but effective way to gradually zero in on which plants actually did something.

As soon as I finished jotting down the notable characteristics of the plants I’d found and assigning them arbitrary names, I was finally ready to start eating.

All I really remembered about the forest’s vegetation was that it was not exactly a gourmet experience. I wasn’t all that excited about it, but when I reminded myself that it was all part of my training, I managed to pluck up my nerve.

The first thing I ate was a sketchy-looking mushroom, since I remembered from my last trip that the mushrooms here were actually not that bad.

This one had a white cap dotted with several red specks. Something about the way it smelled suggested that it wasn’t fit for human consumption.

After roasting it over the fire a bit to make it a little more palatable, I shoved the whole mushroom in my mouth all at once. Just like I remembered, it tasted a whole lot better than the green plants. It even had a hint of umami.

I was a little put off by the gritty texture and the unpleasantly salty aftertaste, but I would have taken that over the relentless bitterness of the plants any day.

After the first mushroom, I took out two more species and ate them easily. All that was left now was to eat the plants.

I psyched myself up and popped the first one into my mouth, starting to regret that I’d saved the worst for last.

This plant was an especially creepy one that kind of looked like a giant mouth. Worse yet, it had several little...things...growing out of it that kind of looked like bugs’ antennae.

After hesitating for a moment, I steeled myself and started chewing it...releasing a disgusting texture that practically burst in my mouth.

A rancid, sour taste coated my mouth, and in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but think that I might’ve bitten into some kind of bug that had hitched a ride on the plant.

My body rejected the foul substance, making me retch involuntarily, but I covered my mouth with both hands and forced myself to swallow it.

The plant itself had been bitter and horrifically disgusting, but the rancid, sour taste of whatever else had been inside had been especially unpleasant.

I couldn’t help dwelling on the possibility that the plant had been carnivorous and the strangely sour taste had been a partially digested bug, which really threw cold water on my excitement for this experiment. But I continued undeterred, pushing the next plant into my mouth.

I ate a lot slower overall than I had when I was last here (probably because I wasn’t operating on a completely empty stomach this time), but I still managed to eat about eight different species of poisonous plants in one sitting.

Even after I’d finished, though, an awful, acidic bile threatened to make its way up my throat. That was all the evidence I needed to feel vindicated in my aversion to eating them. These particular plants might have had some valuable uses, but they definitely weren’t culinary ones.

As I cleansed my palate with some dried fruit I’d packed, I took a look at my plant journal.

My goal for this expedition was to ingest thirty different species of poisonous plants, and to take them all back to Realzahd with me.

I put the rest of the eight species I’d foraged today in the woven basket I’d set up earlier so they could dry in the sun and last a bit longer.

I was concerned about being detained during the gate inspection, but I was still determined to take them back to Realzahd with me.

Hoping that all this effort would pay off, I left the plants there in the basket, tucked myself into my sleeping bag, and fell asleep.

Five days had passed since my return to Patia Forest.

As usual, I hadn’t encountered any monsters, and there were really no incidents to speak of. I’d finished collecting thirty different species of plants the day before yesterday. I’d used up the whole following day drying the specimens out in the sun, and today I was finally ready to head back.

In spite of the trepidation that had made me tremble at the entrance six days ago, my time here had actually been peaceful and quiet. I felt like this expedition had helped me overcome my fear of the forest, and next time, I was bound to be a lot more relaxed—maybe it’d even feel like taking a nice break from adventuring?

If there was anything to complain about, it was that I had to eat nasty-tasting plants every day. But that was kind of the whole reason I’d come here in the first place, so I knew I’d just have to grit my teeth and bear it.

As I reflected on my six days in the woods, I returned my shelter once again to the way I’d found it and packed the dried plant specimens into my backpack.

Now that they were dry, they’d shrunk significantly. I’d collected three samples of each of the thirty different species to take back with me—which was kind of a lot—but they took up so little space now that I could shove them into the bottom of my backpack, and security at the gate probably wouldn’t even notice.

Finally, I got all of my things together and prepared to leave.

I gave a bow of thanks to my shelter and began making my way out of the deep woods. I got a little lost on the way, so it took about half a day for me to reach the edge of Patia Forest.

Once I was out of the woods, I set off down the highway for Realzahd. It had been about a week since I’d left.

I was looking forward to being treated with a lot less suspicion now that my clothes weren’t full of holes. Plus, I’d even gotten to wash off at the forest’s spring.

I lined up outside the gate and tried to look as normal and unassuming as possible. As long as I didn’t look anxious or do anything weird, I was a lot more confident than last time that the inspection would go smoothly.

“Got any ID?” the guard asked me.

“I’ve got an adventurer’s card.”

“Well, let’s see it, then. And open up your bag so we can check inside.”

I handed the guard my adventurer’s card and took my backpack off, opening it up for another guard to inspect the contents.

Just as I’d expected, they gave it a quick glance, and that was that. I’d made it through the bag check. Once they’d confirmed that my adventurer’s card was legit, I was able to make my way easily through Realzahd’s gate.

I’d enjoyed hearing nothing but the sounds of nature back in Patia Forest, but it was nice to hear the bustling of the city again.

As I looked around at the teeming crowds, I decided to stop by the church on my way back to the hotel. Needless to say, I wanted to get another ability assessment done.

It felt kind of bad to use up two of the three gold coins that I’d saved up throughout these last two months, but I knew this was probably just the beginning. I had no doubt that I’d be spending a lot of coin on these assessments going forward.

As reluctant as I was to part with my money, this wasn’t the place to be trying to cut costs. I’d pay whatever it took.

I entered the church and noticed that there wasn’t a service today. Unlike when I’d come in before, it was almost deserted.

I made my way through the empty church and entered the room where I’d gotten my ability assessment done before. Then I rang the little bell.

After a few minutes, the door opened and revealed a priest. It was the same handsome blond, blue-eyed man from before: Father Graham.

“Hmm? Weren’t you just here for an assessment?” he asked me.

“Yeah. I’m hoping to get another one.”

“It’s still going to cost you one gold coin, just like the first time. Are you all right with that? I can’t imagine that your stats would have changed significantly in just a few days’ time...”

“I know. That’s all right.”

“Well, all right... As long as you understand. That’ll be one gold, please.”

I pulled the coin out of my bag and handed it to him, along with my adventurer’s card.

“Thank you. I’ll begin the assessment now, so please wait just a moment,” Father Graham said.

Just like before, the crystal emitted a light, and the assessment was complete.

It seemed like such a simple process that I couldn’t help wondering how I might do it on my own, but I had no idea how it worked. What’s the key here? Was there something special about the crystal itself, or was it some unique power that Father Graham wielded?

Either way, it was clear that doing it myself was beyond my capabilities at present.

“All done. Now then, if you’ll excuse me...”

“Thanks. I appreciate your help.”

After bowing deeply, Father Graham left the room. I wasted no time checking my updated stats.

If nothing had changed since last time, then I could conclude that the plants I’d brought back with me were nothing but junk. But maybe, just maybe...

Chris

Class Affinity: farmer

HP: 10 (+7)

Strength: 5 (+8)

Vitality: 7 (+3)

MP: 1

Agility: 4

Unique Skills: poison immunity

Normal Skills: none

Sure enough, my secondary stats in the parentheses had subtly increased. My HP and vitality had each gone up by one, which was all the evidence I needed to confirm that at least some of the plants I’d eaten in Patia Forest had latent performance-enhancing properties.

It might have seemed like an insignificant improvement if you were only taking into consideration the sheer numerical values, but it was actually pretty remarkable if you thought about how ingesting ten times the amount might give me a tenfold status bonus. I didn’t know that would happen, but it felt like the logical conclusion, at least.

Admittedly, it did feel a little bit like cheating...but, the circumstances being what they were, I could live with that. I was willing to do everything I could to get stronger.

Riding high on my successful expedition, I stopped by a stall to buy meat skewers for three on my way home to the hotel.

When I opened the door to my room, I saw Ralph and Hester sitting on the floor, deep in conversation. The moment Ralph saw my face, he threw me the most menacing glare I’d ever seen.

“Hey, what gives?! Who the hell leaves their roommates for a whole week without even saying anything?!” he yelled, getting right in my face.

“Huh? But I told Hester I was leaving...”

“Yeah, I know—’cause she told me! But you didn’t say anything to me, did you?! And if Hester hadn’t woken up as you were leaving, you probably wouldn’t have even said anything to her either!”

“Well, I’m back, aren’t I? So what’s the big deal? At least let me sit down. I’m exhausted.”

I pushed past Ralph and took a seat on the floor.

“Where the hell did you go, anyway?” he asked me. “Wait... You’re not moving out, are you?”

“No. Now calm down and have a meat skewer.”

I grabbed some skewers for myself and threw the rest of the bag at Ralph.

Ralph must not have eaten a proper meal in days, because the moment he laid eyes on the skewers, his eyes lit up and his anger completely vanished. He wasted no time chowing down on one.

“Thanks, Chris,” said Hester.

“Don’t mention it. You can return the favor sometime when you’ve saved up enough from adventuring.”

“Sho! Veh’d uh go?” Ralph piped up again.

“Ugh, stop. Wait till you’ve finished eating, will you?”

“So, where’d you go?!” he said after swallowing.

I was surprised that he was so interested in what I’d been up to. Honestly, I’d kind of been hoping to stave off any questions with the meat skewer offerings, but Ralph seemed undeterred.

It was kind of a pain to explain it all, and I really just wanted to continue my plant experiments...but I knew he’d keep pestering me if I didn’t at least tell him something.

“Remember how I told you I hid in the woods for a while? Well, that’s where I was. I went back and camped out there for a bit,” I said.

“The forest, huh? Well, that’s no big deal, then! Why did you wanna go back and spend another week there, though?”

“There was just something I wanted to check out,” I said evasively. “Anyway, how’s the adventuring been going?”

I was just trying to change the subject with some small talk about their progress, but the moment I asked, the smiles they’d worn while eating the meat skewers suddenly disappeared, and their expressions darkened.

Damn... Why do I have a feeling I’ve just opened an even more tedious can of worms?

My gut was telling me I was going to regret asking, but it was too late now.

“Awful, actually. We’ve been slaying five goblins a day for one silver coin, but a room here is four coppers a night, and we use up the other six just on meals. We’ve been struggling just to get by. If one of us gets injured, we won’t even be able to take on five goblins anymore, and if we can’t do that, we won’t have money to eat.”

“Sounds rough. Good luck out there.”

“Hey, we were actually thinking—” Ralph began.

“Nope. Absolutely not. I can’t afford to do that,” I interrupted.

“Hey! You didn’t even let me finish my sentence!”

I actually had a pretty good guess what Ralph wanted to say, considering the solemn mood I’d found them in when they’d clearly been starting to consider the possibility that I wasn’t coming back. I’d have bet good money that the rest of that sentence was: Why don’t the three of us form a party?

“Why don’t the three of us form a party?” Ralph said.

It was word for word exactly what I’d predicted, and I couldn’t help but snort.

That must’ve pissed him off, because he looked ready to bite my head off again, but Ralph just clenched his fist and stayed quiet.

“Well, that doesn’t change my answer. It’s not happening. I can’t afford to team up with you guys,” I said.

“Don’t give me that! You managed to survive for a whole week without doing any adventuring! You’ve even got enough money to treat us to meat skewers! Come on, help us out here!”

“I worked hard for that money. If you’re gonna talk to me like that, then you can give those meat skewers back.”

“S... Sorry. I was out of line.”

It was weird hearing him be so meek. He really must have been desperate for a meal, because this was completely out of character for him.

To be fair, they did have it hard. It was a tough life, fighting goblins from sunrise until sunset, all to make a single silver coin. And since they were splitting it between the two of them, each only ended up with five coppers. Starvation seemed like a pretty unavoidable fate if one of them ever suffered even a minor injury that might slow them down.

We were roommates now, so I’d have been lying if I said that I didn’t feel a little sorry for them...but I really didn’t have the means to help them out right now.

That wasn’t to say that I wouldn’t give it some thought, though—if they could be useful to me somehow, that was.

“Hey, what blessings did you two get from the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony?” I asked.

“Like we’d tell you!” Ralph shot back. “You can’t trick us into showing our hand.”

“I don’t see what the big deal is. I told you mine, didn’t I? Besides, if I’d wanted to kill you, I could’ve done it in your sleep any number of times.”

“My class affinity is mage, and my skill is MP recovery,” said Hester.

“Hey! Hester!”

“What? I don’t mind telling Chris,” she replied.

So, she’s a mage, huh? I thought.

Mage was one of the basic combat classes—and it was also the rarest one.

But even with a mage affinity, it was extremely difficult to actually become a mage. For starters, you had to be able to command and manipulate MP perfectly and with ease. Then, to actually use spells, you also had to either attend a magic academy or get your hands on some grimoires to study on your own.

If you went the grimoire route, then you had better be well acquainted with ancient scripts—otherwise, you’d be out of luck. And while you could find basic magic grimoires at the markets, they sold for much steeper prices than Otto’s autobiography did.

That didn’t leave a poor mage with many options, since magic academies were also off the table for all but the wealthiest of nobles and the kids who’d received advanced magical class affinities at the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony.

Generally speaking, that meant that mage was the worst of all of the potential basic combat class affinities that you could receive.

“A mage, huh? Well, that’s a whole lot better than being a farmer, but it sounds like we both got pretty useless affinities, huh?”

“I guess we did. But I do think I have a lot of potential. I actually became a pickpocket so I could save up enough money to buy a grimoire. I haven’t given up on becoming a proper mage yet.”

“Right... Is that why you asked if I could read, back at the Seven Fortunes?”

“Th-That was months ago. I’m surprised you remember.”

“You seemed like you wanted to ask me something else too at the time, so it kind of stuck in my memory.”

“Sorry about that. I know it might be kind of weird for me to ask this now, but...in the one in a million chance I get my hands on a grimoire, could you teach me how to read it?”

“Sure. I don’t mind.”

“Thank you!”

It was hard to call getting a mage affinity anything other than a stroke of bad luck, but as long as you could learn some magic, a mage had the potential to be as powerful as even a more advanced combat class.

There was every chance that Hester might undergo a radical transformation in the future.

“So, what blessings did you get at the ceremony, Ralph?”

“I already told you, I’m not gonna answer that.”

“Ralph got a paladin affinity,” Hester answered for him. “His skills are divine protection, divine strike, and protector’s roar.”

“Hester! What’s wrong with you?!”

“A paladin...? Wait, then how’d you wind up here?”

Paladins were an advanced combat class.

Getting a paladin affinity was like winning the lottery, since it meant you could work directly in the king’s service as a member of the Royal Guard. Even if you didn’t join the Royal Guard, you were pretty much guaranteed to be immediately recruited by the top adventuring clans. And if you didn’t want to join one of those clans either, then no problem—people and work would naturally flock to you.

So, it was pretty inconceivable that a paladin would ever end up picking pockets with the rest of the outcasts in the city’s backstreets.

“Ralph hurt his knee pretty bad as a kid. The lingering pain makes it difficult for him to walk,” Hester explained.

“That does explain some things...like why you sent Hester out to do the actual pickpocketing while you waited alone in that abandoned house. And when you threatened me with your dagger, you looked like you knew what you were doing but you were also kind of off-balance. Guess that was ’cause of your knee, huh?”

“Ugh! Thanks a lot for spilling all my secrets, Hester.”

“You guys are probably the only party of combat class affinity wielders to struggle so much against goblins. Man...talk about a slew of bad luck.”

“Our bad luck started a long time ago. Both of us were abandoned pretty much as soon as we were born. We’re both so cursed that we’ve had to team up just to make a proper living for one person,” Ralph grumbled, in a tone that was uncharacteristically pitiful.

It couldn’t have been easy for him to make a living in this cold, hard world when he couldn’t even move freely—and all because of a knee injury from when he was just a kid.

I’d lived a pretty comfortable life, up until this year when I’d turned sixteen. I’d always been in good health, and I’d had the opportunity to learn not only swordsmanship but also arithmetic and reading and writing.

Honestly, I was in no position to lecture them about anything.

“Does that mean that you could turn your life around if only you could heal your knee injury?” I asked.

“Yeah. But the local doctor examined me and told me it would never fully heal. I’m gonna be stuck limping my whole life.”

“You’re gonna give up just ’cause of what some doctor said?” I asked.

“It’s not like I never tried to fix it! I’ve spent a lot of time looking for a cure, even long before I ever went to the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony. But it was all for nothing, ’cause there was none!”

“You say that, but you were just some penniless orphan without any connections. It’s no wonder you didn’t turn up any leads. But you assume there isn’t a cure just ’cause you couldn’t find one? That just sounds crazy to me.”

“W-Well, I...!”

“Anyway, I think you both have a lot of potential. My parents disowned me after the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony, so I know it’s a little weird for me to put so much stock into it like this, but I’ve changed my mind. I’ll join a party with you two.”

Ralph made a sour face, as if he were offended. Hester, on the other hand, looked absolutely delighted.

“There’s just one catch: I won’t join you yet. Like I said before, I’ve got stuff I need to do. I don’t have time to mess around with anyone who can’t even slay goblins comfortably.”

“So...which is it, then? Are you joining us, or not?” asked Ralph.

“What I’m saying is, my minimum requirement for teaming up is that you two get strong enough to comfortably slay a goblin.”

“But the whole reason we’re asking you to team up is ’cause we can’t comfortably slay goblins! You’re getting this all mixed—”

“It’s a deal!” Hester interrupted. “Ralph and I will work on getting strong enough to slay goblins comfortably!”

“Hey! Hester!”

“That’s that, then. We’ll have a real discussion about forming a party together once you’ve accomplished that,” I said.

I felt no pity for them, nor any desire to protect them.

I’d only just leveled up from rookie to bronze, and I couldn’t spare even a small fraction of the effort I’d need to surpass Claus. The only reason I was even considering teaming up was because I could see them becoming assets down the line.

I was taking a risk on that bet, and the conclusion I’d come to was that forming a party with them was the right choice—in my quest to surpass Claus, I mean.

With that, I turned my back to them and returned to doing my own stuff.

I’d only just returned to Realzahd, but there was heaps to do. To make up for the time I’d lost talking to Ralph and Hester, I started to sort through the dried plants I’d brought back.

Chapter 5: Forming a Party

I’d ended up staying up late that night doing some work, so I woke the next day feeling a little sleep deprived.

I was really tempted to go straight back to sleep, but I knew I needed to start making some money again. I’d already spent two of the three gold coins I’d earned from two months of hunting goblins on skill assessments, and the third had gone to purchasing supplies for my expedition into Patia Forest.

I didn’t want to dip into the money I’d gotten from pawning those stolen goods unless I really had to, but I was going to be in pretty dire financial straits unless I resumed my adventuring activities.

After slapping my cheeks as hard as I could, I shook off the last remains of my lethargy and crawled out of bed.

When I looked around the room, I noticed that the other two were gone. They’d probably left first thing in the morning.

As I packed up my things and readied myself for the day, I couldn’t help but notice that it felt a little lonely here without them—it was a little too roomy in our shared room when I was here by myself.

I left the hotel and made my way to the Adventurers’ Guild, then headed straight to the quest desk.

Starting today, I’d be able to accept bronze-level quests. I was eager to say goodbye to the days of goblin hunting, but that didn’t mean they were off the menu entirely. Reaching this rank didn’t mean I couldn’t still keep hunting goblins—if I wanted to, that was.

Bronze-rank quests paid better, obviously, but there was a case to be made for continuing to hunt more goblins. After two months of nothing but goblin quests, I’d gotten pretty good at tackling the little monsters. You might even say I was a bit of a professional now.

Even though goblin hunting paid the least, the thought occurred to me that at the end of the day, I still might be able to make better money off them if I kept up the same rate of slaying. That being said, it felt like I ought to at least accept a bronze quest today, just to see what they were like.

Worst-case scenario, if bronze quests prove to be an inefficient way to make money, I can just go back to goblins again tomorrow, I thought as I took my place in line at the quest desk.

“Welcome to the quest desk. How may I help you?” asked the receptionist once I’d made my way to the front.

“I’d like to accept a quest.”

“Understood. Can I please see your adventurer’s card?”

After we’d finished the typical introductory exchange, I handed her my card.

“Mr. Chris, yes? Let’s see here... It looks like you’ve leveled up from rookie to bronze rank since last time. Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“From here on, you’ll be able to accept bronze-rank quests. What kind of quest would you like today?”

“I’d like a bronze-rank monster-hunting quest. What do you have available?”

“You have access to a broader range of quests now, so I’m going to have to ask you to be a little more specific. Would you like to hunt many monsters today or just a few?”

“Just a few, please.”

“Understood. The available quests in this category are: a stray-cowbird-hunting quest, a baby-lizard-hunting quest, a bubble-wisp-hunting quest in an abandoned village to the east, and a sludge-slime-hunting quest downstream of the Mizzuria River. Each of these quests requires you to slay only one monster for completion,” the receptionist explained.

A stray cowbird, a baby lizard, a bubble wisp, or a sludge slime, huh? I thought.

I hadn’t heard of any of those monsters before, but I had a pretty good idea what to expect based on the names.

The stray cowbird sounded like the easiest to slay, but there was one thing about the receptionist’s list that I couldn’t help but wonder about.

“I noticed that some of the quests have a location and some don’t,” I said. “What’s the difference between them?”

“People who submit requests without a designated location are after parts. These quests can only be completed once you’ve brought back the remains of the monster, or any specifically designated parts.”

“I see. So then, quests with a location are from people who just want the monsters in a specific area gone?” I asked.

“That’s correct, sir. You can generally assume that quests without a designated location will have higher rewards.”

That made sense. No designated location meant you’d have to do some research on the monster and actually go find it yourself. Plus, then you’d have to dismember it for the desired parts or bring the entire carcass back.

It sounded like a lot of work, so it was no wonder that those quests tended to pay better.

As I tried to figure out which quest I should pick, I considered my chances. If I took on a quest without a designated location without a party, it would probably be impossible to finish it within a day.

But as always, it comes down to the money...

If non-location-specific quests paid twice as much as the location-specific ones, then it would be more efficient to just spend two days tackling location-specific quests.

“Which of those quests pays the best?” I asked.

“Today, the stray cowbird offers the biggest reward. The quest was commissioned by a butcher, who requested the monster’s torso. The reward is one gold coin, but depending on the size and condition of the cowbird, the butcher has offered to pay up to three.”

“So there’s a chance for a two gold coin bonus, huh? Got it. And what is the lowest-paying quest of the ones you mentioned?”

“The sludge slime and bubble wisp quests both offer the smallest rewards. Completing either of these will earn you four silver coins.”

The reward for the stray cowbird torso was obviously pretty enticing, and it was hard to believe that slaying even one of the lowest-reward monsters would net the same amount of money as slaying twenty-four goblins.

These bronze-rank quests really do pay well after all, I thought.

The stray cowbird quest seemed like the best pick if I were choosing based solely on the reward, but there had to be a good reason it paid so well.

I could easily wind up going for a whole week without managing to hunt one down, and then I’d be in an even worse financial position than before.

I needed money now, which meant it was probably the safest bet to accept a location-specific quest.

“I’ll take the sludge slime quest, then,” I told the receptionist.

“Understood. The quest will reward you with four silver coins for slaying a sludge slime downstream of the Mizzuria River. You may slay up to three slimes in total, for four silver coins each.”

“Got it. Thanks for your help,” I said, standing up.

Just as I was about to leave the quest desk, however, the receptionist abruptly stood and called after me.

“Excuse me, sir, just one more moment,” she said, sounding flustered.

“Hmm? Was there something else?” I asked.

“You can accept a greater variety of quests now that you’ve reached the bronze rank. There’s too much information for me to list them all each time, so I suggest you take a look at the quest boards over there.”

“Oh, so that’s what that crowd over there is doing?”

“That’s correct, sir. The boards list available quests by rank. You’ll find quests for bronze, silver, and gold ranks starting with the board on the right. In the future, you can accept quests more easily by bringing the slip with your chosen quest here to the quest desk. Please be sure to take a careful look at the quests before selecting.”

“I see. Thanks for explaining it to me,” I said.

“My pleasure. You’re still welcome to select a quest via the receptionist like you did today, if you prefer that over sorting through them yourself. Please feel free to choose whichever method suits you best.”

“All right. I think I’ll try using the board from now on.”

“Very good, sir. Best of luck on your adventures.”

Huh, okay. So, I guess I can pick a quest from the board and bring the slip up to the receptionist, I thought.

She was right that it was pretty time-consuming to go through the quests one by one at the desk like I’d been, so I figured it’d be worth taking a look at the quest descriptions and rewards outlined on the board in the future instead.

Sounds like a plan, I thought as I left the Adventurers’ Guild. Now...what’s next?

I didn’t want to overdo it too much preparing for this quest, so I decided I’d stick to the same equipment I’d been using for goblin hunting.

I knew the smart way to approach this would be to do my research first and come up with an informed strategy for how to tackle the sludge slime, but if I’d wanted to spend that much time on a quest, I would’ve taken one of the non-location-specific ones.

I wasn’t going to go in thinking it would be a breeze or anything, but I decided I’d stick to my usual monster-hunting strategy and hope for the best.

After checking Mizzuria River’s location on a map, I headed out and left Realzahd. From there, I just had to walk south for a bit until I spotted a big river.

That must be Mizzuria River. If I keep following it downstream, I’ll probably run into a sludge slime, I thought.

It was a pretty big river, so I had a feeling I’d find more than one. In fact, there would probably be some other monsters hiding out here too.

As I walked along the bank, on high alert, I eventually noticed a bunch of bug-like monsters squirming along the edge of the water.

They looked like they were swarming around a corpse. Whatever it was, they were clearly having a feast.

I had a feeling there were probably some quests that required you to hunt them down, but I was no match for monsters like these.

Humanoid enemies were no problem for me, but I had no idea how to slay tiny monsters in a swarm like that. Sure, you could probably take them out easily with a blunt weapon or some kind of skill or magic, but trying to kill them off one by one with a sword seemed ill-advised.

Now that I could accept bronze-level quests, I’d have to be careful to scrutinize my options and carefully consider which ones would play to my strengths.

As I watched the swarming bug monsters out of the corner of my eye, I gained a renewed appreciation for the importance of good intel.

After walking for about twenty more minutes farther down the bank, I came across a dark, muddy ball of water that seemed to be wriggling around just where the river split off into a tributary stream.

Its shape was so amorphous that it was hard to tell from just a glance that it was even a living creature, but I quickly realized that it was probably one of the sludge slimes I was looking for.

Slimes were distinctive for the oozing liquid that covered their core, which they typically weaponized by flinging it at their enemies.

Based on what I could see of the sludge slime, the liquid that surrounded its core was apparently...sludge.

Mizzuria River was kind of gross, owing to its function as a sewerage system, but this sludge slime was like a concentrated ball of all of the grossest stuff in the river.

I was still pretty far away, but it stank so badly that I could already smell it. I thought I might hurl.

I’d assumed that the bubble wisp was an undead monster without any solid form, so based purely on practicality, I’d settled on this sludge slime quest. I was really starting to regret that choice, though...

Even if I could slay the sludge slime handily, it would probably be impossible to completely dodge all of its attacks. It was starting to dawn on me that there was a very real chance I’d have to return to Realzahd smelling like sewage.

Worst-case scenario, the stench might cling to my weapon and armor so badly that I’d have no choice but to ditch them. The thought of just turning around and getting the hell out was starting to feel more and more tempting.

Unfortunately, though, there was a big penalty for failing quests. And when I pictured having to go home tonight empty-handed, I couldn’t bring myself to leave without finishing the job.

“Whew...”

After steeling myself with a big sigh, I started walking over to the sludge slime.

The round monster was just bobbing around. It was impossible to tell its head from its rear, which meant launching a surprise attack was out of the question. My only choice was to tackle it straight on.

The closer I got to it, the stronger the stench became. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, but I didn’t let it distract me as I unsheathed my sword and positioned myself to attack.

The sludge slime must have noticed me approaching, because it rose out of the river and crawled up onto the bank, making its way slowly toward me.

Now that I was seeing it up close, I realized it was big. It was roughly my height, actually.

The sludge surrounding its core was changing color to a dark purple, but I could see through the sludge to the core itself, which was pitch-black.

When the core moved, the sludge around it clung on as if following it, but whenever the core stood still, the sludge concentrated around it, practically burying it. I knew my best chance of striking the core successfully would be to time my attack for when it was moving forward.

I resigned myself to the possibility of getting sludged if I couldn’t find a spot on the core to attack, but if I could, then my plan was to try to take it out in one strike.

After preparing myself for the worst, I waited for my chance as it approached.

Three... Two... One...

As the sludge slime moved forward, entering my range, I stabbed directly into it with as much force as I could muster.

It was a flawless strike. The moment my body began to move, I felt sure of that.

And yet...

There must have been something solid mixed into the sludge, because the tip of my sword seemed to have just barely failed to pierce the core.

I’d felt it make contact, but it hadn’t been enough to destroy it. I immediately withdrew my sword from the sludge and began planning a retreat.

The sludge slime came after me, shaking its body and sending sludge flying. I was so high on adrenaline from my desperation to survive that I somehow managed to avoid it.

I realized I wouldn’t be able to time another attack like the last one, so I grabbed my sword-wielding arm with my other arm and forced it to make another strike, damn the consequences.

The core was completely engulfed in a globular cloak of sludge, but I managed to push through and stab it.

This strike was significantly more difficult than the first one, owing to my awkward position and the cloak of sludge that absorbed much of the force, and yet...

The moment my sword hit the core, I could feel something break. I could only assume that I must have done a fair amount of damage with my first strike, because this seemed to do the sludge slime in.

I immediately withdrew my sword and took a step back, assessing the sludge slime’s condition.

It seemed to be struggling to keep its round shape—likely because the core was broken. I watched it slowly begin to pool, as if it were melting, into nothing but shapeless sludge.

As proof that I’d slain the monster, I took a fragment of the core out of the sludge pool and then sprinted toward the water to wash off my arm and sword.

Part of my sleeve had been slimed, so I ripped it off and carefully washed the rest of the sludge off of my arm. Once it was reasonably clean, I moved on to my sword. It was covered in sludge all the way up to the hilt, so I took my time washing it thoroughly before coating the blade with oil and sheathing it again.

It was a cheap sword, but it had still cost me a decent amount. I couldn’t bring myself to part with it just yet.

I’ll just have them fix it up at the weapon shop, I thought.

My tussle with the sludge slime hadn’t exactly been a grueling, heroic battle, but it had left me pretty exhausted.

I’m not sure this is worth it for four silvers.

I’d probably have to waste five coppers getting my sword back into shape, not to mention five more to replace the shirt I’d had to rip up. That left me with a net total of three silvers...and a stink to follow me home.

I’d finished up pretty early, considering it was still morning, but a quick job wasn’t necessarily an easy one. I resolved to myself that I would never take another sludge slime quest again.

Once I managed to snap myself out of my funk, I headed back to Realzahd.

***

Roughly a month had passed since that fateful fight against the sludge slime.

I’d learned my lesson, and ever since then, I chose my quests very carefully. Even the bronze quests were pretty doable for me by now, and everything was progressing smoothly.

My morning routine began with checking the quest board, and once I selected a quest, I’d head straight to the designated location and finish up no later than the afternoon. In the evening, I’d return to the Adventurers’ Guild for my reward and get ready for the next day of adventuring.

Whenever I had some spare time, I’d practice swinging my sword or stop by the pharmacy or Healers’ Guild to learn more about botany. I felt like I was making the most of my time.

Every day, I’d make at least four silver coins. Sometimes I’d even make up to eight. Minus my living expenses, I’d managed to save up twelve gold coins.

Sure, I’d had to work nonstop for a month to make those coins...but the thing was, I’d never even dreamed that I could make that much money when I’d started out here in Realzahd.

Adventuring was a dangerous line of work, and considering that any injuries I sustained would be entirely my problem to deal with, the money I made was probably paltry compared to the risk. Still, it felt like an awful lot of money, and I was honestly just grateful to have it.

In any case, I now had enough money to pay off my debt to Lugentz at the Seven Fortunes. I could even take some time off from adventuring for another expedition into Patia Forest to conduct further research on its poisonous plants.

So, my plan for today was to stop by the Seven Fortunes, then eat half of the plant samples I’d preserved and go to the church for another assessment, since it had been about a month since my last one.

Once I’d gone over everything I needed to do, I left the hotel.

The backstreets had seemed seedy and full of ne’er-do-wells when I’d first visited, but by now, I was used to it. I headed to the Seven Fortunes with an easy spring in my step.

I’d visited the shop several times over the past few months, so Lugentz and I were pretty friendly now.

“Well, if it isn’t Chris,” he greeted me. “Back to peruse the weapons?”

“Actually, I’m here today to pay off my debt. Sorry for keeping you waiting so long.”

“You’re ready to pay it off already? I know I told you to come back as soon as you had the money, but I don’t mind if you want to pay it off little by little, you know.”

“That’s all right. I’m making some good money now with adventuring, so I can afford it. I really appreciate you offering this arrangement.”

I bowed my head deeply, then handed Lugentz the three gold coins I owed.

If Lugentz hadn’t offered to let me pay for Otto’s autobiography at a later date, it was unlikely that I ever would have bought it—and if I’d never bought it, then I would have never realized the effect that the poisonous plants had had on me.

I probably would have been adventuring just to survive, never realizing my potential, until one day my life would end with nothing to show for it.

Lugentz had made the offer for me to pay for the book later, knowing full well that there was every risk I might never come back. And for that, I was so grateful to him that I couldn’t even bring myself to lift my head.

“Well, if you’re sure... I won’t turn away your coin, then. Thanks, Chris.”

“No, thank you,” I said. “I owe you a lot.”

“So, how did you find the book? I trust it was an engaging read?”

“You could say that...though ‘engaging’ is probably an understatement, considering it contains the most useful information I’ve come across in my entire life.”

Lugentz chuckled.

“I’m sure the author would be thrilled to hear it’s been of such use to you,” he said, sounding so pleased and proud that you might have thought he’d written the book himself.

“Now then, did you just stop by here today to pay for the book?” he asked.

“No. There was also something I wanted to ask you, actually. Do you sell any grimoires?”

“Grimoires, hmm...? I’m pretty sure I’ve still got something around here somewhere. Wait there a minute and I’ll have a look,” Lugentz said before heading into the back of the shop.

I’d wanted to see if he had any grimoires for Hester, and from the sound of it, it seemed like he might.

“Ah-hah! Knew I had one lying around here! This thing’s probably been around for centuries, but it’s a grimoire, all right.”

“So, this is a grimoire? It really doesn’t look like just your average book, does it. I mean, it’s even got fancy decorations on the cover.”

It was obvious at a glance that the book was very old, and from the gold and silver decorative flourishes, it was obviously not just any old book.

I’d been thinking about buying it if the price was right, but I could tell that it was way out of my league.

“That’s grimoires for you, son. Hester pleaded with me to put it aside for her, so it’s been gathering dust in the back of the shop.”

“Hester asked you to?” I stopped, considering the implications of this. “You didn’t offer to let her pay for it later?”

Lugentz chuckled again.

“I told you, remember? I don’t do that for just anyone. If I’d given that grimoire to Hester, I’d never see her again.”

“I get it. I feel bad saying this after I’ve gotten to know her, but she’s not very trustworthy at all, is she?”

“You say that because you know her so well, not in spite of it. But enough about Hester. Are you interested in buying that?”

“How much is it?”

“I’d say it’s worth two platinum coins.”

I was so stunned by that quote that I burst out laughing.

I know how rich this must sound, coming from a guy who tosses a bunch of gold coins into the church’s purse for a bunch of ability assessments, but that was just ridiculously expensive.

One platinum coin was worth ten gold. I’d have to work for two months straight without a single day’s rest to earn that kind of money.

The worst part was that two platinum coins was the price it fetched used, selling on the backstreet markets. I honestly couldn’t even begin to imagine how much a brand-new grimoire would cost.

“Yeah, there’s no way I can afford that. I figured it’d be expensive, but not that expensive,” I said.

“I understand. I spent a whole day myself mulling over whether or not it was a worthwhile investment, and sure enough, it’s been sitting on the shelf this whole time. It’s not exactly what backstreet shoppers are looking for, I suppose.”

“Well, maybe I’ll come back to buy it one day. So, I’ll take it off your hands then,” I said.

“Oh? Are you interested? It’s worth too much not to charge a deposit...but I trust you. I’d be happy to let you pay for the rest later, just like with the botany book.”

“You mean that?!” I exclaimed. Then, after collecting myself, I said, “Wait... But...”

The prospect of being able to pay later for something worth two platinum coins was so tempting, I almost bit. But at the end of the day, it was still worth two platinums.

A deferred payment was technically just a debt, and the grimoire’s only use to me was helping Hester learn magic. A mage who couldn’t use magic was basically useless, but on the other hand, all she had to do was learn magic to become useful.

I’d agreed to form a party with her and Ralph once they were able to comfortably slay goblins, so it would be a huge plus to me in the long run if Hester could start studying magic right away. The sooner she could hold her own, the better.

Still... I wasn’t about to put myself in debt for her.

I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t let myself get taken advantage of, so I couldn’t just take on a massive debt like that when there was the very real possibility that she’d make a run for it the moment she didn’t need my help anymore.

“I really appreciate the offer, but at that kind of price, I think I’ll have to pass on it for now,” I said.

“Well, that’s a shame. Let me know if you ever change your mind, and I’ll be happy to sell it to you.”

“Right. Thanks.”

With that, I left the Seven Fortunes.

I’d assumed I’d be able to do something about Hester’s problem first, but maybe solving Ralph’s would end up being faster.

Now that I’d agreed to form a party with them, the first order of business was getting Ralph to the Healers’ Guild. So, with that plan in mind, I headed back to the Shangri La Hotel.

Once I got to my room, I split the thirty dried plant samples in half and ate fifteen of them. After that, I was ready to go to the church for another ability assessment. It had been a month since my last one.

The dried plants were even grosser than I’d remembered, and their unpleasant taste stuck with me as I walked over to the church.

I had a feeling I’d need to rethink my strategy. I wasn’t going to be able to keep eating all those nasty plants if I didn’t find some way to cover up the taste.

Drying them out prolonged their shelf life, but it seemed to amplify their bitterness. It just wasn’t feasible to eat them raw.

In any case, the only thing that mattered was that I ingested them somehow, and I figured it might be easier to crush them up or cover them in something.

I’d have to do a little more research into how to prepare them. But first, I had to do my ability assessment at the church.

I had a feeling that I’d probably increased my base stats after a month of hunting monsters, but it was the stat buffs from the plants I’d eaten today that I was really interested in.

My HP and vitality had each increased by one point after returning from my last venture into Patia Forest, so if the same thing happened this time, then I could conclude that the other half of the plant samples I’d brought back were useless.

On the other hand, if I didn’t get those buffs this time, then that meant the HP and vitality buff effects had come from the other half of the plants. The most tedious possibility, though, was that only one of those stats increased.

There was nothing I could do about that except leave it to fate, though. As I prayed for a straightforward all-or-nothing result today, I opened the church door and stepped inside.

It seemed like there was a service today, because the church was full of people, just like it had been when I’d first visited. I threaded my way through the crowd and headed toward the assessment room.

Father Graham was at the pulpit again, conducting a service. He looked pretty surprised to see me when I walked in.

From the way he’d cautioned me before about the possibility that my stats wouldn’t have changed, I had a feeling that there probably weren’t many others who came in for ability assessments as often as I did.

To be fair, he didn’t know my master plan, so it must have looked to him like I was just throwing money at the church for no reason.

I gave him a slight bow as I passed the pulpit and entered the room with the crystal; then I rang the bell and took my seat, waiting for someone to come in.

I usually had to wait a few minutes, but today, Father Graham practically came running in from the service he’d been giving as soon as I’d rung the bell.

“Same as last time, please,” I said.

“Another ability assessment...? It hasn’t been very long since your last one. Are you sure you want another one already?” he asked me.

“I think I said this last time too, but I don’t mind if my stats are still the same.”

Father Graham must have thought I was insane—but it didn’t really matter what he thought of me.

Even if none of my stats had increased, that was every bit as valuable a result as if they had.

“Very well,” he finally said after a long pause. “One gold coin and your adventurer’s card, if you please.”

“Sure.” I took both out of my bag and handed them to him.

Every time I came here, I was struck by what a hefty fee the assessment warranted. Was it because it required copious amounts of MP, or just because of how rare the opportunity to get an assessment done was for most people?

I couldn’t help wondering, as usual, if there was any way I could conduct one of these assessments myself.

“The assessment is complete. Even if there hasn’t been a change in your abilities, please note that it isn’t an indicator that the assessment was faulty,” Father Graham warned me.

“It’s okay, I know. I don’t need disclaimers every time I come in.”

“I apologize if my cautions have felt overbearing. Now then, please excuse me.”

With a deep bow of his head, Father Graham left to finish the service.

He must have thought I was overdoing it, but since I at least seemed aware of how strange my behavior was, he didn’t give me too much trouble.

Once he was gone, I checked my stats on the back of my adventurer’s card.

My base HP and strength stats had each increased by one point, but there was no change at all to the numbers in parentheses.

The increase in my base stats probably reflected the growth I’d undergone in the past month of monster hunting. It was a little sad to realize I could achieve the same results from a whole month of hunting all kinds of monsters as I could from just eating a few plants. That was a pretty unflattering reflection of my potential.

To put it another way, though, it said a lot about the power of these poisonous plants that they could have such a dramatic improvement on someone with as little potential as me.

Basically, I could take that to mean that the only meaningful benefit I’d get from fighting monsters was to gain more combat experience—because it certainly wasn’t going to get me far in terms of stat growth.

I could also conclude from this experiment that there were no performance-enhancing plants mixed in with the fifteen samples I’d eaten earlier.

What worried me was the possibility that drying the plants had ruined their effectiveness, but I quickly dismissed that thought. There was no point thinking about that now. I’d just have to eat the other fifteen samples and do another ability assessment.

If I could pinpoint the exact plants that raised my HP and vitality stats, then I could get more of them during my next trip to Patia Forest and increase my stats even further.

I left the church feeling satisfied, because even though my stats hadn’t improved, I knew that everything was going according to plan.

After stopping by my usual stall to buy meat skewers for three, I headed back to the hotel.

The second I walked into the room, though, I was pulled up short by the sight of Hester and Ralph facing me as they sat seiza-style on the floor.

“What are you guys doing?” I asked.

“Hester made m— Ow! What the hell was that for?!”

“Quiet, Ralph! Ahem... Chris, we can comfortably slay a goblin now, so please form a party with us!”

At the beginning of their adventuring career, they’d been coming back every night absolutely beat, but lately, they seemed to be taking care of their daily quests pretty handily. They’d even been having strategy meetings every day. I’d kind of figured they were getting close to meeting the benchmark I’d set for them, and I guess today was the day.

Their timing wasn’t bad, actually. Things had just come to a natural stopping point for me—temporarily, at least—but... This announcement had still come a lot earlier than I’d been expecting.

“Yeah? Well, I did make a promise, so... Sure. Let’s form a party.”

“You mean it?! Thank you!”

“I’ve got just one condition: Before we officially form this party, I want to see for myself that you’ve met the requirement I set. Let me accompany you on a goblin-hunting quest tomorrow,” I said.

“Of course! We really appreciate you teaming up with us,” said Hester. Then, turning to Ralph, she added, “Go on, Ralph!”

“Yeah, uh... What she said.”

I was still only barely a bronze-rank adventurer, so I didn’t feel like I had the skills to warrant that much appreciation. I couldn’t help but feel a little suspicious of Hester for being so eager.

I’d honestly assumed that, once they’d reached the level where they could easily slay goblins, they’d decide they didn’t really want to team up after all. But they were still every bit as intent to form a party with me, and I couldn’t for the life of me understand it.

Everything was riding on how tomorrow went, but considering I was the one who’d dragged them into a life of adventuring, and considering that they had some pretty powerful potential, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to team up after all.

“Well, enough of that for now. I bought us some meat skewers, so let’s dig in,” I said.

“All right! I’d love some meat skewers!” said Ralph.

“Thanks for always thinking of us,” said Hester.

After handing them their portions, I pulled myself together and took out my botany notebook.

Next to the entries for all the plants I’d eaten today, I recorded that they’d had no effect. Then I set the rest of the samples for those species aside so they wouldn’t get mixed in with the others.

Now I would know not to pick any plants from those species next time I ventured into Patia Forest.

It was dull, expensive work to categorize these plants, but when I thought about how it was all going to pay off one day, I didn’t mind a bit.

“Hey, why’re you always messing around with all that weird dried grass?” Ralph asked as he chewed cheerfully on a meat skewer.

“I’ll tell you once we’ve officially formed a party.”

“I bet you’re making some kind of weird potion with those, aren’t you? Let me eat one!”

Just as Ralph leaned down to pick up one of the samples I’d laid out on the floor, I stopped him. “You’ll die if you eat that.”

I had no idea how toxic the plants were, or even if they were actually toxic at all, but there was a real risk that they could kill a normal person.

“Whaddaya mean, I’ll die? You telling me that you’re bringing killer plants into our room?”

“Look, I don’t really know the whole story around these plants yet. But just don’t eat them and you’ll be fine,” I said.

“Hey, is that where you get all your money from? From selling this stuff? You know, I bet this is the stuff they use to poison people.”

“You really are an idiot, you know that? You’re crazy if you think anyone would buy ingredients for poison from some low-level, nobody adventurer. Besides, it’s not like people are getting poisoned to death on the regular.”

“Okay, but what the hell are those for, then?”

“For me to eat. I’ve got poison immunity, remember?”

“Yeah, but surely that doesn’t mean you have to eat a bunch of poisonous dried grass?” Ralph said. Then, after a thoughtful pause, he asked, “Does it...taste good?”

“Nope. It’s dizzyingly disgusting, actually.”

Ralph looked at me like I was insane, but I just ignored him and kept working.

I’d let them in on the full story once we were officially a party, but for now, I didn’t care what he or Hester thought of me.

After a while, Ralph and Hester began their strategy meeting to figure out their plan for tomorrow. I listened to them as I worked, and continued working until late into the night.

“Chris, wake up,” said Hester.

I opened my eyes and saw that the sun had only barely begun to rise.

Come to think of it, they do always seem to get an early start. They’re gone by the time I get up every morning, I thought.

After letting out a big yawn, I forced myself to crawl out of bed.

“Good morning. We’re going to head out for that goblin-hunting quest soon, so you should get ready to go too,” Hester said.

“Right.”

At Hester’s urging, I quickly set about getting my things ready for the day.

Hester and Ralph would be taking the lead today, so I decided to just bring my sword, some water, and some light armor. They were only going up against goblins, so we weren’t exactly going to be in any real danger.

As soon as I finished packing up my stuff, we left the hotel and headed out.

Ralph was waiting for us outside the hotel. Apparently, he’d already stopped by the Adventurers’ Guild to accept the day’s quest.

As you’d expect of two pickpocket accomplices, they were completely in sync. They managed to coordinate things pretty smoothly between the two of them.

Without a party, I had to do everything by myself, so it was a lot less efficient.

While I reflected on the advantages of having teammates, the three of us headed to the quest’s location: the woods southwest of the city.

“Why do you guys always head out so early every morning?” I asked.

“Simple: ’cause of me,” answered Ralph. “It takes me forever to get anywhere.”

“Oh... Because of your knee injury?”

“Yeah. It takes a long time for us to get to the quest location, and then it takes a long time for us to slay any goblins.”

So that’s why it’s such an undertaking for them to even slay a goblin, I thought.

I’d figured that helping Hester learn magic would be the top priority, but this really drove home for me that it was actually more important to do something about Ralph’s knee.

“Want a piggyback ride? I’ve got some other stuff to take care of today, so I’d like to finish up here as soon as we can,” I said.

“Hey, knock it off! I can walk by myself!”

“Suit yourself. But if you slow us down even a little, you’re getting a ride, like it or not.”

After hearing my threat, Ralph began walking as quickly as he could manage, using his sword as a makeshift staff. After a few dozen minutes, though, sweat began to bead on his forehead. I could tell the pace was taking its toll on him.

Hester was watching him carefully too, a look of concern on her face. I started to feel bad about how I’d pressed him to hurry up earlier.

“You’re slowing us down. Time to make good on my threat—you’re getting on my back now.”

“I’m fine. I can pick up the pace,” Ralph protested.

“Seriously, just get on already. I can’t bear to watch you like this. If you can’t learn how to cooperate, then you can forget about forming a party.”

That seemed to be enough to convince him, because Ralph finally gave up and reluctantly climbed onto my back.

After carrying that orc, who’d weighed several times as much as I did, carrying Ralph felt like no big deal at all.

With Ralph on my back, we picked up the pace significantly. Before long, we made it to the woods in the southwest.

“Sorry for making you give me a piggyback ride,” muttered Ralph.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m only a spectator from here on out, so it was no big deal. Now, hurry up and slay that goblin.”

“All right.”

I couldn’t help but wonder how they were going to pull this off when Hester couldn’t use any magic, and Ralph could barely even walk.

I couldn’t even begin to imagine what they had planned, and honestly, I was kind of excited to find out.

“Let’s do this the same as we always do, okay, Ralph?”

“Right. Leave it to me.”

Once they’d agreed on a plan of attack, they slowly began to get into position.

Instead of advancing side by side, Hester went out a bit ahead, with Ralph following at a distance of several meters.

I trailed behind them too, hanging back several more meters after Ralph.

Once we’d settled into our weird formation, the three of us slowly and carefully made our way into the forest.

After about thirty minutes, Hester must have spotted a goblin, because she gestured to Ralph and stooped down.

Ralph, for his part, unsheathed his sword and stood exactly where he was.

Hester began to approach the goblin slowly in a crouch. Then she took a branch she’d been carrying and hurled it with as much force as she could muster at the little monster’s head before immediately turning around and running away.

The goblin looked around and, once he’d deduced that he was only up against a single girl, began to chase after Hester, cackling wickedly.

Hester ran past Ralph, bringing the goblin right to him, and as the goblin kept chasing after her, Ralph set the monster in his sights.

That must have been all the advantage he needed, because he managed to slash a deep cut into the goblin’s chest, and when the goblin tried to fight back, he landed the finishing blow and laid the creature to rest.

“What do you think, Chris? I know it wasn’t the coolest way to finish off a goblin, but we defeated it comfortably, at least,” said Hester.

“You figured out a way to make the most of Ralph’s skill set even with his slowed mobility, huh? You did slay that goblin pretty comfortably, so... All right. Let’s form a party.”

“Yay! We did it, Ralph!”

“I mean... Now that we can slay goblins, I dunno that we really need to team up with h—”

“Ugh, there you go again! Listen, do you want to spend your whole life hunting goblins as a rookie adventurer?”

After a long, long pause, Ralph huffed. “I was just kidding, okay?! Looking forward to having you on the team, Chris.”

Ralph made his way back to us, and after a bit of back-and-forth, we made it official: From here on, we were a party.

It seemed pretty safe to say that ours was a party formed out of pragmatism rather than friendship or fondness for each other.

Ralph and Hester weren’t at all useful to me just yet, but I knew they’d probably be assets one day. I might have been ahead of them for now, but in terms of potential, the two of them were leagues ahead of me.

Eventually, I’d have to focus completely on fighting Claus, but for now, I figured it wouldn’t be so bad to lend them a helping hand.

“Let’s do our best to help each other,” I said. “Well, I’m gonna head back now. Let’s talk more later tonight back at the hotel.”

“Sure. See you tonight,” replied Hester.

Now that we’d officially formed a party, I briefly thought about helping them take out more goblins while I was here...but I had other things to do—more important things.

Plus, being a member of a party meant added responsibilities. I figured everyone would be better off if I focused on taking care of the stuff that only I could do.

So, I left them in the woods and headed back to Realzahd.

Once I got back, I ate eight of the remaining fifteen plant samples and went to the church for another ability assessment.

This assessment ended the same way the last one had; none of my stats had increased. That meant that either two of the remaining seven plant specimens had performance-enhancing properties, or that drying out the samples had ruined their efficacy. But I couldn’t be sure yet which it was.

Statistically speaking, the most likely possibility was the latter one. But I didn’t want all of the money and effort I’d expended so far to end up being for nothing, like a bubble popping and disappearing forever. So, all I could do was pray that there would be some effect from eating the final seven species.

After my visit to the church, I decided it’d be nice to do something special to commemorate the formation of our new party. I headed to the commercial district and bought a bunch of gourmet food, then I went back to the hotel. I recorded the day’s findings as I waited for the other two to return.

“We’re back, Chris,” said Hester.

“Yeah, and check it out: This time, we brought back some meat skewers!”

It seemed like we’d had the same idea, because they’d brought back a celebratory dinner to share too—and meat skewers, of all things.

The two of them seemed pretty excited about the meat skewers, but the stuff I’d brought for us to share was going to make them look like a handful of beans in comparison.

I hesitated about whether or not I should reveal what I’d bought, but in the end, I decided I might as well. The food wouldn’t be as good cold, and there weren’t enough skewers to fill us all up anyway.

“Welcome back. I bought some stuff for us to share too. I figured we ought to celebrate forming our new party,” I said.

“Wait, seriously? You’re telling me we didn’t even need to buy these?” Ralph whined. “Well, whatever... Guess it never hurts to have more meat skewers, right?”

“Actually, I didn’t buy meat skewers this time.”

“Huh...? Oh, wow! Hester, check this out! Now, this is proper meat! He brought pork buns from Buns Deluxe! He even got some sashimi from Maruela and seasoned rice from Maruha Diner! I can’t believe you bought all this, Chris!”

I’d never seen Ralph look so happy before.

It wasn’t all that surprising, though. From the delight I’d seen on his face before when he was eating meat skewers, I realized he was probably just as much a foodie as I was.

“I had a feeling a Realzahd local like you would recognize these,” I said.

“Duh! You hit up the most popular spots on the main street! It’s like a mouthwatering buffet!”

“This is amazing! I feel kinda bad that we only bought meat skewers now, though.”

“Yeah... You sure you’re happy to share, when this is all we have to contribute?” Ralph asked.

“Don’t worry. I actually wasn’t expecting you guys to bring back anything, so it’s not a problem. Anyway, how about we talk through the details of our new party while we eat?”

As the three of us chowed down on our spread, we hashed out the expectations going forward.

The most important thing to pin down was our goals.

I already knew what my goal was, but I needed to ask Ralph and Hester what theirs were—otherwise, we might have some conflicts arise in the future.

“Let’s start by deciding on our goal as a party,” I said. “We can’t just pick something vague like ‘for the three of us to adventure together.’ We need something concrete and specific.”

“A goal...? Well, how about ‘to eat lots of good food’?” suggested Ralph.

“We’re already doing that, aren’t we? Let’s pick something a little more pragmatic.”

“I want to learn magic, so I guess my goal is to save up the money I need for that. That’s just a personal goal, though. Is that okay?”

“Personal goals are fine. What are you going to do when you become a proper mage, though? Will you leave the party?”

“No... I’ve never really thought through the specifics, so it’s hard to say what I’d do. I certainly don’t plan on leaving, though.”

“I still don’t know what you’re getting at,” Ralph said. “Why don’t you tell us your goal, since you’re the one demanding we come up with something?”

“Fair enough. My goal is to get revenge on my brother. If possible, I’d like to accomplish that with the help of a party.”

The minute those words left my mouth, Ralph and Hester stopped eating. A silence fell upon us.

I’d kind of figured my statement might have that effect, honestly. I mean, revenge was a pretty heavy topic. That’s why I’d wanted to save my goal for last, but... Oh well.

“Wait, what? Revenge? You mean, you want to kill someone? Is that gonna be our party goal? ’Cause if it is, then you’re on your own!”

“If I could do it on my own, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation,” I said.

“B-But...your own brother?”

“Yeah. There’s just one little problem: I think he might be one of the strongest people alive.”

“What do you mean by that?” Hester finally spoke up. “To be honest, I’m a little lost here too.”

The questions came pouring in. The two of them couldn’t hide their discomfort.

This was supposed to be a celebration of our new party, but it was starting to feel like a wake.

“I mentioned before that I was living in the woods for a while before I came to Realzahd, remember?”

“Yeah. That was when you were eating every plant you could get your hands on just to survive, right?”

“Exactly. Let me tell you how I wound up there.”

I told them all about what had happened leading up to me being kicked out of my home. About the strict upbringing I’d had, and how all my father’s hopes for me had been dashed at the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony. Finally, I told them about how Claus was granted the sword god affinity and tried to kill me because of the grudge he bore against me.

“So you ran for the woods after you stole your parents’ stuff, huh?”

“Yeah. I know you guys were abandoned at a really young age, so this probably seems like petty motivation for revenge... But if I hadn’t tripped over backward that day, my brother would have actually killed me. Whenever I think about that, I can’t find it in myself to forgive him.”

“I...don’t actually even remember my parents, so I don’t really feel anything toward them. I can’t relate to your situation, but it makes sense to me that you’d want revenge on someone who tried to kill you,” Hester said.

“I get it. My stepdad isn’t in my life anymore, but he seriously tried to kill me too.”

“He’s the reason Ralph has that knee injury,” Hester added.

“Anyway, enough about me...” Ralph said. “I guess I can understand your motivation now. I’m still not gonna help you kill anyone, though.”

“That’s all right, as long as I can count on you for other things,” I said.

For now, I was just grateful they understood.

I knew it was a lot to take in, and just having them get it gave me some confidence that I’d made the right choice forming a party with them.

“Ooh... The dots are all connecting now. That’s why you’re fiddling around with those dead plants every night, huh? To poison your brother?”

“Uh, no? I meant it when I said I was eating them. A sword god is the kind of outrageously powerful class that only appears once every several hundred years, so I doubt I could kill him with a little poison. Even if I could, that’s not how I’d want to do it.”

“Then what is the deal with that grass?!”

“They’re performance-enhancing poisonous plants. Their effect is subtle, but I’ve realized that eating them makes me stronger.”

“I didn’t know there were plants like that... Never heard of ’em.”

“Well, yeah. Only someone who can safely ingest poison would even be able to discover them in the first place. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I’m probably the only person in the world who’s realized the potential they hold.”

“I think this is kinda beyond me. I’ve got no clue what you’re rambling about.”

“You don’t need to understand it right now. I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually. Anyway, let’s get back to your goals,” I said, finally returning us back to the original topic.

If they were going to help me get revenge on Claus, then it seemed only right to help them with their goals too.

“I want to become a proper mage and help out you and Ralph,” said Hester. “Is that an okay goal?”

“If you’re fine with that, then I don’t see why not? In any case, it sounds like our goals are aligned for now. Ralph, what about you?”

“I... I want to become the most powerful adventurer the world has ever seen!”

I chuckled. “That’s great. That’s the most Ralph-like goal I can imagine.”

“Don’t laugh at me!”

“I’m not, honestly. But...that means we’ve got the same goal. Are you okay with that?”

“Huh?” he asked, after a long pause.

“My brother Claus has the kind of powerful class that only shows up once every few hundred years, remember? He hasn’t made much of a name for himself yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long till that changes. He’s probably on track to be a champion or a hero.”

“You think your brother is going to be a superpowerful hero? You speak pretty highly of him, for someone you hate,” said Hester.

“Well, I guess part of it is that I want him to become superpowerful. I mean, it’s a little anticlimactic to be trying to get revenge on some B-grade adventurer, right?”

“So that’s what it’s about, huh?” Ralph chimed in.

If I was going to get revenge on Claus, then I wanted him to climb to the top first. I was staking my entire life on this, after all.

“Part of it is wishful thinking, sure, but he’s also one of only five people to ever be granted the sword god affinity throughout all of history. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll get the best training possible in the capital. The only way he wouldn’t climb to the top, in my opinion, is if he decided to do absolutely nothing.”

“So... That means you and I both share a goal of surpassing your brother, then?” Ralph asked.

“If he’s going to become a top-rank adventurer, then yeah. Pretty much.”

“Chris, you want revenge on your brother. And Ralph, you want to grow strong enough to surpass Chris’s brother. My goal is to help you both reach your goals. That means we all ultimately have the same goal, then, right?” Hester said.

It felt like we’d taken a pretty winding road to get to this point, but Hester was right. The three of us were all on the same page now.

A paladin who couldn’t even walk, a mage who couldn’t use magic, and a farmer whose only strength was being immune to poison... It was hard to imagine a weaker party than ours, and yet we were aiming to surpass the kind of hero that only showed up once every several generations.

From an outsider’s perspective, we would have sounded insane. Personally, though, I kind of liked the sound of our rags-to-riches revenge story.

And, in any case, it wasn’t a matter of if we could make it happen; we had to.

“Well, there we have it,” I said. “I know we kind of fit your goals into mine, but it sounds like we’re all aligned. Our ultimate goal is to surpass the sword god Claus. Any objections?”

“Nope!”

“Me neither!”

It was a strange thread that tied us together, but that was the beginning of our party—the world’s weakest one.

“Hey, I know I just said I didn’t have any objections, but Hester and I are still just rookies. You sure this is gonna be okay?”

“It doesn’t matter where you’re at now, as long as we surpass Claus in the end. Besides, everyone starts off as a rookie, right?”

“That’s true. And with you in our party, we’ll probably graduate from the rookie rank in no time,” said Hester.

“Actually, sorry to disappoint, but I’m not interested in helping you on your quests,” I said.

“Wait... Huh?”

“I’ve said this several times already, but I’ve got a lot of stuff I need to take care of. You two just focus on grinding those goblin-hunting quests and reaching bronze rank, okay?”

Seeing their fight with the goblin today had really driven home for me just how far away they were from being able to handle bronze-rank quests.

If I hadn’t been able to handle them yet either, then maybe it would have made sense for all of us to work together on our quests, but...that just wasn’t the reality.

I could complete bronze-rank quests pretty comfortably, and it seemed like a better use of my time right now to focus on finding a way to heal Ralph’s leg.

“Then what the hell was the point of forming a party?!” cried Ralph.

“It wasn’t pointless. But we have to start by figuring out how to heal your leg and getting Hester an education in magic, or this isn’t going to go anywhere. I intend to do everything I can to make that happen.”

“So, you want us to do our own thing until then?” Hester asked.

“That’s what I’m thinking, yeah. But before we split up, I want to visit a clinic in the Healers’ Guild with Ralph tomorrow to get him examined. I think we need to start by determining whether it’s actually possible to heal his injury or not.”

“I don’t have the money for a Healers’ Guild appointment,” Ralph said.

“I’ll pay for it. So, I don’t want to hear any complaints. You two just make what money you can, all right?”

At this, Ralph started tearing up.

Sheesh, you sure are an emotional guy, I thought. Always yelling and blowing your lid...and now here you are, getting blubbery on me.

“Chris... I can’t believe you’d do that for me. Thank you,” Ralph said.

“Don’t worry about it. Like we said, our goals are aligned, so I’m technically also doing this for me. And stop crying—you’re weirding me out.”

“Don’t be a jerk! I’m trying to show my gratitude here!” Ralph yelled, doing his best to hold back his tears.

I snorted.

“Um... What should I do tomorrow, then?” Hester asked.

“Good question. I don’t think it’s the best idea to send you out goblin hunting alone, so... Oh, I know. How about you do some research into what exactly a ‘stray cowbird’ is for me? It’d be a huge help if you could find out where it shows up, any distinguishing features, and any weaknesses. I’ll pay you generously for the information, depending on how much you find.”

“Sure. I’ll look into this ‘stray cowbird’ tomorrow, then. I don’t need any money for it, though. It’s more than enough that you’re paying for a healer to check Ralph’s leg!”

“No, I don’t want to change our financial arrangement, so let me pay you. The three of us will keep taking on work and paying exactly one-third each for our share of room and board. I’m happy to treat you two to a meal every once in a while, though.”

I felt kind of bad about demanding we continue to split the bills equally three ways, but if I didn’t, then I wouldn’t have the money to spend on my ability assessments.

It seemed stupid to fight about money, so I felt I had to make sure we were all on the same page before any tension started brewing.

“All right. I’ll accept your payment, then. Thank you.”

“Right. I’ll leave the research to you, Hester.”

“Hey, so what about me tomorrow?” Ralph asked.

“I’m planning for us to stop by the Healers’ Guild in the morning, so you just need to get your things ready. And by ‘morning,’ I mean morning—not the break of dawn, okay?”

“I know, jeez! You don’t have to remind me. So all I have to do is be ready? I can do that.”

Once we’d finalized our plans for tomorrow, we finished up our celebration and went to bed.

I figured that we probably wouldn’t start questing together like an actual party until I’d reached silver rank, but I was still privately kind of excited.

I knew that I might struggle to keep up with Hester and Ralph one day, once they’d overcome their current obstacles, so I wanted to keep researching the performance-enhancing poisonous plants. I was considering heading out again to Patia Forest for another expedition the day after tomorrow.

As I thought about where to go next, I found myself falling into a deep sleep.

Chapter 6: The Forest Spirit

The day after our celebration, I woke to find Ralph all packed up and ready to go.

He hadn’t gone so far as to wake me up or anything, but I could practically feel the nervous energy radiating from him. He looked antsy, though I had warned him yesterday that we wouldn’t be leaving first thing in the morning.

“Morning. You must’ve gotten up way too early if you’re already ready to go. I told you it wasn’t open at the crack of dawn, remember?”

“Well, I was awake, so what else was I supposed to do? Anyway, shouldn’t we get going?”

“Just settle down for a bit, will you? I’ve still gotta get everything in order,” I said, then glanced around. “Did Hester leave already?”

The only other person in the room was Ralph, who looked ready to jump out of his skin. There was no sign of Hester.

They didn’t have to hunt any goblins today, but the two of them seemed to have woken up ridiculously early as usual.

“Yeah. She left a little while ago to gather some intel. Hester and I always get up early, so it’s just habit at this point.”

“Right... Well, my plan was for us to take it pretty easy today, but I guess your body’s not on board with that, huh?”

“Exactly. So let’s hurry up and get moving already!”

“All right, all right...”

I finished getting ready, rushing a bit at Ralph’s urging, and we made our way to the Healers’ Guild in the commercial district.

It would have been nice if it were in the industrial district, on the same street as all the other guilds, but unfortunately, the Healers’ Guild was the only one in the commercial district—probably because all the business in the area demanded it.

But anyway, since the pharmacy and clinics were also in the commercial district, I knew we’d have to make our way over there sooner or later anyway.

As I reflected on that, Ralph and I arrived at the Healers’ Guild and immediately went up to the front desk.

“Good morning. How can we help you today?” asked the receptionist.

“My friend here has an old injury he needs looked at. Would one of the healers be available to see him?”

“Is this old injury external?”

“Yes.”

“Understood. I’ll just need to see your ID, please.”

I nudged Ralph, trying to prompt him to pull out his adventurer’s card. He produced it and handed it to the receptionist in a hurry, and she jotted down his information.

“Thank you,” she said, handing it back to him. “You’re fifth in line to wait. Please take a seat until your number is called.”

It sounded like we wouldn’t have to wait long for our appointment, probably because we’d arrived just shortly after the guild had opened for the day.

Ralph had been fidgety back in the hotel room, but ever since we’d entered the Healers’ Guild, he’d looked absolutely paralyzed with anxiety.

I guess I couldn’t blame him for being nervous, though. After all, it was hardly an exaggeration to say this healer’s appointment would likely determine the course of the rest of his life.

I thought about starting a chat with him to help ease his anxiety, but before I could, his number was called.

“Let’s go, Ralph,” I said.

“It’s... It’s my turn already? Wasn’t that a bit fast?”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

I gave his back a light push as we followed a guild member into a consulting room.

The healer who was sitting in the room waiting for us was a man in his fifties. He took the slip of paper that the receptionist had filled out earlier and looked it over.

“Good morning,” he said. “So, you’ve got an external injury you want me to take a look at?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“And...which one of you will I be examining?”

“Oh, um... M-Me, sir,” Ralph said.

“Can you show me your injury?”

Ralph rolled up the hem of his pant leg to show the healer. He was so anxious that all of his movements looked stiff and awkward.

It was actually my first time seeing his knee injury too. I could see an old, deep scar on his left knee under the kneecap. It looked like there was some strange swelling too.

“Hmm... It’s in rough shape, isn’t it? When did you injure it?” asked the doctor.

“About seven years ago. I twisted it when I hit the ground after a long fall.”

“Is it okay if I take a closer look?”

“S-Sure, go ahead.”

The healer pressed several different points on Ralph’s knee, checking to see where it hurt.

“Looks like the ligament’s snapped. It’s been untreated for so long that the meniscus has been damaged too.”

“S-So it can’t be treated, then?” Ralph asked.

“No, it can. The treatment would involve opening up the knee and transplanting the ligament. We’d also need to replace your meniscus with metal slime oil,” the healer explained.

“Really?! You can heal my knee?!”

“I wouldn’t lie to a patient. That being said, it’s an expensive surgery, and you would have to procure the metal slime oil yourself.”

“How expensive are we talking?”

“The surgery is twenty platinum coins. The metal slime oil will probably cost you about that much too.”

“Twenty platinums?!”

That was a pretty insane treatment cost. I could see why Ralph was doing a double take.

I’d made twenty gold coins in the last month, so it would take me about a year and a half at least to save up twenty platinums—and that was assuming that I didn’t spend any of it.

But the surgery wasn’t the only expense; we’d have to procure metal slime oil too. It was a pretty hopeless situation.

“We can’t afford that. Is there some other way?”

“I’m afraid not. The injury has been neglected for so long that this is the only way to treat it now.” After a pause, the healer continued. “If it were a fresh injury, then a potion probably would have done the trick all right. But it looks like you’ve put a lot of pressure on the leg, which has exacerbated the injury. Has your knee ever given out on you?”

“Yeah... That happens pretty often.”

“I had a feeling. If you want to pursue treatment here at the guild, then I’m afraid reconstructive surgery is the only path available to you.”

“Here at the guild...? Wait, does that mean that I could get cheaper treatment somewhere else?”

“Well, it would probably be even more expensive at a clinic... There is one other option, though.”

“There is? Well, what is it?”

After dropping that little pearl, the healer suddenly clammed up, seeming hesitant to say more. After I pressed him a bit, though, he finally continued.

“It might be worth looking into a healer named Vlad. But as a healer here at the guild, that’s about all I can say,” he said.

“Right... Well, thank you. Both for taking a look at my friend, and for the valuable information. You’ve been a huge help.”

“I’m just sorry I couldn’t do more. I can prescribe something to help with the pain, however, if that’s something you’d be interested in?”

After a long silence, Ralph answered. “No, thanks...”

I bowed my head in thanks to the healer as I dragged Ralph, who looked like he’d just had the worst day of his life, out of the Healers’ Guild.

It seemed like it was going to be a real uphill battle to fully heal Ralph’s knee.

I’d already gathered from how much pain he was regularly in that it must have been a serious injury, but I never would have guessed that it would cost a full twenty platinum coins to heal it.

For now, it seemed that the next step would be to track down this “Vlad” character that the healer had mentioned, but I had a feeling that helping Hester learn magic might end up coming first after all.

“Hey, don’t look so down. We’ve just gotta find this Vlad guy,” I said.

“No... I’m done. I told you, remember? My knee’s never gonna heal.”

“Well, that sure wasn’t my takeaway. Sounds to me like the worst-case scenario is that it takes twenty platinum coins.”

“And where am I supposed to find that kind of money, huh? Do you have any idea how much I have saved up right now? Two copper coins. That’s it. Two! Copper! Coins! I couldn’t even pay twenty golds, so you can forget about twenty platinums!”

“So what? You’re gonna give up just like that?” I asked. “I don’t need losers with no ambition in my life. I know we just formed a party yesterday, but I won’t think twice about dissolving it.”

After a long pause, Ralph finally replied, “I never said I was giving up. I just wanna whine for a bit, okay? Can’t I at least have that?”

“If whining did any good, I’d let you have at it. But it doesn’t. All it does is waste our precious time—time we could be spending chasing leads instead. So, if you’re not throwing in the towel, then let’s hurry up and look for Vlad.”

With that little pep talk out of the way, we agreed to look for the mysterious healer.

Since the guild healer had given us very little to go on, we had no idea who Vlad was, so we decided to split up and make the rounds at a couple different clinics to gather as much information as we could.

Ralph and I parted ways after we left the Healers’ Guild and spent several hours looking for the mysterious Vlad.

Once I’d finished asking around the clinic I’d agreed to tackle, I headed for our designated meeting spot.

I’d managed to find three pieces of information on this Vlad guy:

The first was that he was obviously a troublemaker, since every healer I’d spoken to about him had given me a funny look.

The second was that he was apparently also a very skilled healer.

The third was that he’d had some sort of fall from grace several years ago, and that his current whereabouts were unknown.

Altogether, it wasn’t much to go on. I hadn’t been able to find the most important piece of information: his current location.

I could only hope that Ralph had had more luck asking around the other clinic. Honestly, though, I wasn’t expecting much. He’d looked so dejected when we’d split up that it was hard to imagine him doing a decent investigative job.

I entered the diner that we’d agreed to meet at and immediately spotted Ralph.

He must not have ordered anything yet, because he was just sitting there, hanging his head, with a cup of water in front of him. He didn’t even notice me come in.

“Hey, Ralph. Did you wait long?” I said.

“Huh? Oh... Hey, Chris. No, I haven’t been here long.”

I could tell from how despondent he looked that he must not have found any useful clues either.

“I didn’t find all that much. How about you?” I asked.

“Intel on Vlad, you mean? I found something.”

“Yeah, I figured. Seems like our investigation is just getting st— Wait, hold on. You found something?”

“Yeah. He’s in the royal capital now, apparently.”

“That’s a great lead. I would’ve thought you’d be excited about it, though. Why the long face?”

He’d looked pretty depressed when we’d parted ways earlier, but now he was in an even worse state. I thought I’d straightened him out when I’d pushed him to say he wasn’t giving up earlier, but...maybe there was more to what he’d found? Maybe Vlad was dead?

“Well, from what I’ve heard, this Vlad guy is a psycho,” Ralph said.

“Tell me everything you learned.”

“Apparently, he used to be the best healer at the guild. He was on a whole other level. But he felt like he could make more money if he wasn’t working at a clinic, so he set off on his own and made a fortune as a traveling healer.”

“So, he extorted patients with complicated illnesses and injuries, then?” I asked.

“Yeah, exactly. At first, he had patients flocking to him in droves. But over time, as the medical field advanced, Vlad’s expertise became outdated. Nowadays, he’s treating the poor for paltry sums in the backstreets of the capital.”

I did a little fist pump. That was fantastic news.

“Guess it serves me right, huh? Feels like I really brought this all on myself,” Ralph said. “Anyway, the long and short of it is that Vlad won’t be of much help to me.”

After a long pause, I said, “You have no idea what an idiot you’re being right now. Surely it’s a good thing that he’s working in the slums now, isn’t it? This means we’ve actually got a chance!”

“Wh-What’re you getting all excited for?!”

“I guess you wouldn’t get it. Anyway, let’s eat. This has put me in a good mood, so I’ll treat you to lunch.”

“What the hell?! Come on, just tell me what you’re thinking!”

Now that we had a promising lead, we finished our lunch and parted ways after leaving the diner.

It was too much of a pain to explain my line of reasoning to Ralph, so I just let him sulk, but what I’d have liked to get through his thick skull was that there was a good chance that Vlad would perform the surgery at a steep discount, if he had to resort to doing business in the slums.

The only catch was that Ralph would have to go and meet with him in the capital...

Odds were good that Claus was in the capital by now, and while it was unlikely I’d run into him there, I didn’t want to risk it just yet. I at least wanted to avoid going anywhere near the city until we had more concrete information about Vlad first.

Besides, I still needed to continue my research into poisonous plant species—and I needed to keep earning money to conduct that research too.

I figured the best solution would be to send either Ralph or Hester to the capital. Since Vlad would need to take a look at Ralph’s injury eventually, he was probably the most appropriate choice.

I hesitated when I thought about how Ralph would probably bungle any negotiations, though. He was too much of an idiot to entrust with the task.

Guess there’s no way around it... I’ll just have to scrape up the funds to send them both, I thought.

Hester could probably negotiate with the healer successfully, and she could look after Ralph while they were there too.

I made my way back to the hotel, still weighing the pros and cons of this plan in my head.

Once I got back to my room, I ate three of the remaining untested poisonous plants and headed over to the church.

The sun was already starting to set, so I wasn’t totally sure that it would still be open.

There didn’t seem to be anyone inside, but I slowly opened the doors and stepped into the main hall.

In the afternoon, the sunlight had bathed the church hall in ethereal rays, but the light shone through even more beautifully in the evening.

I wish I could see how the light of the stars illuminates this place at night, I thought as I walked through the empty hall to the usual room at the back of the church in the right-hand corner.

I felt kind of bad just walking right in, but it wasn’t locked or anything, so surely it wasn’t a big deal...?

I hesitantly rang the little bell, and after a few moments, Father Graham entered through the back door.

“Back again, I see. I suppose you’re after another ability assessment?” he asked me.

“Yeah.”

Father Graham must have been pretty used to me and my frequent assessment requests by now, because he didn’t even bat an eye at this.

I knew the drill pretty well by now too, so I handed him my adventurer’s card and the requisite gold coin before he even had to ask for them.

“Thank you. I’ll begin the assessment now,” he said.

His hands hovered over the crystal, and just like always, a light emitted from it for just a brief moment.

“All done. Here’s your adventurer’s card back,” he said, handing me back my card.

“Thanks.”

I wasted no time checking my stats.

Chris

Class Affinity: farmer

HP: 11 (+8)

Strength: 6 (+8)

Vitality: 7 (+4)

MP: 1

Agility: 4

Unique Skills: poison immunity

Normal Skills: none

All right! I thought, pumping my fist discreetly so Father Graham wouldn’t notice. I was pleased to see that two of my bonus stats had increased.

That meant that there must have been a plant or two in the three I’d just eaten that was capable of increasing HP and vitality.

It was impossible to tell at this point whether there were two plants that each increased one stat, or if there was just one plant that increased both, though.

Still, even though that little detail was yet undetermined, I was pretty happy with these results. I decided that I’d do one more ability assessment before I headed into Patia Forest again.

I’d been planning to venture out on another expedition tomorrow, but the new priority was to see Ralph and Hester off to the capital. Besides, I also needed to buy more camping supplies first.

I left the church in a good mood and headed back to the hotel again to reconvene with Ralph and Hester.

“Ralph filled me in on the situation,” Hester said as soon as I walked through the door. “Sounds like that surgery is out of reach, huh? Since it’s so expensive.”

“Huh? We don’t know that yet.”

“But he said it costs twenty platinum coins, and that the healer you were pinning your last hopes on turned out to be a psycho...”

Seems like Ralph hasn’t given her the whole story.

Ralph must have gone to bed early in a sulk, because he was already fast asleep.

“Okay, sure, I’ll admit that the healer we’re looking for is a morally bankrupt psycho, and he’s clearly had a serious fall from grace. But that just means we actually have a chance of getting Ralph this surgery,” I said.

“I see...” Hester replied, after a long pause. “So, you’re thinking we can get Ralph the surgery for cheap if we negotiate a deal with him?”

“Exactly. The plan comes with some risks, but from what we’ve heard, it sounds like this guy knows his stuff, at least. Personally, I don’t think we can pass up this opportunity.”

“That’s a good point. If you look at it that way, this could be a really good lead! Are you going to go look for him right away?”

“I’d like to do it myself, but I’m trying to avoid going to the capital at all costs right now. I was hoping I could ask you to track him down and negotiate a deal. Are you open to that?”

“Of course! It’s not like we can just sit back and let you do all the work!”

“Great. I’ll pay for all your travel expenses, so you take Ralph to the capital with you.”

“I feel bad that you’re paying for everything... But okay, leave it to me!”

I gave her the travel funds and instructed her to leave for the capital tomorrow.

Now that Hester was on board with the plan, I felt like I could relax a bit.

All that was left was to hope for the best and wait for the two of them to return.

The next day, I saw Ralph and Hester off.

I’d given them a reasonable sum of money to cover their travel expenses, so I admit I was a little worried that they might just run off with it. But I’d told Hester everything she needed to know about the situation, so I felt like I didn’t have to worry too much about her handling the search for Vlad and the negotiations.

As for me... It had been about a month since I’d last ventured into Patia Forest, so I was gearing up for another expedition.

I ate one of the three plants I’d eaten yesterday and went to the church for another ability assessment, but none of my stats improved.

So, I ate another of the plants and tried again. This time, only my HP increased. That was all I needed to confidently conclude that the final remaining plant increased vitality.

For this next expedition, I decided to focus my efforts on gathering a bunch of those two plants I now knew for certain had an effect, as well as some new ones I hadn’t brought back last time.

I was pleased that I’d managed to find some species that would improve my HP and vitality, but the stat I most wanted to improve was my strength.

Based on what I’d learned from this experiment and my ability assessments thus far, I was confident there was at least one species I’d eaten in Patia Forest that improved my strength, so this time, I wanted to pin it down.

Feeling hopeful and motivated, I left the hotel and headed for the city gate at a brisk pace.

There wouldn’t be anyone staying in our room for the next few days, but since I’d paid up our room and board (plus a little extra), I wouldn’t need to worry about us getting kicked out.

It did feel like a bit of a waste, but at least this way, we’d have somewhere to keep all our stuff. Plus, I didn’t like the idea of someone else taking over our room while we were gone. So, I got over my misgivings and decided to cough up the money.

Not long after leaving Realzahd, I arrived at the edge of Patia Forest.

The sweet scent of nature flooded my nostrils. I breathed it in deep, filling up my lungs, and felt the tension I’d been carrying ease just a little.

I felt no trace of the fear I’d experienced when I’d visited the forest previously, so it felt safe to assume that my last expedition had helped me overcome the trauma of my first visit.

I entered the forest and began my journey by making my way to the spring, where I rehydrated as usual and filled up my waterskin before setting off down the trackless path toward my usual base.

I considered briefly that it might be time to find a new campsite, but my old one still had plenty of plants to gather, so I figured I might be better off for now continuing to set up somewhere familiar.

I didn’t totally have the lay of the land yet or anything, but I must have developed some muscle memory of the way there, because I made it to my shelter between the boulders in only a few hours.

As expected, there wasn’t a single sign of people, wild animals, or monsters in the area. Once I’d confirmed that everything was pretty much in the state I’d left it in, I began to scatter leaves and branches on the ground like always. And with that, my simple shelter was complete.

Now that I’d set up my campsite to my satisfaction, I didn’t waste a moment heading out to do some foraging.

My first priority was to find more of the two species that improved HP and vitality.

The one that improved HP had dainty purple flowers. At a glance, you would have probably never guessed that it was toxic, but I knew from my first visit to the woods that it was. There’d been signs that the creature I’d gotten the rotten meat from had died from ingesting it, so it seemed safe to assume that it must have been lethally toxic.

The second species—the one that improved vitality—was a mushroom. It had a white cap speckled with bright red dots, and this one had “toxic” written all over it. I hadn’t confirmed it definitively yet that it was, but that color combination was such a textbook example of a poison mushroom that it seemed only reasonable to assume.

I named the two species “ghost grass” and “speckled shrooms.” I decided to gather a bunch of them, but I knew I’d have to be careful to avoid over-gathering, since I wanted to leave some growing for the future.

As I gathered the ghost grass and speckled shrooms, I made note of where I’d found them. Once I figured out their preferred growing conditions, I’d be able to gather even more.

Eventually, my goal was to plant some in a garden, but I couldn’t exactly grow poisonous plants while I was staying at a hotel.

I considered renting a field, but I knew I’d probably be arrested the moment anyone figured out what I was growing.

That left me with only one realistic option: I’d have to buy a house and cultivate a secret garden on my own property. For the time being, though, that would have to be a distant goal.

I was already trying to set aside money for my Patia Forest expeditions, my ability assessments, Ralph’s surgery, and Hester’s grimoire. Once I’d secured all of the coin I needed for those, then I could start thinking about saving up for a house.

Right now, though, I didn’t really have enough money for anything.

As I brainstormed more effective ways to make money, I kept on foraging until the sun began to set.

I made my way back to camp before nightfall and lit a fire. Then I got out my paper and made some detailed notes about ghost grass and speckled shrooms.

After that, I set aside rations for my dinner and put the rest into the woven basket I’d brought, before making some preparations to start cooking.

My dinner tonight was bread and stew, which I’d brought with me from Realzahd.

Speckled shrooms were actually pretty tasty, so I just threw them in the stew. The ghost grass, on the other hand, needed a little help if it was going to taste edible. I’d have to use my secret weapon to cover up the bitterness.

I pulled a paper-thin, translucent sheet called a “wafer” out of my bag. Hester had told me that wrapping things in it covered up their taste, and that the wafer would just dissolve once you ate it.

Apparently it was a pretty new product, and they’d only just started selling it on the market. Not knowing anything about it made me a little nervous to give it a try, but I decided to go for it. I rolled the ghost grass up into a little ball, covered it in the wafer, popped the whole thing in my mouth, and washed it down with water.

Hmm... Not bad.

The whole experience was a little weird, but sure enough, covering the ghost grass in the wafer had allowed me to eat it without even having to taste it.

I’d bought these wafers yesterday, and they actually weren’t even that expensive. Next time, I decided that I’d stock up and just buy a whole bunch since they were such a success.

Once I’d finished off my bread and stew, I wrapped the rest of the ghost grass in the wafers bit by bit and ate it up.

This marked the first time I’d actually enjoyed eating poisonous plants.

Not only had I gathered a bunch of ghost grass and speckled mushrooms, but I’d even found a good way to eat them too.

It had been a remarkably successful first day of my expedition. As I listened to the sounds of nature all around me, I drifted off to sleep.

Five days had passed since I’d entered the woods.

The foraging had been going well. In addition to all the ghost grass and speckled shrooms I’d been picking, I’d also managed to gather twenty new species of plants too.

This expedition was shaping up to be an especially fruitful one.

I hung my basket of new plant species up to dry out in the sun, praying that at least one of them would improve my strength stat.

I didn’t really have much else to do while I waited for them to dry, so I decided to just wander around and look for some plants to eat for dinner.

I strolled around, like I always did, on the lookout for anything promising. I was so absorbed in my foraging that I didn’t even notice anything amiss.

But all of a sudden, the feeling hit me like a ton of bricks.

A chill came over me, and my whole body started to tremble.

I had no idea what had set me so on edge, but I knew that whatever it was, it was dangerous—and it was closing in on me at breakneck speed.

I took in a deep breath and tried to compose myself.

I could tell that whatever it was was coming from behind me, so I hurriedly climbed up a tree in an attempt to hide.

Covering my mouth with both hands, I stifled even the sound of my breathing as much as possible as I scanned the forest below, trying to figure out what was after me.

Then I saw it.

Crashing through the trees with a terrifying force, barreling straight toward me, was a ridiculously huge bearlike monster.

I’d done a little research into Patia Forest while I’d been living in Realzahd, so I had an inkling about what this monster was.

Apparently, the whole reason Patia Forest was so quiet was because a guardian spirit had made its home here—a guardian spirit so monstrously powerful that no other monsters would dare go near it.

I’d chalked that up to being a mere rumor, since, in all my long stays in the forest, I’d never once encountered it. Turned out, it was real after all.

If memory served, it was called the Ducalursus.

It was a gigantic monster, covered all over in thick fur just like a bear. Everything in its sight looked like prey to the spirit. Its claws were sharp enough to shred you to pieces, and its powerful teeth and jaws could devour you with ease.

The Ducalursus was powerful, sturdy, and fast. The minute it identified you as prey, you were a goner. According to the legends, it would follow you to the ends of the earth.

Beyond that, though, I didn’t have all that much information on the Ducalursus, so I couldn’t say for sure if the creature below me was really the guardian spirit I’d read about. Still...there seemed to be too many similarities for it to be a coincidence.

The Ducalursus approached and stopped where I’d just been standing. It looked around, sniffing the air as though trying to figure out where I’d gone.

The cold sweat I’d felt earlier was enough to tell me it was bad news, but the moment I saw the monster, I knew it was in a completely different league to that orc I’d killed before.

My body threatened to shiver violently in fear, but I desperately tried to suppress it and calm myself down.

Stay away. Stay away. Stay away, I chanted again and again in my head.

But as the Ducalursus continued sniffing the ground where I’d been standing—probably getting a good whiff of my scent—it slowly began taking steps toward the tree I was hiding in.

Why is this happening to me? I thought. Everything was going so well!

This sudden hitch in my plans triggered a torrent of rage within me.

Shit! It won’t be long before it finds me up here!

I racked my brain, desperate to find a way out of this. I knew the monster would follow me if I tried to run. Even if I found a different hiding spot, it’d find me again in no time.

No matter how I tried to think through it, I couldn’t figure out a way to escape with my life.

If I’ve got no chance of running, then maybe my only hope at surviving is to be the first one to strike, I thought, stealing myself.

I’d just have to take my chances and launch a surprise attack. My odds weren’t great, but they were certainly a whole lot better striking first than waiting for the monster to shake me out of the tree and attack me while I was prone.

I slowly unsheathed my sword, trying in vain to calm my breathing. Then I waited, looking for my opening to attack.

Just two more steps... Just one more step... Now!

I jumped out of the tree and brought my sword down on the Ducalursus with all the force I could muster.

Our positions couldn’t have been more perfect. Its head was lowered to the ground as it sniffed it, so it hadn’t even noticed me above. What’s more, since I was coming down from high in the tree, I could use the full force of my gravity to lend some heft to my strike.

The life-and-death stakes were exactly what I needed to focus all of my energy into the perfect strike.

Or so I thought...but even with the perfectly timed hit, and all the strength of my desperation behind it, it wasn’t enough to make a fatal blow.

The monster was a full five meters tall, and probably weighed a whopping eight hundred kilograms.

I’d pierced its flesh, but I hadn’t managed to reach the bone. Even as a fountain of blood spurted from the wound, the Ducalursus threw a powerful swipe at me.

I positioned my sword between us like a shield to protect myself, but the force of the blow was still so strong even through the sword’s metal that it knocked the breath out of me.

I was so close to collapsing back, but I managed to stay standing. I watched the Ducalursus closely as it closed in for a follow-up.

A searing pain had spread through the muscles of my flank. I could barely even breathe, but my spirit wasn’t broken.

Even as the blood from my surprise attack gushed from the monster’s neck, it snapped at me like it was ready to eat me. I took my sword in my right hand and plunged it into its open mouth.

My sword had taken a real beating from the monster’s hit, but I was hoping it would at least still be able to pry its mouth open for a second.

I pierced the Ducalursus’s upper jaw, momentarily fending off its vicious bite by forcing its mouth to stay open. I reached into the bag at my side and pulled out some ghost grass, which I threw into the beast’s open maw.

Since it couldn’t close its mouth, the ghost grass went straight down its gullet and into its stomach.

If that poison doesn’t work instantly, I’m going to die here, I thought.

But almost immediately, the Ducalursus began swaying from side to side and started retching and flailing wildly, like it was trying to throw up the contents of its stomach.

I was in a world of pain, but there was a real risk that I’d die if I got caught up in the beast’s rampage, so I forced myself to move back and gain some distance.

Once I was a little out of the way, I fell to my knees and followed the monster with my eyes. It vomited again and again, but it just wouldn’t keel over. Its hulking body continued to sway violently as it started making its way over to me again.

It seemed it was still intent on killing me, but I could tell that it didn’t have long to live. Its footing was shaky, its eyes were bloodshot, and it was shaking violently. The ghost grass poison had taken effect, and it was obvious that the Ducalursus was on death’s doorstep.

I wasn’t in great shape either, though. The blow that the monster had landed on me had done a lot of damage, and a sharp pain radiated through my whole body. I couldn’t even stand up.

My breathing was labored, and I had a feeling that I was just moments from collapsing.

While the Ducalursus writhed in pain, I drank a little bit of the low-level healing potion I had with me so I could regain just a bit of strength to keep fighting.

No matter what, I couldn’t let myself rush this.

Now that the Ducalursus was struggling to move, it looked like I had the perfect chance to attack, but I wasn’t operating at full capacity right now either.

Still...not only did the Ducalursus lack the poison immunity I’d been blessed with, but it also didn’t have a way to lessen the pain the way I did.

I just had to wait until I’d recovered enough to make a proper attack—one that was sufficient enough to end the monster’s life before it could try to counter.

As I watched the Ducalursus flail, scratching at itself, I just focused on assessing my current state.

Cold sweat dripped down my entire body as I waited for the healing potion to take effect. Eventually, it must have finally started to kick in, because I felt the pain gradually begin to recede.

It was a weak, low-level potion, so its effect was pretty subtle...but as long as it helped me recover enough to move, that would be enough.

I stood up, gritting my teeth through the pain, and approached the Ducalursus with my sword at the ready.

Even in the midst of its rampage, it seemed to still be keeping an eye on me as much as it could manage. It made eye contact with me several times as it writhed in pain.

I knew I’d have to land a heavy blow—one strong enough to put a complete end to its life—if I didn’t want to suffer a counterattack.

The Ducalursus might have been on the verge of death, but the difference between us was still massive. I’d have to make good use of feints and bluffs if I wanted to pull this off.

As I tried to come up with a strategy to outwit the monster, I dashed in and prepared for a strike.

My sword was already totally busted. If the monster blocked one of my hits even once, it would be rendered useless, so I had to make sure my first strike was true.

I brandished my sword high, planning to bring it down over the beast if it seemed unresponsive, but no such luck. Just as I’d expected, it was watching me. It looked ready to swipe as soon as I leaped out at its side.

If I got close enough for it to hit me, I’d be dead meat.

I pretended I was going in for a strike, but I was going to redirect at the last second and spin around the beast so I was positioned behind him.

Sure enough, just as the Ducalursus swung its left claw out wide to where it thought I’d be, I’d maneuvered behind him.

If its reflexes hadn’t been dulled, it probably could have reacted quickly, but in its present state, it’d likely be difficult for it to even turn around.

That said...I was willing to bet it’d do it anyway. I was counting on it to whip around and try to rip into me with its right claw instead.

My father had taught me never to stake a life-and-death battle on luck, but that was exactly what I was doing. My opponent was a forest spirit that had ruled these woods for heaven knows how long. So, I was putting my faith in its power to rise above the odds.

Instead of lifting my sword, I shoved my hand into the pouch at my waist.

If the Ducalursus didn’t turn around here, then I would lose my one good chance to finish it off. But if it did...

As the beast spat what looked like blood from its mouth, it twisted around and raised its right paw, hurtling it toward me. When I saw it coming, I felt my mouth twist into a smile.

The Ducalursus’s paw missed me, the momentum carrying through as it spun to face me. Staggering, it followed up by swinging its left claw, but I took my hand out from my pouch and made a show of forcefully reaching out for the beast with it.

It must have been wary of the ghost grass after what it had just experienced, because it reflexively moved to defend itself, covering its face with both paws.

Of course, I didn’t actually have any ghost grass in my hand. It was just a fake-out.

I raised my busted-up sword again and, now that the Ducalursus’s paws were over its face, I aimed straight at its heart. Utilizing my full body weight, I plunged the sword into its chest.

The Ducalursus’s whole body was covered in hard, needlelike fur that protected it like a suit of armor, but the force of my blow was enough to penetrate it.

My battered sword couldn’t withstand the force of the impact, and as soon as it pierced the beast’s heart, the metal bent. But it had been plunged into the beast deep enough that that didn’t matter anymore.

Before the Ducalursus could move again, I gained some distance and observed it carefully to see what it would do next.

Not only had it been poisoned by the ghost grass, it had now been stabbed deep in the heart.

It seemed to still be breathing, but blood was gushing from both its mouth and the hole in its chest. It had taken so much damage that I wouldn’t have been surprised if it died in mere seconds.

I assumed that all I had to do now was wait for it to keel over. But, as if to prove me wrong, the beast took one step, then another, as it advanced toward me.

It wasn’t dead yet, but it sure was close.

I’d been so sure that all it needed was one final blow to finish it off, and yet...

I’m taking you to the grave with me.

I could practically feel the Ducalursus saying that as it composed itself, despite the enormous pain it must have been in.

My brain was screaming at me to get away, but my body wouldn’t listen. The Ducalursus was walking at an incredibly slow pace, but for some reason, it felt like it was moving at lightning speed.

The beast closed in on me, struggling as if it were eking out the last of its life. The moment that it entered my range, it lifted its left paw to make a heavy swing at me.

It was at this point that I felt the closest I had ever felt to death.

I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, my spit in my throat, and the waterfall of sweat running down my back.

It’s over.

The second that thought crossed my mind, though, the Ducalursus’s paw froze in the air. Unable to support the weight of its arm any longer, it tumbled over backward.

And then, the Ducalursus took its last breath.

I felt like I’d forgotten how to breathe. I bent over, putting my hands on my knees, and gasped oxygen into my lungs again and again.

I’d thought I was dead for sure, but I’d somehow managed to survive.

I was desperate to get out of here as soon as possible. Unfortunately, my body felt as heavy as a barge. I wasn’t even in a state to walk.

Unable to move, I just plopped down next to the Ducalursus’s corpse and prayed with every fiber of my being that nothing else would come and attack me. Then I just sat there, focusing on resting as I healed up.

Thankfully, a short break from moving around was all I needed to mostly recover from the pain, and before long, I’d healed enough to manage walking again.

My muscles were incredibly sore from straining them, but fortunately, I hadn’t sustained any serious wounds. Even the arm that I’d shoved into the Ducalursus’s mouth had escaped with only a small scrape from its teeth.

Considering that I hadn’t seen the deadly beast’s onslaught coming at all, I felt like I’d actually made all the right choices to survive the encounter. That was probably why I’d taken a miraculously bare minimum amount of damage.

I’d somehow managed to overcome the beast, but it didn’t leave me with a great feeling that it had come out of seemingly nowhere and hadn’t even left me with the chance to escape.

It was clearly a formidable foe. I had a feeling that if I’d fought it ten times, I probably would have lost nine of those times.

A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of how it had kept pursuing me even after being weakened by poison and stabbed in the chest. I knew the trauma of this experience was bound to revive my phobia of the forest that I’d just overcome.

I mean, how do I know there was only one of those things in these woods? I thought.

It seemed unlikely that there were dozens of them, but now that I knew there’d been at least one, it seemed only prudent to assume there might be more.

If that beast has buddies, then they’ll probably come looking for it once they realize it isn’t coming home.

That was the thought that popped up in my head as I forced my body, which was still throbbing in pain, to move away from the monster’s corpse. I slowly began making my way back toward my shelter.

Once I’d safely returned, I immediately began packing up my things and preparing to leave the woods.

I plucked a bunch of random medicinal herbs to eat and coat my wounds with their juices, trying to speed up my recovery in any way I could as I packed all of the dried poisonous plant samples into my backpack.

Thanks to the toll that my fierce fight with the Ducalursus had taken, my sword was completely broken now. I was basically weaponless, so I had to get out of the woods as quickly as possible.

I hurriedly got all my things together and left the shelter, heading toward the spring as always.

Fortunately, I made it there without getting lost, but I didn’t stop to wash myself off like I usually did. Instead, I continued through the woods until I’d reached the road, and headed straight back to Realzahd.

I knew I shouldn’t go home covered in sweat like this, but honestly, I had much bigger problems. This was no time to be thinking about hygiene and posterity.

In any case, as soon as I made it out of the forest, my panic finally began to die down.

I never wanted to go back to Patia Forest again if I could help it, but I knew I’d have to if I wanted to keep getting stronger.

As I trudged down the highway back to Realzahd, it felt like a million thoughts were racing through my mind.

Even as the terror of my experience in the woods gnawed at me, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but flash back to an image of Claus swinging his sword at me.

The more I felt like I wanted to run away, the stronger that image became. I thought back to how my parents had callously disowned me, and to how Claus had sneered and literally tried to kill me.

If I wanted to get my revenge, I had no choice but to keep getting stronger—and the key to that was the poisonous plants in Patia Forest.

As far as I knew, there was nowhere else with performance-enhancing poisonous plants that was located as close to Realzahd.

There was a good chance that there were more Ducalursi in Patia Forest, but I couldn’t afford to stop visiting just to avoid them.

I needed to get stronger quickly so I could take one down—through my own raw power, rather than on sheer luck and some quick thinking—if one ever tried to attack me again.

I didn’t want to risk everything on that ghost grass strategy again.

If I tried, the Ducalursus might just chomp right down on my arm next time. And even if I could get the grass in its mouth again, there wouldn’t be any point if it managed to spit it out.

The only way to kill one for sure was to face it head-on.

I couldn’t dispel the panic that clung to me, but I was already strategizing how to face my next Ducalursus encounter. As I continued down the road to Realzahd, I played out different scenarios again and again in my head.

All the brainstorming managed to calm me down eventually, and I was able to switch gears and start thinking about how Ralph and Hester were doing.

Did they manage in the capital okay? I wondered.

I was a little worried that they might have just run off with my money, but my bigger concern was whether their negotiations with Vlad had gone well.

A look at the map suggested that a trip to the capital from Realzahd ought to take about half a day on foot. As long as they hadn’t encountered any trouble, I figured they were probably back by now.

As I continued to Realzahd, I found myself looking forward to hearing how things had gone.

Chapter 7: Magic and Grimoires

After passing through the gate inspection without incident, I headed back to the Shangri La Hotel.

I’d actually been thinking about getting another ability assessment done first, but the sun had almost set, and I had some wounds to tend to, so I decided to leave that for another day. I also wanted to make sure I could focus on hearing Ralph’s and Hester’s updates.

When I entered our room, I found the two of them kicking back and looking relaxed.

Even Ralph, who had looked really down in the dumps a week ago, looked like he was back to his old self.

“Welcome back, Chris. Wait... Are you okay?!” asked Hester.

“Your armor’s all busted...and covered in blood. Actually, you just look pretty nasty in general,” Ralph chimed in.

“I had a bit of a run-in with some freakish monster in the woods,” I explained. “I came straight home after without washing up in the spring.”

“Are... Are you hurt?”

“Just a little bruised and achy. No serious injuries, though.”

“Any monster you’d describe as ‘freakish’ must be pretty crazy. Maybe you shouldn’t visit those woods anymore,” Ralph said.

“It was five times my size. I’m totally fine, though. I put a clean end to it, so there shouldn’t be any issues next time.”

“Well, if you killed it, then I guess there’s no point trying to stop you... But don’t you dare die on us, all right?! We’re teammates now!”

“Don’t worry. I’m not just gonna drop dead on you guys. Anyway, I brought some meat skewers, so let’s eat up.”

“Huh...? You bought us meat skewers? Yes!”

Ralph and Hester had been giving me worried looks, so I tried to distract them by handing them the skewers. Sure enough, the dubious expression on Ralph’s face vanished in an instant, replaced by a satisfied grin as he chomped down on the meat.

He could be a real pain sometimes, but for the most part, he was pretty easy to please.

I watched Ralph enjoy his meat skewer, completely lost in his own world, then turned to ask Hester how things had gone in the capital.

“How did things go on your end, Hester? Were you able to meet with Vlad okay?”

“We were. He’s making a living now in the black market, and he seemed like he’s been having some real money troubles.”

“How’d the haggling go?”

“It went well! Initially, he quoted us fifteen platinum coins for the surgery, but we kept refusing and finally got it down to five.”

“Five platinum coins?! That sounds really promising!” I exclaimed.

The twenty platinum price tag that the first healer had quoted was pretty outrageous, but five coins was actually doable. If we worked hard, we could save up for that.

My only misgiving was that we were placing our hopes in a disgraced healer, which meant there was a risk that he might not actually be able to perform the surgery at the level that we needed. Considering that it was our only real option, though, it felt like a risk worth taking.

“Personally, five platinum coins still seems pretty out-of-this-world expensive... Are you sure that’s gonna be okay?” asked Ralph.

“That’s not even in question. I teamed up with you guys on the assumption that we’d heal your leg—and that Hester would learn magic, no matter what.”

“Right... Thank you so much, Chris!” Hester said after a pause.

“Also, I’ve been thinking about bringing this up for a while now, but you don’t have to be so formal with me, you know. You can just say ‘thanks.’ We’re the same age, and we’re teammates now, so you can relax a bit.”

“I’d prefer to keep things respectful, if that’s all right with you,” Hester replied.

Ralph had never spoken to me very formally in the first place, but Hester insisted on keeping it up. I’d hoped that my suggestion could change that, but it seemed like she wasn’t going to budge.

I honestly didn’t care that much either way, though, so she was welcome to keep speaking formally if that was what she wanted.

“Sho? How ber abentda guh?” Ralph asked me.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

He gulped his food down. “I said, how’d your adventures go? You must’ve been doing more than taking down that freakish monster while you were away, right?”

“Yeah. I got a pretty good haul, actually. I didn’t get attacked until I was almost ready to head back anyway, so I managed to finish everything I wanted to.”

“Oh. Man... You’re already so far ahead of us, and you’re still just plowing on and getting even further ahead.”

“You should be grateful for that, you know. You guys wouldn’t be able to save up any money otherwise.”

“I know. It just makes me feel a certain way, is all.”

An indecipherable expression crossed his face. It seemed like Ralph had some complicated feelings to sort out.

As much as he loved the meat skewers I brought him, it was clear that it didn’t sit right with him to leave everything up to me. That just wasn’t his personality.

And since we were the same age, it seemed like he felt a bit competitive with me.

“Oh, that reminds me. The tip you gave me about wafers was a huge help, Hester. Thanks for that,” I said.

“Really? I’m so glad I could help.”

“As long as I have those, I can eat a whole bunch more poisonous plants. I’m impressed you knew about them.”

“I heard about them from the Seven Fortunes’ owner, actually.”

Lugentz really does know everything, I thought. Then again, I guess he’d have to be pretty knowledgeable in order to run a pawn shop successfully.

“Um... Not to change the topic, but what are your plans for us tomorrow?” Hester asked.

“I don’t really have anything in particular that I need you to do, so you can just keep up your goblin hunting. I’ll let you know if I want you to gather some more intel again.”

“Okay. I’m always happy to help out with that, so please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Right. Thanks.”

After we chatted for a bit about this and that, I ate some of the ghost grass and speckled shrooms I’d gathered. Then I got all my things ready for tomorrow and climbed into bed.

I planned to start adventuring again tomorrow, and I was ready to take on my first non-location-specific quest. I wanted to hunt the stray cowbird that Hester had researched for me.

Since she’d already figured out where to start looking, I figured I could probably hunt one down pretty easily in a matter of days.

There was always a chance of running into something nasty like the Ducalursus again, though, so I had to be careful to keep my guard up.

I thought back to when the bearlike monster had attacked me, trying to brainstorm some other strategies for next time as I fell asleep.

I woke up the next day and checked on the bruises running down my flank. Once I’d determined that I was fit to go out adventuring today, I headed toward the Adventurers’ Guild.

Stray cowbirds must have been in high demand, because I spotted another request for one on the board again today.

I accepted the quest at the quest desk and bought another rusted sword from the weapon shop’s bargain shelf to replace my busted one. Then I headed out of the city to hunt the stray cowbird.

According to the information I’d gotten from Hester, the best spot to find stray cowbirds was on a large plain east of the city. She’d warned me, however, that although it was the most likely place, it didn’t necessarily mean there were a lot of them there.

Plus, it was where most other adventurers would also probably go to hunt them, so there’d be competition. In the end, she recommended a different spot I should try.

Funnily enough, I was already sort of acquainted with the spot she named. It was a rocky stretch that led in the direction of the mountains, beyond the abandoned road to the northwest of the city where I’d hunted my first goblin.

It didn’t seem like the kind of place that many people would visit, and there hadn’t been many sightings or reports of cowbird hunts in the area, but Hester had heard of it from a few people who’d chosen it as their designated hunting spot.

I hunted some goblins on my way down the road before arriving at the rocky stretch near the end.

At a glance, it didn’t seem like there were any monsters in the area, but I figured I’d just keep an eye out as I continued. The rocky stretch was uneven and hard to walk on; there wasn’t really a path or road. But I just kept going, my eyes peeled for monsters.

I spent several hours exploring the rocks, but the only birds I saw were the ones flying in the sky. Finally, though, I spotted what appeared to be a bovine monster up ahead. It was eating a patch of the sparse grass that was growing in the rocks.

Wait... Could that be a stray cowbird? I wondered.

It was hard to be sure from so far away, but I felt like what I was seeing matched the description I’d heard of its distinctive features.

I’d heard that they were cautious, guarded monsters, so I carefully moved behind the rocky outcroppings to hide my presence as I slowly made my approach.

I knew it. It is a stray cowbird!

It was, as the name suggested, a cow-bird hybrid. I’d never eaten one before, but it was a common ingredient in all kinds of dishes, so most people were reasonably familiar with it.

Stray cowbirds had wings, but they couldn’t fly. The most their wings allowed them to do was jump a bit better than other monsters.

You would be a fool to underestimate them, though. Their massive bodies could pin you down easily, and if you tried to keep your distance to protect yourself, they might charge at you with their horns.

If you wanted to slay one, you had to fight them from enough of a distance to prevent them from charging, or take care when you entered melee range not to let them pin you.

As I reminded myself of all of the info that Hester had given me, I crept up right behind the stray cowbird as it was grazing without a care in the world.

It hadn’t seemed to notice me yet, so it was completely defenseless.

I unsheathed my sword and, as I silently gave myself the cue, I swung at the monster.

I was aiming for its legs—specifically, its hind legs. I wanted to completely restrict its movement.

The cowbird noticed my attack before my sword made contact, but it was too late. I cut a deep slash into its left hind leg, and blood spurted out.

I immediately sheathed my sword and switched to the stone hammer I’d bought specifically to use against this monster.

Calling it a “hammer” might have been overselling it, though. It was a long, thin weapon—closer to a traditional war hammer than the big, beefy mallet you might imagine when you think of a hammer.

I’d heard that the quest reward plummeted if you killed the monster in a blood bath. Apparently, your best bet was to strike its head with a blunt weapon.

As the stray cowbird swayed unsteadily, its movements hindered by the slash I’d inflicted on its leg, I could tell that it was still readying a counterattack.

For a split second, I considered testing the effectiveness of the ghost grass and speckled shrooms by intentionally taking a hit... But when I remembered how much the hit from the Ducalursus in Patia Forest hurt, I quickly changed my mind. It was time to finish this thing.

I waited for the stray cowbird to come at me with a shaky charge, and prepared to strike my hammer down right between its eyes.

A harsh, metallic sound echoed as my hammer made contact. The stray cowbird began to seize. Then it fell to the ground.

I didn’t have time to revel in my quick takedown, though. I immediately hoisted the monster onto my back and took it to the nearest tree.

With the tools I’d brought with me, I hung the stray cowbird upside down and pierced its heart with a knife, draining it of blood.

As the blood was draining, I thought about what to do with the monster.

The quest commissioner had specifically asked for the cowbird’s tenderloin, tongue, and belly meat—that was all.

If I dissected the monster here and just brought back those parts, then I’d minimize the weight I had to carry into town...but there’d also be no chance of any bonuses like the quest listing mentioned.

On the other hand, if I could manage to bring the entire monster back, I could potentially get double the reward.

It hadn’t been too much of an effort to carry the thing to the tree from where I’d slain it, but when I considered the possibility that a monster might attack me on the road home, it felt like this could turn into a really unpleasant situation.

Thinking about the return trip made me kind of regret that I hadn’t brought Ralph and Hester along for extra manpower. But right now, money was the priority, so I decided to bring the whole monster back with me, no matter how much of a pain it might be.

Once all of the blood had drained from the stray cowbird, I cut open its stomach and removed the organs, careful not to damage the meat.

It felt like a waste to throw out all the organs, so I kept the liver for myself and just ate it raw. The rest of the organs, I buried.

And with that, I’d finished field dressing the cowbird’s body. After letting out a deep sigh, I slung the carcass over my back and began walking back to Realzahd.

The whole process of slaying a stray cowbird had taken about half a day.

It took a decent while longer to get back, especially since I decided to take a detour every time I felt a monster’s presence nearby, but in the end, I managed to bring the whole cowbird back safely.

I must have been quite the sight, covered in blood and carrying a cowbird on my back, but fortunately, it was so heavy that it wasn’t until sunset that I got back to the city, so it was too dark for anyone to get a good look at me.

I made it through security at the gate and headed straight for the butcher who had commissioned the quest.

“Welcome. Sorry, but you can’t come in this way. The entry’s— Whoa there! Th-That’s quite the beast you’re carrying!”

“I’m the adventurer who accepted your stray cowbird quest commission,” I explained. “I didn’t want to waste any of it, so I just brought the whole thing back with me. Can you let me in?”

“O-Oh, really? Boy, you sure gave me a scare! All I saw when I opened the door was a cow’s head and huge horns!”

The butcher invited me in, and I hung the stray cowbird on the hook that he pointed out to me. Looking at it hanging up there, I couldn’t help but be a little proud that I’d managed to wrangle a thing like that all by myself.

“Big fella, isn’t he?” said the butcher. “Here, take this to clean yourself off with.”

“Thanks.”

I accepted the damp towel and wiped as much of the stray cowbird’s blood off of me as I could. It had gotten quite sticky over the journey home.

That was a really tough job, I thought. My body feels so heavy now.

“Flawless work draining the blood. I see you removed the organs cleanly too. Thanks to your careful handling, this cowbird’s bound to stay pretty fresh. You know...I think this is probably the finest cowbird I’ve ever seen!”

“Wow, you really think so?”

“Well, sure! Not every day that someone brings one back whole, much less so perfectly gutted. In fact, I think you’re the only adventurer that’s ever done that.”

Is it really that big of a deal? I wondered.

To be fair, though, it certainly had been a commitment. After opening up the stomach and removing the organs, carrying the thing on my back like I had was bound to make anyone filthy.

Was I the only adventurer willing to do all of that to bring it back whole for the money?

“So, does that mean you’ll buy it for a handsome price?” I asked.

“Can’t blame you for wanting to cut straight to the chase. Wait just a sec while I carve it up a bit... Hey! Nathaniel! Grill up some meat for this adventurer here!”

“Are you sure? I’m not going to pay for that, you know.”

“Oh, that’s all right. Consider it part of your payment. Now then, I’ll give you a shout after I’ve carved up the beast and inspected it properly, so you just wait here and enjoy your snack.”

As I waited for the butcher to conduct his inspection, one of his staff gave me some grilled meat to snack on in the meantime.

It wasn’t just some cheap cut either; it was clearly the good stuff.

Wish I could see Ralph’s and Hester’s faces if I brought some of this back for them, I thought, just as I finished wolfing the whole thing down. By then, the butcher was calling me. He’d finished his inspection.

“Thanks. That was delicious.”

“Like I said, don’t sweat it. That was just thanks for bringing me such fine meat. Anyway, I’ve finished assessing the cowbird. How do you feel about a payment of five gold coins?”

“Five gold coins?! I don’t know if I can accept that. Wasn’t the maximum reward for this quest three?”

“It’s in fine condition, and it’s huge. I’m happy to pay five.”

“Well, if you’re sure, then I won’t say no.”

“Excellent! Sounds like we’ve got a deal! I’ll send your payment to the guild tomorrow, so you can collect it there. Just be sure to turn in the quest tomorrow, or you won’t get the money.”

“Right. Thanks. If you have another quest to commission in the future, then I hope we can work together again.”

“Likewise. As long as you don’t break the bank for me, I’ll keep buying from you.”

And just like that, I’d managed to get an extraordinary reward of five gold coins.

Considering that standard bronze quests came with a reward of roughly four silver coins, this quest had paid more than twelve times as much.

The whole process had been kind of involved, since I’d had to dispatch Hester to do some research first, but I’d been able to accomplish the actual hunting in only a day.

It seemed to me that doing non-location-specific quests like these might turn out to be way more efficient than the location-specific ones after all.

Raking in half a month’s worth of coin in a single day was enough to make me forget all about the stench of blood that clung to me. I headed back to the hotel in high spirits.

***

It had been roughly a month since I’d hunted that stray cowbird as part of my first non-location-specific quest.

I’d been really excited to do more after making five whole gold coins in one day, since I was convinced that these quests must be the best way to make money...but the reality turned out to be not quite so convenient.

It took six days before I managed to find another stray cowbird to hunt after that first one.

I spent each of those days looking around the rocky stretch past the abandoned road, and during the first three, I roped Ralph and Hester into helping me.

I started getting frustrated, since it felt like we were just wasting time, but eventually, I found and slew a second stray cowbird.

Unfortunately, it was a lot smaller than the last one. I only made three gold coins off of it.

Since it had taken six days to finish the quest, that ended up being a rate of five silver coins per day. And what’s more, I had to pay Ralph and Hester for their assistance for three of those days, which shaved off another six silvers.

In the end, that left me with a rate of four silver coins per day—the same amount I would have made if I’d just done location-specific quests throughout that period.

Considering the entire days I’d spent just searching for the monster, it was a much less cost-effective way to make money than the location-specific ones, which I could consistently complete by the evening. But I just couldn’t let go of that huge success I’d had with my first stray cowbird, and I kept chasing that high for the next month as I focused exclusively on hunting more of them.

All in all, I ended up making twenty-five gold coins that month—including the five I’d made with that first hunt.

Thanks in large part to that initial jackpot, I’d saved up a lot more than usual in a month’s time. The biggest earnings had come from the first stray cowbird, and the lowest had come from the second.

On average, I’d found about one stray cowbird for every four days of searching, and rewards ranged from three gold coins to five.

Honestly, it wouldn’t have been out of the question for me to have only made one gold coin off of that first quest, so I was really grateful that I’d started off on such a good foot.

If that first quest had taken me six days to complete—like the second did—I probably would have given up on hunting stray cowbirds altogether.

In any case, combined with my savings from previous months, I now had thirty gold coins.

I could buy that grimoire that costs two platinums now...but should I? I thought to myself.

I still wasn’t sure if I should prioritize helping Hester learn magic, or if healing Ralph’s knee should come first.

The two of them had made big strides in the past month, finally graduating from the rookie ranks, but they’d decided to keep hunting goblins. Part of that was due to Ralph’s leg, but it was also because they just weren’t at the level where they could complete bronze quests yet.

And, honestly, I was probably partly to blame for taking Ralph away for those first three days to help me find the stray cowbird.

If Hester could learn some magic, then they might have a chance of completing some location-specific quests. But the real reason they were so far from living up to their potential was Ralph—he had a powerful class affinity, but he wouldn’t be able to do anything until we healed his leg.

After much consideration, however, I decided to buy the grimoire.

Right now, subtracting their living expenses, Ralph and Hester were earning about five copper coins a day. If they could start doing bronze-level quests, their earnings would jump massively—potentially to three silvers per day.

That was a difference of roughly seven gold coins per month.

When I thought about that, I decided that the best course of action was to focus on helping Hester learn magic.

And, to be honest...I also just wanted to see some magic in action.

So, having made up my mind, I headed to the Seven Fortunes after delivering my latest stray cowbird.

I’d been so busy lately looking for stray cowbirds from morning till night that it’d been a while since I last paid the pawn shop a visit.

My one concern was that someone might have bought the grimoire in my absence, but I knew that I probably didn’t have anything to worry about. No backstreet alley shoppers were going to swoop in and buy a book that cost two platinum coins.

At least...I didn’t think they would.

“Welcome, come in,” said Lugentz. “Mmm...? Well, well, if it isn’t Chris. I almost forgot your face, boy.”

“Wish I could’ve come by to say hi more often, but my hands have been pretty full lately.”

“And yet here you are today, out of the blue. So, what brings you in? Just here for a gander?”

“Actually, I’ve come to make a purchase. I don’t suppose you still have that grimoire I was looking at?” I asked.

Lugentz looked surprised. “Y-You haven’t really come in today to buy that, have you?”

“I sure have.”

The moment I said that, Lugentz looked so delighted that he could have jumped up and clicked his heels.

I’d never seen an old man express his joy so nakedly before. I found myself leaning back a bit in surprise, despite myself.

“Thank you, Chris—truly! First you buy a book about some botanist you’ve never heard of, and now you’re buying that old grimoire from me? Looks like I can grow old in comfort after all, thanks to you, boy.”

“There’s no need to thank me. I’m not doing it for you, old man. I’m only buying these books because I want them.”

“Well, you’re still doing me a huge favor, so it makes no difference to me what your reasons are. Wait there a moment. I’ll bring it right out for you.”

Lugentz hummed happily as he disappeared into the back of the shop. Soon enough, he returned with the same grimoire I’d set my sights on last time I’d visited.

“One grimoire, as you ordered,” he said. “Will you be paying in full today?”

“Yeah.”

I retrieved twenty gold coins from my bag and arranged them on top of the counter. Once Lugentz had finished counting them all, he handed me the grimoire.

“Don’t forget that it was Hester who first asked me to set this aside for her,” he warned. “Don’t let her run off with it, now.”

“Oh, I won’t,” I said, chuckling. “Thanks. I’ll be back again if something else comes up.”

“Mm-hmm. Well, you know where to find me, so come by any time,” Lugentz said, seeing me off.

And with that, I left the Seven Fortunes.

The last time I’d stopped by the pawn shop, I’d balked at the idea of spending two platinum coins on Hester...but now I’d actually gone and done it.

Making an investment in her and Ralph’s growth was basically the same as investing in myself. I knew that I could only get so far on my own, after all.

Besides, Claus was probably building his own party of talented team members right now in the capital.

When the day came to get my revenge, I knew it wouldn’t just be a matter of me versus him; I had to have a party that could hold its own against his too.

I clutched the grimoire as tightly as I held this conviction, making my way home to our room in the Shangri La Hotel to show it to Hester.

When I entered the room, I found Ralph doing practice swings with his sword and Hester absorbed in her studies.

Ralph was always practicing his swordsmanship like this, and Hester had started working on her literacy.

Unlike Ralph, Hester was pretty smart, so I’d been teaching her how to read and write for a while now.

They both seemed pretty absorbed in what they were doing. They didn’t even seem to notice me walk in.

“Hey guys, can I have a moment? I want you to take a look at this,” I said.

Hester, who’d been concentrating at her desk, and Ralph, who was dripping in sweat as he swung his sword over and over again, finally paused what they were doing and looked over at me.

At first, they just stared at me with blank expressions, but Hester’s eyes quickly fell to the object in my hand, and she practically sprinted over to me with the realization.

“I-I-Is that...what I think it is...?” she asked.

“Sure is.”

“Hey, what the hell is that tattered old book? I wanna know too!” Ralph whined, butting in.

“I-I-It’s a grimoire! Chris... Did you buy this for me...?”

“Yep. I saved up some money this past month hunting stray cowbirds. I can’t have you guys farming goblins into eternity, so I figured we needed to get the ball rolling.”

“Oh, thank you... Thank you so much! After all you’ve done for us, you even bought me a grimoire...? I don’t know how I could ever thank you enough.”

“I’m not looking for thanks. If you want to show your gratitude, you can hit the books and work on learning magic so you can make yourself useful as a party member.”

“Yes, sir! I’ll show you just how hard I can study!”

Her eyes glistened, so moist I thought she might start crying. I’d never seen her so motivated before.

Back when I’d first met her—when she’d been trying to pickpocket me, that is—she’d just seemed shifty and anxious. Now, though, she was like a completely different person.

“Hey, don’t leave me out of this! What exactly is a grimoire, anyway?” said Ralph.

“To put it really simply, it’s a book that helps you learn magic. I haven’t read it yet, so I wouldn’t know, but I assume it’s got all kinds of magic-related instructions,” I explained.

“Seriously?! So that means Hester can learn magic? That’s...! Uh... That’s... That’s awesome.”

For a moment, Ralph had seemed almost every bit as excited about this as Hester, but as he spoke, he seemed to suddenly deflate like a balloon. His expression turned pained.

“What’s wrong, Ralph?”

“Well, I know it’s kind of weird for me to say this, but...if Hester learns magic, then I’ll become the only one holding us back, right? That...kinda freaks me out.”

“Pfft! Who are you, and what have you done with Ralph? You’ve always held us back, but with all your clowning around, I wouldn’t have thought you actually stressed over it.”

“I guess that’s true. But still...”

“We’re gonna fix your knee after Hester learns some magic. It just made the most sense to do things in this order so you guys can move up to bronze-level quests and start saving more money for the surgery,” I said, trying to reassure him as Hester and I made room on the desk to look at the grimoire together.

Ralph stopped his training and came over to take a peek at the book too, but I was pretty sure he didn’t understand a word of it.

“Before you can use magic, you need to learn how to manipulate your mana,” I read. “Picture it like water coursing throughout your entire body, and practice controlling its flow. Make it flow faster, then slower. Repeat this process again and again... That seems to be the gist of this part.”

“Okay... So, I just have to control its flow, like water?” Hester said. “I’ll give it a try.”

The three of us all closed our eyes and tried to do as the book instructed.

I concentrated hard on picturing water flowing throughout my entire body, but I couldn’t even manage to get that part right. I didn’t feel even a trace of mana. I just felt myself getting drowsy.

I threw in the towel pretty quickly, but when I opened my eyes, I saw Hester with some misty haze surrounding her.

“Hey, Hester! Are you okay?”

“Huh...? Whoa! What the hell is that?!”

“I’m okay. I think it’s just mana,” Hester replied. Then, with a giggle, she added, “I think I’m getting the hang of this!”

Her eyes were still closed as the mist continued to envelop her body. Then it began flowing, rotating around her at varying speeds.

How did she figure out how to do that from just that short little paragraph? I wondered.

I knew how hard it was firsthand—because I’d just tried it too. Seeing Hester master it so easily really drove home what a talent she had for magic.

“Just be careful not to push yourself too hard,” I said.

“I think I’ll be okay. I’m pretty sure I’m just manipulating the flow of my mana right now, so I don’t think I’m doing anything too crazy.”

“W-Well, you don’t look okay to me! That weird fog just keeps getting thicker and thicker!”

“I’ll stop for a minute,” Hester said, and as the words left her mouth, the fog quickly began to dissipate.

Whatever she’d been doing probably didn’t qualify just yet as “magic,” per se, but I felt like watching it had given me a whole new appreciation for just how incredible magic was. It was like I’d gotten a glimpse into a completely unknown world.

“Whew...”

“Well? How do you feel, Hester?”

“I think I’ve got the basics now. It’s pretty late, so I think I’ll pick this up again tomorrow.”

“Glad to hear it. No wonder you were given a mage blessing at the ceremony.”

“Thank you, Chris. Can I ask for your help reading the grimoire again tomorrow?”

“Of course. I know you’re probably not ready yet to start reading it on your own,” I said.

“Thank you.”

And just like that, Hester was off to a running start in learning magic. Her talent was clearly bursting to be explored.

If she kept on improving at this rate, then she would probably be a proper mage much earlier than I’d been expecting.

It was Hester who was growing stronger, not me, but I couldn’t help but feel excited for her that night as I drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, I decided to shake things up a bit. Instead of going cowbird hunting, I thought I’d do a little shopping and stop by the church for my monthly ability assessment. Then, in the afternoon, I’d help Hester study magic.

It seemed like it’d be the perfect way to have a rest day.

I was also eager to see what the plants I’d gathered during that last trip to Patia Forest were capable of...

Since I’d eaten a number of poisonous plants during that trip, I expected that both my HP and vitality had probably gone up by about four points, and that my overall stats had increased substantially.

Plus, in the last month since returning from the forest, I’d finished off all of the preserved ghost grass and speckled shroom samples I’d brought back with me.

Since I hadn’t taken any hits from the stray cowbirds I’d been hunting, I had no sense of what impact they might have had, but I was looking forward to finding out.

I was also looking forward to finally eating the new preserved species samples I’d been carefully storing all this time and finding out what they were capable of.

I’d start by making a trip to see what effect the ghost grass and speckled shrooms had had. Then, I wanted to come back to the hotel and eat all the new plant samples before making another trip to the church to see if any of them had performance-enhancing properties.

There was just one hitch in my plan: I could only eat so many wafers in one day. Without unlimited use of my secret weapon, I knew it would be difficult to down all of the plants all at once.

In any case, I decided to take care of my shopping until the church opened. But instead of heading toward the backstreets, this time, I headed toward the main street.

On my shopping list today was a new sword and some new armor.

I took good care of my sword, but since it had come from the bargain shelf (and I’d been using it to carve up monster corpses), it had dulled pretty quickly.

I’d kept using it for everything anyway, but I knew it was probably time for a replacement.

As for my armor, well... It was thoroughly bloodstained at this point. I needed to get a new set if I wanted people to stop looking at me funny.

Leather armor was generally reasonably priced, so fortunately, I should be able to replace it pretty easily.

The real problem was my sword...

I’d been mulling it over for days trying to figure out what caliber of sword I should buy this time around.

It was kind of nice to be able to use a sword from the bargain shelf all the time without being too precious about it, so I’d been thinking about picking up another one. But I also kind of felt like it might actually be more economical in the long term to buy a nicer sword and take better care of it.

Plus, one thing was clear to me after my run-in with the Ducalursus: You never knew what might happen.

I had plenty of coin to my name at present, so I felt like I ought to just go ahead and buy a nice sword if I could, but when I thought about Ralph’s surgery expenses, I started to waver. Maybe I should just buy a cheaper one after all? I thought.

I made it to the weapons shop before I’d made up my mind, so I decided to just take a look at what swords they had for sale and go from there.

I started by fishing through the bargain shed outside of the shop, which advertised “six silvers for every sword!” This was where I’d found my current sword, so I knew that it wasn’t exactly the place to look for a high-quality weapon.

I picked the best-looking sword from the pile and carried it into the store with me, just in case I wanted to buy it.

Inside, the variety and quality of swords for sale grew hugely. Some were displayed on racks and others were in glass cases. Some weren’t even displayed at all, but instead were simply listed on slips of paper at the store counter.

Of course, swords weren’t the only weapons for sale. There were spears, hammers, bows, staves, and all kinds of other weapons available. But since swords were the only weapon I could wield confidently, I didn’t even give the others so much as a glance.

As I looked over all the swords I could choose from, I decided to prioritize cost-effectiveness over sheer quality.

I took the swords from the racks one by one and tested them in my hand, then walked around the ones in the glass cases, trying to get a view of them from every angle.

I didn’t bother with the swords that were just listed on the slips of paper at the counter, since I knew they’d be way outside of my budget.

After about an hour of browsing and careful consideration, I narrowed my options down to three swords that had caught my attention: a thin steel sword that resembled a rapier, a magical iron sword with a cross-shaped hilt that was described as being effective against undead monsters, and a mithril sword with a bright red blade that had a dragon fang embedded in it. The first two came from the sword racks, and the last one was in a display case.

The cheapest of the lot was the thin steel sword, and the most expensive was unsurprisingly the dragon sword. The latter was probably the best value for the money, since it looked like it would last me a lifetime...but it was definitely stretching my budget.

It was hard not to just immediately buy it anyway, since it was the one that excited me the most, but I forced myself to consider the other two as well.

Both the steel sword and the iron one with the cross-shaped hilt were slightly discounted, since they were a little rusted.

After much deliberation, I finally landed on the thin steel sword.

Each of the three swords had its pros and cons, but when I thought about the many battles with stray cowbirds I had ahead of me, I decided that the steel sword would be my best bet.

A sword that was effective against undead monsters was an enticing proposition, but if I were fighting any other kind of monster, then it would basically just turn into a regular old iron sword with a cross-shaped hilt.

Iron swords were perfectly usable—if you squinted, you wouldn’t even notice the rust. But they required a lot of care and money to take care of, which made them an inconvenient choice. So, I decided that the magic sword was a no-go.

I was a little unsure about the thinness of the rapier sword, but its steel composition meant that it would probably last me a long time.

I’d gone back and forth a lot with the decision, but I ultimately purchased the thin, steel sword and its sheath for four gold coins. Then I bought an even cheaper set of leather armor.

After spending much longer at the weapons shop than I’d intended to, I finally left with my new purchases.

It had still been morning when I’d entered the shop, but the sun was now high in the sky. Feeling short on time, I hurried to the church.

I want to at least find out today if any of the new species I ingested will give me any benefits, I thought as I rushed through the church doors. I barely broke my stride as I went directly to the familiar room in the back.

“Hello there. Back for another ability assessment?” asked Father Graham.

“Yeah. I’ll be back again in a few hours after this one, so let’s please cut straight to the chase.”

“You will...?” Father Graham was used to my constant visits, but two in one day probably seemed like a bit much even for me. A confused look crossed his face, but he didn’t stop for long to dwell on the matter. “Well, all right. Let’s begin, then.”

I didn’t feel like explaining myself, so I ignored his confusion and simply handed him my adventurer’s card, along with a gold coin, before waiting quietly for the assessment.

“Thank you. Wait just a moment please... All right. All done.”

“Thanks. I’ll be back again in a bit.”

Saying nothing more, I left the church as quickly as I’d come.

I would have preferred to sit down and take my time looking over my updated stats, but I was in a hurry, so I checked them as I walked.

Chris

Class Affinity: farmer

HP: 12 (+21)

Strength: 7 (+8)

Vitality: 7 (+18)

MP: 1

Agility: 5

Unique Skills: poison immunity

Normal Skills: none

Nice! I thought. My stats had improved even more than I’d expected.

For all the stray cowbirds I’d been hunting (and the goblins I hunted on the way to them), I didn’t have much to show for it in my base stats. But the numbers in parentheses had gone up so dramatically that I didn’t even care.

Given how little effort I’d had to put in, and the short time frame of only a single month, it was a really substantial improvement. I felt safe assuming I could expect even more growth in the future.

I’d had to spend good money on these assessments, but it had been worth it to zero in on which plants I needed to focus my efforts on gathering.

Of course, I knew it would be foolish to assume that my stats were guaranteed to keep improving at this dramatic rate. Still...it felt like I had a clear path ahead of me now for beating Claus, and that was enough to fill me with determination.

As I made my way back to the hotel, I had to fight the urge to spend all of my money on another retreat into the woods.

The room was empty when I returned, so I decided to spend some of my free time reading over the grimoire as I wrapped my untested plant samples in wafers and popped them into my mouth.

I was just washing the tasteless wafer-wrapped plants down with water, so it didn’t really feel like I was eating, but it wasn’t long before I grew full.

It kind of sucked, actually, because eating was basically the sole pleasure I found in life. But I had no choice if I wanted to get stronger.

Now that I’d eaten every last of the twenty untested plant samples, I decided to hurry back to the church before Ralph and Hester got home.

It had only been about two hours since my last ability assessment. Honestly, even I could admit it was a little weird to be splashing two gold coins on something like this in such a short period of time.

Father Graham, who had no idea about my circumstances, was probably baffled. I would have been willing to bet that he and the other priests had some funny nickname for me.

And just like that, my mind wandered from one silly topic to the next as I entered the church and made my way to the little room in the back for another assessment.

“So, you really meant it when you said a few hours...”

“Yeah. Sorry for coming by twice in one day,” I said, handing him the gold coin and my adventurer’s card.

“I believe I’ve said this before as well, but there’s no need to apologize. As long as you pay the fee, you may use the service as often as you like. Now then... All right. All done.”

“Thank you. I’m sure I’ll be back again soon.”

“I’m sure you will. I look forward to seeing you then.”

After taking my adventurer’s card back and thanking Father Graham, I quickly left the church.

The church was actually a fair distance from the hotel—farther than one might expect—owing to the fact that it was in a different district. It took time to get here and back.

As I checked the results of my latest assessment, I found myself seriously considering moving to the Pigeon Inn just so I could stop by the church more easily for future assessments.

All right! It was only a one-point increase, but my strength’s improved!

As if on instinct, I pumped my fist in the air. It’d been a while since I’d last done that.

From my previous experiences, I’d known that there were some plants in Patia Forest that improved strength, but I’d had no idea which they could be—until now, when I’d managed to successfully forage one. Now, all I had to do was figure out which of the twenty species from this experiment was the one that did the trick.

Not only had I confirmed the effectiveness of ghost grass and speckled shrooms today, but I’d also discovered that one of the species I’d gathered could improve strength.

Plus, I had a new steel sword. It felt like I’d laid some really good groundwork today.

I hadn’t been this excited for a long time. As I savored the feeling, I hurried back to the hotel so I could help Hester read the grimoire.

“Ready to learn some more magic?”

“Yes, please,” said Hester.

“Yes, please,” said Ralph.

“Wait... Huh? Why’re you joining in, Ralph?”

“Well, it’s not like I have anything better to do right now, so...”

“In that case, how ’bout I start coaching you on your swordsmanship?” I suggested.

“Huh? Wait... You’d do that?”

“I don’t like the idea of you surpassing me, so to be honest, I’d rather not... But I’m not gonna let a dumb reason like that get in the way.”

“Thank you so much! I’ve never had formal swordsmanship coaching before.”

“I’m just going to be passing down what I’ve been taught, so it’s nothing worth getting too excited over. Anyway, we’ll start after I get Hester going.”

A little while later, we left Realzahd and headed out to an open plain to practice. It didn’t seem like a great idea for Hester to practice magic in town, since who knows what kind of collateral damage might come of it, so we’d picked a spot where no one would get hurt if a spell went flying out of control.

“Let’s see... The key to magic is visualization. Light a candle and, as you gaze at its flame, practice transforming your mana into fire,” I read.

“So, I’m going to be turning my mana into fire? All right. I’ll give it a try,” Hester said.

After lighting the candle, she held up her left index finger right next to it, as if it were a second candle. Then she passed her right hand over the flame, feeling its warmth on her skin to help visualize the fire magic more easily.

Watching her made me want to give it a try too, but I knew there wouldn’t be any point when I couldn’t even get in touch with my mana.

According to my ability assessment, though, I did have at least a trace amount of it.

“All right, then. We’ll do some swordsmanship training until Hester’s done practicing this lesson,” I said.

“Sounds great! Thanks...master!”

“Don’t ever call me that again. Just hearing you say that makes me want to throw up.”

“What? Why? God, you’re always so hard on me...”

My father’s apprentices had called him “master,” so hearing that moniker made my hair stand on end. Unfortunately, it seemed like I couldn’t help remembering him at the most random times.

After I composed myself, I started working with Ralph on his swordsmanship.

Ralph’s movements were fluid, but he lacked the basics. I decided that we’d start by drilling them into him. Since he was a paladin, I knew he’d probably start growing exponentially stronger once he had a good foundation.

As I was giving Ralph some rigorous coaching, I heard Hester call out from behind us.

“Chris! Look! I’ve made a flame!” she exclaimed.

Sure enough, when we turned around to look, a small flame was coming from the tip of her left index finger.

How in the world did she learn that so quickly? I wondered. She only started that lesson half an hour ago.

Was she a prodigy, or was magic just really easy to learn for people with mage affinities?

I had no clue, but either way, it was undeniably a good thing that she was such a quick learner.

“You’ve learned how to conjure a flame? Okay, then next is...practicing shooting the flame from your finger,” I told her.

“Um... I know this might sound a bit cocky, but...can we just skip this part and get to the spells?”

“You want to skip the basics? Well, all right... If that’s what you want, then I guess it’s fine.”

“I think it’ll be okay. This lesson was enough for me to get the idea.”

“All right. In that case, I’ll read you the spell section. Try to commit this to memory,” I said, then proceeded to read aloud the incantation for the spell Fireball.

It all sounded like gibberish to an amateur like me, but according to the grimoire, it was the perfect sequence of words to cast the spell.

After I’d finished reading the incantation to Hester, she closed her eyes and began to chant several times in a soft whisper.

When I’d said the words, they hadn’t even had a trace of any magical feeling about them, but when Hester whispered them, I could see her mana moving around in the center of her palm as clear as day.

“Just give me a shout if something happens,” I said.

“Sure. Thank you.”

I had a feeling that Hester was pretty close to mastering the basics of magic. Suddenly, I felt like I was starting to understand Ralph’s earlier anxiety a bit better.

If she kept progressing at this rate, she’d be leaving us in the dust in no time.

I’d resolved to spare no effort in helping both her and Ralph grow stronger, but...the thought of dragging behind them one day did hurt what little pride I had.

I tried to motivate myself again, reminding myself that I needed to keep pushing if I didn’t want to get left behind. As I gave Ralph some more tips, I treated the coaching session like a training session for myself too, and focused on honing my technique.

Roughly two weeks had passed since Hester had started learning magic.

Every day, I’d go out to hunt stray cowbirds, and then I’d come back in the evening to help Hester with her magic lessons while I coached Ralph on his swordsmanship.

Hester was learning magic at an abnormally fast clip. She’d already mastered all of the four elemental ball spells, and now she was quickly making her way through a lesson about arrow spells, which were known for their speed.

Once she mastered that, I figured she would probably be ready to take on some bronze-level quests.

Ralph had been making surprisingly fast progress too. He was now winning one out of every fifty of our stationary sparring matches, which told me that he’d probably be able to manage bronze-level quests without much issue as well.

As for me, well... I hadn’t made much progress as far as training, but I did manage to identify the plant that improved strength: It was a purple fruit with white spots on it, which I’d dubbed “lyzoff fruit.”

The plants I’d gathered last time were almost all gone now, so I knew it was about time to go into the forest again and gather some more.

I was wary of running into another Ducalursus, but I couldn’t afford to let fear keep me from making another visit.

I decided to focus my efforts on getting a bunch of ghost grass, speckled shrooms, and lyzoff fruit next time. It might also be a good idea to buy a bigger bag, so I could gather even more to take back with me.

Now that I’d figured out which plants I needed to eat to improve my HP, strength, and vitality, I didn’t even need to do any more ability assessments—which meant that I would have to part with far fewer gold coins in the future.

Maybe I could spend those coins on ability assessments for Ralph and Hester? I thought. No... I should at least make them pay for their own assessments.

“Are you going to do more magic practice today?” I asked Hester.

“I am. Will you be coming too, Chris?”

“Yeah. I’ve got to keep coaching Ralph too, so I’ll be there. I had an idea, though. What about getting an ability assessment before you start your lesson today?”

“An ability assessment?” she repeated.

“Uh-huh. The receptionist gave you the scoop on that when you signed up to be adventurers, right?”

“Sorry, but...this is actually my first time hearing about this.”

“Same here,” Ralph chimed in. “So, what the heck is an ability assessment?”

Apparently no one had ever told them about ability assessments, because they seemed to be completely in the dark about them.

To be fair, I might’ve only gotten that information from the receptionist because I’d bombarded her with questions until the smile fell right off her face. Maybe it wasn’t part of the usual “intro to adventuring” speech?

“It’s a ritual that quantifies your capabilities into ability stats,” I explained. “To put it simply, it’s a lot like the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony.”

“Wow... I had no idea they offered a free service like that!” Ralph exclaimed.

“Well, it isn’t free. It costs money.”

“How much money?”

“One gold coin per assessment.”

“What...? A whole gold?! Are you kidding me? Who has that kind of money to spend just to have their capabilities assessed? I mean, it’s not like it helps you grow stronger or anything, does it?”

“No, but it gives you an accurate and detailed picture of your current capabilities.”

“Who cares? I don’t need that. Right, Hester?”

“I... I agree. One gold coin is certainly an exorbitant cost.”

Ralph and Hester seemed to be on the same page in thinking that the assessments were a waste of money. I had a feeling that most people probably felt that way, actually—which would explain why the receptionist didn’t usually bother to tell anyone about them.

I’d been thinking I’d make the two of them pay for their own assessments, but judging from their reactions, it didn’t seem likely that that was ever going to happen.

Well, it’s a pretty important progress marker... So maybe I’ll just go ahead and pay for it this time, I thought.

“Well, there’s no downside to knowing your current capabilities. Just knowing how much growth you can expect to make after a day’s worth of effort allows you to make progress more efficiently. I’ll pay for your assessments this time, so let’s go get them done.”

“I’ll pass. If you’ve got a gold coin to spare, then treat us to ten fancy dinners instead,” said Ralph.

“Who’d spend a gold coin just to spoil you with nice food? Look, if you don’t want an assessment, then I won’t force you, but I’m not just going to hand you money for no reason.”

“Aw, what...? So I might as well just get this assessment thing, then?”

“If you’re paying for it, then I’ll do it,” said Hester.

“Great,” I replied. “Then let’s head to the church before it closes for the day.”

“They do these assessments at the church?”

“Yeah, same as the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony. The assessments are actually done kind of the same way too.”

“Fine,” Ralph butted in. “If it’s free, then I wanna get one too!”

And with that, I brought them along with me to the church.

I was used to the church by now, so I just made a beeline for the little back room where they did the assessments and ignored the two of them as they looked around the hall, taking everything in.

It was a pretty small room for even one person to fit in, but it felt downright claustrophobic with three.

I rang the bell, eager to finish up here as quickly as possible. In a few moments, Father Graham entered the room and joined us.

“Hmm...? I see you’ve brought company today,” he said.

“Yeah. I brought my friends to get their abilities assessed this time,” I explained.

Father Graham eyed us with a look that said, Great, now I’ve got to deal with three weirdos instead of just one. Of course, he was too polite to ever say such a thing out loud.

“Very well. Could I please have your adventurers’ cards and one gold coin each, then?” he asked.

They each handed him their card, and I pulled two gold coins out of my bag to hand to Father Graham.

“Thank you. We’ll start with the young lady, then... All right. All done. Next is the young man... All right. You’re all done too. Please take a look at your adventurers’ cards,” Father Graham said, handing their cards back.

“Thanks again. See you next time,” I said.

“I look forward to seeing you then.”

With that, the three of us left the church.

Hester and Ralph had been so suspicious of the merits of ability assessments just before, but now they were staring fixedly at their adventurers’ cards.

Even though Ralph couldn’t read, he looked at his stats quite intently.

“Well? Does it have my ability scores on here?”

“Yes,” Hester said, going on to explain to him what each one meant. “I was a little concerned, since the ritual was over so quickly, but it looks like our ability scores really have been recorded on our cards.”

“Well, I guess this is kind of interesting information to have... But my stats are lower than I expected. Are you sure this is right?”

“Let me take a look at your cards when you’re done,” I said. “I paid for your assessments, so you have no right to say no.”

“Seriously? But I don’t wanna show you...”

“Show it to me, or you can give me back one gold coin. Your choice. I wouldn’t have asked to look if you’d paid for your own assessment.”

“You know I can’t afford that! Ugh, fine... Take a look. But don’t laugh, okay?”

“I won’t.”

I took Ralph’s adventurer’s card from him and immediately looked over his stats.

Ralph

Class Affinity: paladin

HP: 28

Strength: 10

Vitality: 31

MP: 10

Agility: 11

Unique Skills: divine protection

Normal Skills: divine strike, protector’s roar

His stats were good—not that that was really any surprise.

It was hard to believe that he was still out there hunting goblins every day with stats like these. If he started hunting other kinds of monsters in earnest, I had a feeling his stats would improve rapidly.

When I’d seen him fight, it had seemed like he’d been pretty low on HP, vitality, and agility, but I could tell from looking at his stats that it wasn’t a matter of capability; his knee injury was clearly holding him back big time.

“Well? If you’re done, then give it back!” Ralph demanded.

“Your stats are pretty high—though that’s not surprising, considering you’re a paladin. I’d better be careful not to fall behind once you heal that knee injury.”

“You think these stats are high...? My strength’s only 10, though. I thought that sounded pretty low.”

“I’ve only ever seen my own stats, so I can’t tell you if that’s objectively high or low. Let me see yours too, Hester.”

Next, I took Hester’s card.

I would have been pretty shocked if her stats were all higher than mine, but there was no telling what I’d find.

Hester

Class Affinity: mage

HP: 13

Strength: 7

Vitality: 8

MP: 41

Agility: 9

Unique Skills: MP recovery

Normal Skills: magic overflow

Unsurprisingly, all of my stats were higher than Hester’s except for MP and agility. That being said...if it weren’t for the poisonous plants, then she’d have had me beat in every stat.

“Not surprised to see that you’ve got an insane amount of MP,” I said.

“Well, I am a mage, so I’m relieved to see that.”

“By the way, were you told that you had your magic overflow skill at the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony?” I asked. “You didn’t mention it at all when we were talking about our skills before.”

“I thought that was strange too. The priest at the ceremony didn’t tell me I had that skill. Maybe he just forgot?”

That was certainly a possibility.

It wouldn’t have been the only mistake made at one of those ceremonies, considering that I’d been told my skill was poison resistance when it was actually poison immunity.

There was a big difference between getting someone’s skill wrong and just flat out forgetting to mention a skill altogether, though.

Maybe she didn’t get the skill as a blessing from the ceremony... It’s entirely possible she was just born with it.

“Hey, Hester. Let me see your card too!” Ralph said, taking it and looking over her stats. “Yeah, I figured my stats were better. Does this mean my stats aren’t actually low, then?”

“Probably. They’re certainly a lot higher than mine,” I said.

“Let me see your card too, Chris. I showed you mine, so it’s only fair, right?”

“Sure. I don’t mind,” I said, handing him my adventurer’s card.

I thought he’d be smug after looking at my stats, but instead, he just started shaking his head.

“Wh-Why are your numbers all messed up? Like... Why does your HP say...1221?”

“It’s not 1221; it’s 12 and 21. They make 33 in total,” I explained.

“Why are your stats the only ones that are separated like that? It’s really hard to figure out what the heck they’re supposed to be. Is your adventurer’s card broken or something?”

“This is just a guess, but I think the first set of numbers are my base stats, and the numbers in parentheses are bonuses.”

“Bonuses...? What do you mean, bonuses?”

“You know how I eat those plants every day? They’ve got properties that increase your stats. Well—my stats, at least.”

“You mean all that dead grass you eat has given you those huge bonuses?! That’s not fair! Stop hogging it all to yourself and let me have some!”

“I told you, remember? They’re poisonous. If you want to die, though, then have at it.”

“Ngh... That is so unfair!”

If anything was “unfair,” then from my perspective, it was the fact that Ralph had won the lottery with his paladin affinity.

I’d only managed to grow stronger from the few hints I’d gotten about how to unlock my powers, but I would’ve much preferred to get stronger in the typical way, if I’d had the talent for it.

“Well, that’s the long and short of it. If you want to get stronger from eating plants too, then you’d better get my poison immunity skill,” I said.

“Yeah, but how am I supposed to get that?! Ugh... Who cares? I’ll just keep training so I can get even stronger!”

“Heh. I think that’s probably for the best.”

After a bit of excitement over our stats, we all headed back to the Shangri La Hotel and made our preparations before heading off for magic and swordsmanship training.

Getting a look at Ralph’s stats had given me a new appreciation for how much room he had to grow once he healed his knee injury.

I’d been spending my money on all kinds of things up until now, but going forward, I could focus on saving up for his surgery and only have to worry about the cost of supplies for my plant expeditions.

As Ralph and I sparred with our wooden swords, I felt like I had a handle on my next goal.

***

I was keeping pretty busy with my stray cowbird hunting and the magic and sword-fighting practices I was assisting with. From time to time, I’d go into the forest to gather more plants too.

I didn’t wander far from my base now on my expeditions, so fortunately, I hadn’t had any more run-ins with a Ducalursus since that first encounter.

Considering I’d spent a whole month in Patia Forest unbothered by one, and that in my two subsequent visits, I’d only been attacked once, it seemed like my chances of another encounter were statistically extremely low.

In any case, Hester, Ralph, and I had been pretty productive lately. Not only had Hester mastered ball spells, but now she’d mastered arrow spells too. So today, she and Ralph were freeing themselves of the shackles of goblin hunting to take on a bronze-level quest. Since it was their first one, I decided to accompany them.

The quest they’d accepted was, naturally, a monster-hunting one. They were to locate a herd of fragor frogs in some field to the southwest and slaughter them.

Fragor frogs were large, frog-like monsters with a cacophonous croak that attacked mostly by trampling people with their ferocious jumps. Their skin was also coated in a faintly toxic mucus membrane that apparently caused pain and tingling if you came into direct contact with it.

On their own, fragor frogs were really no big deal, but in a group, they were a bit harder to contend with. That made them the perfect hunting target of a bronze-level quest.

“All set?” Ralph asked Hester. “You got everything you need?”

“Yep, I’m all ready to go. How about you, Ralph? You haven’t forgotten our strategy, right?”

“I-I remember. You’ll take out as many fragor frogs as you can from a distance, and I’ll handle any that get too close. Right?”

“Exactly! All right, shall we get going, then?”

“H-Hey... Don’t you think our strategy’s a little too simple, though? Is this really going to work? It didn’t sound very solid when I said it out loud just now.”

“Stop dawdling, you two,” I cut in. “Everything’s gonna be fine, so let’s just get going already!”

“You don’t get how terrifying this is for us, Chris!”

“Hurry up before I change my mind about coming with you today.”

All of our stuff was packed up and ready to go, but Ralph and Hester were dragging their feet. I knew I had to start cracking the whip if we were ever going to make it out of the city.

I’d been a little nervous too when I’d accepted my first bronze-level quest to hunt that sludge slime, so I could understand where they were coming from, but I was starting to get impatient.

Not only had Hester been learning some new magic, but Ralph had been making leaps and bounds too, thanks to his daily sword-fighting practice.

Hester had requested that they keep doing goblin-hunting quests until she mastered the arrow spells, so that’s what they’d been doing until now, but at this point, they’d both improved so much that I felt confident a bronze-level quest would be perfectly doable for them—even with Ralph’s handicap.

Besides, I was going with them today. No matter how badly things might unfold, they weren’t in any danger.

Once I’d given them that little kick in the butt, the three of us finally began to make our way to the field to the southwest of the city.

“Guess this is the place, huh? There are fragor frogs everywhere you look.”

“I can’t believe we’re about to fight our first nongoblin monsters... And what’s worse, all of these fragor frogs are as big as me,” Ralph whined.

“You’ve got Hester’s magic on your side. They’ll be no problem. All you need to do is keep your distance and focus on taking them out one by one, just like we practiced.”

“Right,” Hester said. “Let’s go.”

Ralph and Hester walked side by side toward the field, ready to face the fragor frogs that had claimed it as their turf.

I stood back a bit, keeping my distance as I observed them.

I’d seen Hester’s magic before, but I hadn’t yet witnessed for myself if she could put it to good use in actual combat. Based on what she’d told me, though, one spell was all it took to slay a goblin. So, I figured there was no real need to be concerned.

As I waited for her and Ralph to engage with the fragor frogs, I couldn’t help but look forward to seeing her magic in action.

One of the fragor frogs must have noticed Ralph and Hester approaching, because it turned and started hopping toward them.

Ralph unsheathed his sword, and Hester raised one of her hands in front of her, preparing to unleash a spell.

The fragor frog made the first move.

Crouching as low as it could on its ridiculously long hind legs, it suddenly sprang up into the air so high that it looked like it was flying.

While Ralph and Hester were laser focused on the leaping fragor frog, two other fragor frogs began closing the distance too, coming at my two teammates from the side.

I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t butt in with advice, but when I imagined the panic they’d feel when they finally noticed the other two fragor frogs closing in, I couldn’t help myself.

“Hester! You’ve got two fragor frogs approaching from the side! Leave the other one to Ralph and take them down with your magic!” I instructed.

“Right!” she replied. Immediately turning to the two frogs approaching them, she yelled, “Wind ball!”

She produced two balls of wind from the palms of her hands, both a lot smaller than the ones I’d seen her conjure when she was practicing. They grew in size, though, as they flew toward the fragor frogs, absorbing the wind in the air.

Fragor frogs were weak to fire, so a fire ball would have actually been the most effective spell to use against it, but I assumed that her choice of element—as well as the size of the balls she produced—was intentional. She was probably trying not to disturb the field too much.

Taking our surroundings into account, wind balls really were the least destructive choice to the environment. And, while they might not have been the most effective from an offensive perspective, they still did plenty of damage.

The two fragor frogs must have determined that they had no chance of evading the wind balls, which were flying toward them at great speed, and instead curled up into defensive positions.

Unfortunately for them, Hester’s direct hit ripped them to shreds.

The wind balls continued flying, churning pitch-black with the blood and chunks of meat they’d picked up from the decimated fragor frogs, until they eventually smashed into the ground ahead and vanished into thin air.

I couldn’t help breaking into an uncomfortable grimace as I watched the remains of the fragor frogs splatter like that.

What a brutal way to go...

I was astonished by how powerful Hester’s magic was—and, honestly, also a little bit afraid.

That was no beginner-level magic.

It was a relief that Hester was on my side right now, but watching her in action like this drove home the importance of strategizing about how I’d face a mage when the time came.

“Hester’s just taken out two fragor frogs,” I said, tearing my attention from their remains to check up on Ralph.

“I got mine too,” he replied.

Sure enough, the fragor frog that had been leaping over was now lying on its back, dead.

From the looks of it, Ralph had slashed open its stomach before it even fully landed. He must have been pretty panicked, because it wasn’t a very clean slash. What’s more, he was absolutely drenched in fragor frog blood... But hey, at least he’d managed to finish it off.

I might have butted in a bit to give some tips, but that didn’t change the fact that the two of them had taken out three fragor frogs handily. I had a feeling that this would do wonders for their anxiety. From now on, they’d probably have no problem hunting similar monsters.

As I took out two fragor frogs that were leaping over toward me, I watched Ralph and Hester continue to fight more of them from a distance.

“Damn, we killed it!” Ralph exclaimed once the fragor frogs had all been finished off. “The quest parameters were to slay twenty, but we slew a whole thirty of those things!”

“Um, let’s see... Each fragor frog is worth two copper coins, so that means...we’ll earn six silvers, right? That’s three silvers apiece!” Hester said, taking Ralph’s hands in hers.

Now that Ralph and Hester had cleared the field of every last fragor frog, they’d reconvened to celebrate their earnings.

Until now, they’d only been saving up five coppers a day (after living expenses). Today, they’d earned over ten times that much. I’d been in their shoes once before, so I was painfully familiar with how that felt.

“See? I told you this would be no problem for you two,” I said.

“Hey... Chris?” Ralph began in a whisper. He looked down at the sword he was clutching in his hand as he spoke. “I think...I might actually be improving!”

He’d been anxious out of his mind before they’d started their battle with the fragor frogs, but now that he’d defeated them easily, he seemed to have gained some new confidence.

I knew this would help, I thought. Nothing like a little practical experience to show you what you’re capable of.

Honestly, though, I had a really hard time understanding why Ralph seemed to think so little of his abilities.

“You’d better be. Otherwise, I’m putting all this effort into coaching you for nothing,” I replied. “Personally, though, I just don’t get what all your anxiety was about.”

“Are you kidding me?! You always cream me when we spar... No matter how much I train, I only ever manage to beat you a fraction of the time. Whose confidence wouldn’t be shaken after a record like that?!”

“I think you’re just underestimating me. Sure, you may have better stats than I do, and sure, I may have a lowly farmer affinity, but I’ve been practicing sword fighting ever since I could walk. Obviously I’m going to be able to hold my own against a newbie—especially one with an injured leg.”

“It’s okay... I get it now! This experience today opened my eyes. It’s not that I’m weak... It’s just that you’re really strong!”

“Well... I won’t argue with you there. Have a little faith in yourself, though, will you?”

For a moment, I considered telling Ralph that there were plenty of people out there who were stronger than I was...but I didn’t want to harsh his vibe, so instead, I tried to offer some words of encouragement.

Ralph might have been an idiot, but he was surprisingly prone to overthinking things.

It was hard to strike the right balance with him. I didn’t want him getting a big head, but I didn’t want him getting all discouraged either.

“Your magic seems to be coming along pretty well too, Hester. That was your first time using it against real foes, and you took them out no problem. With magic that powerful, you could probably even handle silver-level quests,” I said.

“Oh, no! I’ve still got a long way to go! My magic may be powerful enough now, but if it hadn’t been for your guidance back there, I think Ralph and I would have been done for. I need a lot more practical experience, so I’d like to keep building upon it by hunting all different kinds of bronze-level monsters before attempting any higher-ranking ones.”

It seemed to me that Hester was taking this all a little too seriously, but at least I didn’t have to worry about her getting ahead of herself and getting into trouble.

She was quick on the uptake when it came to learning magic, and it seemed like she had a pretty good grasp of her own strengths and weaknesses too.

Unlike Ralph, I had a feeling that she’d continue to steadily improve even without my guidance.

“Well, you’ll be on your own from now on, so you two just keep going ahead and completing more bronze-level quests,” I said.

“If we can do it like we did today, then we should have no problem taking on all kinds of quests!” Ralph said.

“That’s right! Just as long as we don’t let our guard down, I think we’ll be able to handle quests on our own just fine,” Hester agreed.

“Just remember: Our current goal is to save up five platinum coins. Once we’ve accomplished that, we can get Ralph’s knee healed,” I said. “And then, we can finally start working together like a real party.”

“Feels like it won’t be long now till I can get that surgery, huh? Back when we were only saving up five coppers per day, five platinums felt completely out of reach... But now it’s like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!”

“Let’s work together to make it happen! I’ll put in everything I’ve got!”

As the three of us chattered away in the fields to the city’s southwest, we reiterated our goal of saving up five platinum coins. It felt like a motivational refresh.

It would take a bit more time before we managed to get our hands on that amount of money, but at the rate we were going, I knew that we’d have no problem saving up for the surgery.

Seeing Ralph and Hester’s growth firsthand had reassured me of that.

Chapter 8: To the Capital

Roughly two months had passed since Ralph and Hester had started taking on bronze-level quests.

Now that they’d been completing them again and again without fail, it felt like their combat class affinities were finally starting to bear fruit.

Little by little, word was beginning to spread among the adventurers about them, and because it wasn’t yet public knowledge that we’d formed a party, invitations from clans and other parties started rolling in.

Hester and Ralph might have only been bronze-rank adventurers, but their impeccable quest completion rate had caught people’s attention. Everyone wanted to snatch them up before anyone else caught wind of their budding talent.

My name was on everyone’s lips too, of course. I’d reached the bronze rank before they had, and I’d successfully completed every quest I took by myself, so that was bound to draw some attention to me.

Unfortunately, though, the reputation I’d earned was a little more...niche. Since I’d been exclusively hunting stray cowbirds for these past few months, and I was spotted carrying a full carcass on my back to the butcher every few days, they’d bestowed the nickname “Cowbird Chris” on me. Needless to say, I wasn’t too pleased about that.

What’s more, everyone thought I was kind of suspicious for my habit of leaving town for a week or two at a time when I went to gather poisonous plants.

In any case, even the jacked-up middle aged guys who seemed to wear permanent scowls on their faces made a point of avoiding me whenever they walked by. I couldn’t decide if I was sad or grateful about that, though. Honestly, it was a weird feeling.

Putting aside the rumors about me, though, things were going pretty well. We’d been making good progress saving up money for Ralph’s surgery, and we now only had five more gold coins to earn before we hit our target of five platinums.

I was in Patia Forest when we hit that milestone. I’d been camping out there for about a week, actually.

Ralph and Hester had insisted on earning those last five golds themselves, and I’d happily let them have their way. It was the perfect opportunity to go hole up in the woods for a while.

That being said...after about a week had passed, I couldn’t help but think about them and wonder if they’d managed it yet.

If they had, then there was only one thing to do: head for the capital with Ralph and get that shady healer Vlad to perform the surgery.

I opened the door to our hotel room, feeling excited about the possibility that we might be ready to go—and found Ralph and Hester sitting on the floor seiza-style right in front of the door.

“What’re you doing?” I asked. “Don’t tell me you’ve been sitting there waiting for me this whole time?”

Instead of answering me, they exchanged glances and nodded.

“We’ve saved up the last five gold coins, Chris! Thank you for everything you’ve done to make this happen!” Hester said.

“Honestly, I wasn’t that into the idea of forming a party with you at first...but now, I’m really, really glad we did!” Ralph added.

“Where’d that come from, all of a sudden? We haven’t even accomplished anything yet. If you want to thank me, do it after you’ve gone through the surgery. Sheesh... You’re embarrassing me.”

“I know, but I just wanted to show my appreciation. Can you blame me? Not only did you get that grimoire for Hester, but now you’re even helping to pay for my surgery. I’m seriously so grateful for all you’ve done.”

It was weird to hear Ralph express gratitude so earnestly like that. He was acting so unlike his usual self that it just made the whole thing kind of awkward.

“Well, it’s not like I did it all out of the goodness of my heart, you know. I’ve got a lot to gain from helping you two grow stronger. But if you’re really grateful, then forget about saying thanks and just pay back the money,” I said.

“The debt we owe you isn’t one we can repay with money. That’s why we’re expressing our gratitude in words,” Hester replied. “At the rate we’re going now, I’m sure we’ll be able to save up five platinums and pay you back one day...but if it hadn’t been for you, that possibility would have never been in the question to begin with.”

“Yeah, exactly what she said. You can go from one to a hundred, but it’s a whole lot harder to go from zero to a hundred. We know that firsthand. That’s why we want to make sure we tell you just how incredibly grateful we are!”

I could feel their sincerity, but honestly, I was at a loss as to how to respond.

I smiled uncomfortably, scratching my head as I desperately searched for the words I needed.

“I hear you,” I finally said. “You’ve communicated to me just how grateful you are. If you want to thank me, then consider your growth a token of gratitude toward me. Also, don’t forget that we haven’t actually gotten you the surgery yet, Ralph. This Vlad guy may be skilled, but he’s still some shady back-alley healer. Let’s not breathe a sigh of relief until your knee is fully healed.”

“I know. But even if he can’t heal me, my spirit will never be broken again.”

“Good. Now relax your spines and just sit normally.”

Fortunately, the awkwardness abated after that.

After sighing deeply, I plopped my bag down onto the floor and sat down with them.

“So, when do you think we should head to the capital, Chris? Do you want Ralph and I to go by ourselves again?” Hester asked.

“No, I want to go with you this time. Hmm... I’m not sure about when we should go, though. How much money do we have right now? Is it exactly five platinum coins?”

“No. We’ve got one gold extra.”

“If I remember correctly, we need to get our hands on the surgery materials and bring five platinums, right? From what the guild healer told us, it sounds like we’ll need that metal slime oil. How about we save up a little more money first before we head to the capital?” I suggested.

“Huh? Wait, we’re not going to go right away?”

“We can’t make it there and back on just one gold coin, can we? You guys begged me to let you earn the rest of the money on your own, so I thought you must have had some kind of strategy in mind... But honestly, we really can’t make this work with just five platinum coins.”

“We completely forgot about travel funds... Ugh, you should’ve stayed with us to earn more money instead of camping out in the woods, Chris!”

“Hey, there’s no need to freak out. Raising the funds for the surgery was the hard part, and we’ve already cleared that hurdle. Getting enough to cover our travels won’t take long at all.”

In any case, my plan was for us to spend just a few days earning some money for our trip, and then head out as soon as we had enough.

The reason I’d decided to go with them this time was because I wanted to see if I could get any intel on Claus.

Truthfully, though, I hadn’t really expected to need to go this far to do it. I’d just assumed everyone would have been talking about Claus ever since the blessing ceremony, but apparently, news about the new sword god hadn’t yet reached Realzahd.

So, I felt like it’d be worth visiting the capital just to ask around and see if Claus really had made his way there like I expected.

“Man, this is so exciting! I’m finally gonna be able to walk like a normal person again!” Ralph exclaimed.

“It won’t happen overnight, you know,” I cautioned. “Don’t forget that you’ll probably have to go through some rehabilitation first.”

“I’m not gonna let a little rehab get me down. I’m just looking forward to working together like an actual party.” Ralph smiled brightly as he spoke.

I was looking forward to working together as a party too. Doing everything we could to earn money had been our number one priority up until now, so I’d been spending a long time just hunting stray cowbirds.

I was eager to start fighting some stronger foes and gaining some experience working as a team.

Then, once we’d gotten strong enough, I’d travel the world and forage all kinds of poisonous plants with undiscovered latent properties.

I’d start by checking out all the locations mentioned in Otto’s autobiography, and one day, I even wanted to get my hands on a particular “skill fruit” he’d written about.

It was apparently highly poisonous, so it had become legendary for being—quite literally—a forbidden fruit.

Many who sought power had risked their lives over the years to eat the fruit, and most of them wound up dead.

Thanks to the danger it posed—and its forbidden allure—the fruit now only grew in secret locations. But I was determined to find it one of these days.

“By the way...didn’t you have something you wanted to tell Chris, Ralph? You know...some information you learned?” Hester asked.

“Hmm? You did?” I echoed, turning to Ralph.

I’d been so absorbed in my thoughts about the skill fruit that Hester’s comment took me by surprise.

Ralph didn’t seem to have any idea what she was talking about. He cocked his head in confusion.

What in the world could he have wanted to tell me? I wondered.

“Ooh... Riiight!” Ralph said. “I heard some adventurers at the guild talking about someone who might’ve been your younger brother recently! I meant to tell you, but I was so excited about saving up the money that it completely slipped my mind.”

I was stunned.

“Are you serious?! Come on, you should’ve led with that! Don’t leave me hanging, though. What’d you hear?”

It had been several months since I’d fled my home, and this was the first I’d heard anything about Claus’s whereabouts. No matter how trivial the information might have been, it was of grave importance to me.

“I don’t want you to get your hopes up—it wasn’t anything all that useful. I mean, I don’t even know for sure if it really was your brother or not.”

“Enough with the disclaimers. Just hurry up and tell me what you heard.”

“All right, all right. I overheard some adventurers talking by the quest boards, and apparently, a potential hero has just enrolled in the Imperial Academy. I tried to get the guy who was talking about it to tell me more, but that was all the information he had.”

That’s all, huh? Just that a potential hero has enrolled in the Imperial Academy? I thought.

Ralph was right. There wasn’t enough information to determine whether or not the adventurers had been talking about Claus. When I thought about the timing, though, it seemed to me that there was a pretty good chance it had been.

And that was just the information that had reached the neighboring city of Realzahd. I was bound to find more details if I went looking for them in the capital.

“You’re right that we can’t be sure they were talking about Claus, but I think the odds are good. I was already hoping to get some more intel on him when we went to the capital. Will you guys help me?” I asked.

“Come on, do you even have to ask? We’d have to be real jerks to say no.”

“Of course we’ll help you. Let’s split up when we get there and look for information!” Hester added. “If it is really your brother they were talking about, then that makes the conversation we had when we first formed a party feel a whole lot more real.”

“Yeah. I’ve got no doubt he’ll be recruiting the best of the best in the capital to be in his party, so we can’t just content ourselves with hunting bronze-level monsters forever.”

“Ngh... This is kind of freaking me out,” Ralph said. “Like, here’s a question. If your brother is a potential hero, then what’s gonna happen when you kill him?”

“I dunno, actually... But if I had to guess, I’ll probably be labeled a traitor. Worst-case scenario, they might paint me to be even more villainous than a demon king.”

“Oh, god... I wish I hadn’t asked.”

A sword god affinity was only bestowed on someone every few centuries, so I knew that the kingdom would cherish Claus as a precious resource to be nurtured and protected. Killing him would almost certainly be viewed as treason.

Not only was Claus an impossibly strong enemy, but there was absolutely no objective advantage to killing him; if anything, the consequences were bound to be disastrous.

Even so...backing down wasn’t an option.

That day in Patia Forest, I’d made a promise to myself that I would make Claus regret not ending my life that day.

“Well, don’t worry. I have no intention of dragging you two into his death. If Claus has a party by then, I’ll probably just ask you to handle them so they don’t get in my way,” I said.

“I know I made a big stink before about not wanting to get involved, but actually, I’ve decided I wouldn’t mind. I’ve realized I’d rather live an eventful life—even if that means being a villain—than just waste all my days away being a nobody.”

“I agree with Ralph. I want to find out what heights I can reach with my magic, and I’d kind of like to see if it’ll be enough to hold my own against a hero’s party. I’d never get the opportunity to risk my life fighting a hero if I just lived a normal life. And you only live once, right? I may not do it in the same way as Ralph, but...I want to make the most of it!”

As Ralph’s smile twitched ever so slightly, Hester let out a genuine, mirthful laugh.

Ralph hadn’t changed a bit since the day I’d met him, but Hester had gotten a lot gutsier since learning magic and growing stronger.

Hearing them talk like this, I could really sense their inner strength. For the first time, I felt like I’d made the right call forming a party with them.

Once we saved up enough funds for our trip to the capital, we planned to head off the next day to finally get Ralph’s surgery. I did a little light shopping, and then came home to get a good rest and prepare for the following morning.

There’d been some concern about how Ralph’s leg would fare on the journey, but since he and Hester had already walked to the capital once, we ultimately decided that the three of us would all walk there again this time.

Personally, though, I would have preferred to take a carriage. There were plenty that departed every day from Realzahd to the capital, so it felt like it would have been easy enough to get one.

“We can still change our minds and take a carriage, you know,” I said.

“I told you, it’s a perfectly walkable distance. What, you don’t wanna walk it?” Ralph replied.

“It’s not that I’m against walking. It just seems like a waste of time, don’t you think? If we’ve got the money, I just think we’re better off taking a carriage.”

“Well, I did a little research last time we went to the capital, and a carriage for three people costs about one gold coin,” Hester said, weighing in.

“See? That’s not so bad. Why don’t we—”

“But with three people on board, we won’t get there very fast. It sounds like it would probably be slower than if we walked—even at Ralph’s pace,” she interrupted to add.

“Wait, really?”

“Yes. If we’re determined to travel by carriage, then we could probably get there quickly if we each took one...but one carriage per person costs six silvers per day. And if we factor in the time that we’ll be staying in Realzahd, it would add up to quite a lot. On top of that, we’d have horse feed expenses to cover.”

“Right... Guess I wasn’t well-informed about the costs.”

I’d had no idea it would add up that much.

I’d just assumed that it would be faster than walking, but even if we had two horses pulling the carriage, it still weighed a ton. Add onto that the weight of three passengers and our luggage, and it was no wonder that the horses would be a bit slow.

An alternative option would be to just rent some horses—sans the carriage—but that would cost a fortune. Walking to the capital was starting to sound like the clear best option.

Besides, it wasn’t like we were traveling any great distance; we were only walking to a neighboring city. Maybe I can just consider it a good opportunity for us to chat while we walk, I thought.

“Sounds like walking it is, then, right, guys?! Last time we went to the capital, we left in the morning and made it there by evening, but since we’re more familiar with the journey now, I think we can make it by late afternoon this time,” Ralph said.

“Sure. Now that I know a carriage won’t be a viable option, I don’t have any more objections.”

“All right! Shall we head off, then? This is kind of exciting, actually, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. We’ve been sharing a room together all this time, but we don’t really hang out that much with all three of us, huh? And the only times we’ve really gone out anywhere together were that goblin-hunting test and when we fought the fragor frogs.”

Ralph was right. It still didn’t really feel like we were a proper party yet.

Aside from helping Hester read her grimoire and coaching Ralph on his swordsmanship, I mostly stuck to myself and left the two of them to do quests without me.

When I thought about it that way, this was kind of an exciting opportunity to spend some time together. Plus, this would be my first time visiting the capital.

“Let’s get going. Got everything you need?” I asked.

“Yep! We’ve packed up all our stuff, and I made sure to pay the front desk plenty, so we won’t lose our room or anything while we’re away.”

“Okay! Time to go, guys!” Ralph commanded, just as his excitement seemed to be peaking.

And with that, the three of us began our journey from Realzahd to the capital.

“If we just keep following this road straight, it’ll take us right there,” Hester said.

“Huh. It’s actually closer than I thought, then. I thought we had a long ways to go...”

“Well, we do, actually. Like Hester said, it’s a straight shot, but we’ve gotta walk for several hours to get there!”

“Right... Guess it’s pretty far, then, huh? We’re gonna have a lot of time to kill on the road. I didn’t bring any of my plant samples ’cause I thought I ought to be cautious, but now I’m really wishing I had.”

It was a perfectly sunny day, without a single cloud in the sky. The temperature was pleasantly warm, and a gentle breeze was blowing.

“Hey... Here’s an idea: If we wanna kill time, maybe we can all talk about our pasts?” Ralph suggested after a moment’s hesitation.

Our pasts? I’m pretty sure I’ve already told them all about my past, I thought.

“Sure, we can do that, but I don’t think I have anything left to tell you guys about mine. I’ve pretty much told you all there is to know.”

“Are you kidding? You haven’t told us anything! All you’ve done is casually mention your upbringing! I mean, come on! Fill us in on the important stuff, l-like...you know...if you’ve got a girlfriend! Or a cute childhood friend or something! You grew up in a nice place, right?”

“A g-girlfriend?! A cute childhood friend?!” Hester spluttered, repeating what Ralph had said. She seemed oddly flustered by this line of inquiry. “Do you...have someone like that, Chris?”

“A girlfriend...? If I had a girlfriend, I probably wouldn’t be this hung up on getting revenge—even though I did almost die.”

“So...you don’t have one, then?”

“Nope. No cute childhood friends either. Actually, I’ve never even had a guy friend before.”

“Wait... Seriously? You’ve never even had guy friends? What the hell kind of childhood did you have that you didn’t have any friends?”

“I already told you, remember? My dad drilled sword fighting into me practically since I was born. Any time I wasn’t doing that, I had lessons for reading and writing. The only thing I did for fun was sneak into the library and read heroic epics,” I said. Then, after a thoughtful pause, I added, “Actually, I don’t know if you’ll count this, but the greengrocer was always nice to me whenever I had to pick something up from him on an errand. Can I call him a friend?”

I asked that question in complete earnestness, but Ralph and Hester just ignored me.

Okay... Guess that’s a “no.”

“Fine. If I can’t count the greengrocer as a friend, then I didn’t have any,” I said.

“Your dad taught sword fighting, didn’t he? He must’ve had plenty of students, right?”

“There were some guys my age, but I trained separately from them. I probably only talked to them a handful of times.”

“Sounds like an awful environment to grow up in.”

“Honestly, I just thought that was the way things were supposed to be, so I never questioned it. Looking back on it now, though... I guess you’re right. I ran more laps and practiced sword fighting more than anyone.” At this point, I couldn’t help but laugh. “Heh... But despite all that, my physical stats are still worse than Hester’s. Crazy, right?”

“Dude, come on. This is serious.”

“It’s all right. I can laugh about it now that it’s all behind me. Just goes to show what a cruel rite of passage the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony is, though, huh?”

My father had always assumed that the rigorous training he’d put me through as a kid would pay off somehow at the ceremony...but no such luck.

After all that effort, the only thing I had to show for it was my farmer affinity. Meanwhile, Claus, who’d just sat on his butt for his entire life, somehow managed to get a sword god affinity. That’d pretty much burst a hole into my father’s theory.

I had no idea if it came down to fate or just sheer dumb luck, but either way, I was certain now that the ceremony was the cruelest thing you could put someone through.

“And here I thought we were just gonna have some light banter, but you had to go and make everything heavy!”

“Well, what about you guys? Any boyfriends or girlfriends?”

“Please! I grew up on the streets, remember? Like I’d have time for something like romance.”

“I’m in the same boat as Ralph. My hands have been full just trying to survive. I haven’t had time to think about anything like that.”

“Sounds like you guys have had pretty rough lives too,” I said. “By the way, when did you first start working together? I just realized I’ve never heard the story behind that.”

They’d never spoken about how they’d met. Or, to put it more accurately, I guess I’d never asked. I’d always gotten the sense that the more I dug into their lives, the more sensitive the topic got, so I’d been purposefully avoiding it. But I wanted to know.

“I don’t actually remember how we met. Hester and I have known each other since we were really young. It’s gone now, but Hester was living at an orphanage, and I was living in a tent shantytown with my mom and stepdad,” Ralph began.

“That’s right. We’ve known each other since before we can even remember. I think we only started working together once the orphanage was destroyed, though,” Hester added.

“Your orphanage was destroyed? That’s awful...”

“It’s okay. It was a hellhole, actually, so that felt like a pretty just fate. It was basically a front to sell off kids. When it got destroyed, I heard that the other kids moved to another town to be looked after by the soldiers there, but...I was sure that my parents would come back to Realzahd for me one day, so I stayed behind by myself.”

“About a year before that, my mom disappeared,” Ralph said. “That just left me and my stepdad, who came into the picture a few years before. He was a real piece of shit. He’d just drink himself blind every day and go on violent rampages. I couldn’t fight back against him, so that’s when I became a pickpocket to make some money.”

Yep, that’s pretty bleak, all right.

Even the story of how they met was a heavy one.

“So... T-Tell me how you eventually teamed up, then,” I said.

“Don’t rush me, I’m getting there! After about a year of being a pickpocket, I messed up for the first time and had to go home empty-handed. That’s when my stepdad got really mad. I’d never seen him fly off the handle so bad before. The worst part was at the end, when he flung me off a high ledge. I landed on my left leg and hurt my knee really badly.”

“Right around that time, the orphanage had just been destroyed and I had nowhere to go. So, when I found Ralph collapsed on the road, I did my best to nurse him back to health. We’ve been working together ever since.”

Hearing all of that, it felt like they had grown up in a completely different world.

I had some painful memories of my childhood, but they paled in comparison to Ralph’s and Hester’s.

“Yeah. It took about a week before I could walk again,” Ralph continued, picking up where Hester had left off. “I was so determined to escape my living hell and kill my stepdad that I dragged my lame leg all the way back home. But when I found him, he was surrounded by empty bottles. He’d just gone and keeled over without me. I’d been looking after him for the whole past year, and when I left him home alone for even just a week, he couldn’t manage to keep himself alive. What a laugh, right?”

“Hey, that’s pretty serious,” I said, echoing Ralph’s comment from earlier.

“Well, I didn’t get to have my revenge, but at least I managed to sever ties with him. To thank Hester for taking care of me, I told her about this old house that’d been abandoned for ages, and the two of us started living there together.”

“Right... And the two of you just kept picking pockets until I entered the scene?” I asked.

“Oh, no, we didn’t do any stealing at first. Ralph could barely walk, thanks to his injury, and I still didn’t have that much confidence in my capabilities back then. We saved up money polishing shoes and doing odd jobs until we got older. It was only right after the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony that we became pickpockets.”

“Hester said she’d buy a grimoire one day, and that that’d be our ticket out of here. The only way for two kids like us to save up that much money is by robbing people, and we weren’t afraid to face death, so we decided to become pickpockets. Heh heh... I really thought our lives were over when you caught Hester!”

“I bet you did,” I replied. Then, after a long pause, I said, “Man, though... I never would have expected that you guys had it so rough.”

“Hey, don’t cry, Hester! We promised we wouldn’t do that, remember?”

“I’m sorry. But...you’re crying too, you know.”

As memories of their past came to the surface, Ralph and Hester became overwhelmed and tears filled their eyes. They looked up to the sky, desperate to keep the tears from falling, but they slid down their cheeks anyway.

“You get it now, though, right? That’s why we’re so grateful to you, Chris,” Ralph said.

“Yeah,” I replied. “I didn’t know your circumstances back when you asked me to form a party with you, but hearing this makes me glad that I did. And...I don’t mean that in a pitying way. You guys are survivors. What you lacked in physical capabilities, you made up for in mental fortitude. Nothing guarantees victory like concentrated effort.”

“Yeah!” Hester exclaimed boldly. “I won’t give up! I’m going to be stronger than Claus one day, you’ll see!”

“What she said! I’m gonna overtake him and be the best adventurer there is!” Ralph added.

As they wiped the tears from their eyes, the two of them looked refreshed.

From the outside, it might have just looked like three travelers were having a mundane chat on their way to the capital. But to me, it felt like we were deepening our bonds.

When my father turned his back on me, I’d made up my mind never to trust anyone again. But maybe, just maybe...it’d be okay to trust these two.

That was the kind of faith our conversation had inspired in me.

Several hours passed of walking straight down the road to the capital.

When we’d been talking earlier, the journey had felt like it would be a long one, but since we spent the whole time talking, it flew by in a flash. It wasn’t long before we could see the capital ahead.

It was obvious even from a distance just how much bigger it was compared to Realzahd. The line outside the city gate looked like it stretched on for miles.

I’d heard that the capital was four times as big as Realzahd, but with the number of people simply waiting to enter the city on one afternoon, it seemed like it must have been even bigger.

“This is my first time visiting the capital, so I had no idea it was this huge,” I remarked.

“Right? When we came last time, I was shocked too.”

“I can’t believe you managed to find Vlad in a city this big.”

“Hester takes full credit for that. You consulted an informant, right, Hester?”

“I did. I had to ask around to find one first, but once I did, I was able to pay him some money to find out what he knew about Vlad. And the only reason that was possible was because you gave us more funds than we needed, Chris.”

“That was pretty smart,” I said. Then, after a pause, I added, “So, does that mean you know where to find an informant now? I’d like to find out any information I can on Claus, so I’d appreciate it if you could introduce me to him.”

“Of course; I’d be happy to. Why don’t we leave Ralph with Vlad and go speak to the informant together?”

“What?! Guys! Aren’t you gonna stay with me while I get my surgery?” Ralph whined, sounding surprised.

“We’d just be sitting around twiddling our thumbs if we did that. It’d be a waste of time,” I said.

“What’s wrong with you?! You could at least stay close and root for it to be successful! I mean, this guy is a shady, back-alley healer, remember?!”

“You really need to toughen up, Ralph. With all you’ve been through already, you ought to be able to handle anything now, right? Like Hester.”

“Well, I’ve got crap luck, okay?! No matter what I do, it’s like nothing ever goes my way. But with you around, Chris, things haven’t felt so bad lately, y’know?!”

“I dunno about that. Sounds like you’re whining about things right now, actually.”

“Ugh, all right! I’ll be fine on my own. You two go get your intel.”

Now that Ralph had come around, Hester and I decided we’d drop him off at Vlad’s and set off to consult with the informant.

First things first, though: Meeting with Vlad was the top priority. I couldn’t help but wonder what in the world he’d be like.

As the three of us lined up to wait for our turn at the gate inspection, I prayed that Vlad hadn’t somehow keeled over in the short amount of time that had passed since Hester and Ralph met with him.

“Present your ID card for inspection. We’ll search your persons and then your bags,” one of the guards at the gate said.

After about an hour of waiting in line, it was finally our turn.

Several guards surrounded us, patting us down and checking to make sure we weren’t bringing anything dangerous into the city. Then we showed them our adventurers’ cards, and they let us through without any issues.

Security at the capital’s gate was stricter than at Realzahd’s. They’d searched my bag so thoroughly that they almost certainly would have arrested me if I’d tried to bring any suspicious plants with me.

Anyway, now that we’d made it through security all right, we passed through the huge gate and headed into the capital.

In Realzahd, I’d been impressed by how pretty and clean the city was. In the capital, it was the huge crowds and variety of shops that made an impression. Even though we’d only just entered the city, bustling shops lined the road right inside the gate, with people going in and out of them nonstop.

In the distance down the road, I could see a pair of fountains that looked like waterfalls, and beyond them was a large castle.

Guess that’s probably where the king lives, I thought.

I’d never once given any thought to the king before now, but seeing the castle there in front of us drove home that we really did have one.

“You okay, Chris? Let’s keep going,” said Hester, giving me a little verbal nudge.

I’d stopped in my tracks as soon as we’d entered the capital’s walls.

“Yeah. Let’s go,” I replied.

This is no time to get overwhelmed. You’ve got things to take care of, and you’re on a schedule, I told myself.

The three of us took a route that led us away from the flourishing streets, toward where the crowds were thinning.

After a bit of walking, a sturdy-looking barricade came into view in front of us.

I could already feel the familiar sense of the backstreets nearby, and I had a feeling that we’d find the black market on the other side.

There was a completely different vibe here to the area just inside the city gate, with its view of the castle and its throngs of people. It almost felt like we weren’t in the same city at all.

“Is the black market up ahead?” I asked.

“That’s right. If we pay that person there, they should let us in.”

Hester went up to a person stationed in front of the barricade and handed them a small sum of coins, which I assumed was an entry fee. You have to pay to get into the black market? I wondered.

Not only did entering the capital cost money, but it looked like gaining entrance to the black market did too. That felt a little weird, considering this was basically the slums. People barely had enough to scrape by here.

“Ready, Chris? Let’s go in,” said Hester.

I followed her, and the three of us entered the black market.

It was noon, but the whole place felt like it was engulfed in a dim twilight. We walked through the streets—none of which were paved—until we could see the whole market.

There weren’t tents like they had in the backstreets of Realzahd but instead a bunch of shady-looking stalls (if you could call them that) that were essentially just mats spread out on the ground.

There was an enormous variety of stuff, from the mundane to the outright bizarre, and the vendors seemed just as diverse as their wares. The most notable among them were the demihumans.

I’d never seen a demihuman in Dessir or Realzahd, but there appeared to be quite a few of them in the mix here in the capital’s black market.

From their distinctive physical features, it was clear that they weren’t the elves or dwarves you’d read about in your standard heroic fantasy. Rather, they were a mix between human and animal—the kind of beings you might call “beastfolk.”

From what I’d heard, racism against beastfolk was rampant and they rarely left the kingdoms of their kind unless there were some extenuating circumstances.

Judging by the conditions of the ones here that I could see just at first glance, I had a feeling that they’d probably been brought to the black market as slaves.

The fact that they could be bought and sold told me that even when beastfolk managed to flee their situation at home, many of them later found themselves sold as slaves. A shudder ran through me as I contemplated how awful a situation it was.

I was in no position to help right now, but maybe once I’d gotten my revenge on Claus and found myself labeled a traitor, I could fight for them or others in need.

My conversation earlier with Ralph and Hester had also gotten me thinking about that.

“Is everything okay, Chris?” Hester asked, once again concerned that I’d stopped walking.

“Yeah, it’s nothing. Let’s press onward.”

And so, the three of us continued through the black market as we made our way to where Vlad was apparently based. We weaved through alleys flanked by shops until eventually Ralph and Hester stopped in front of a particularly old building.

As we headed inside, I found myself relieved to see that Vlad’s “clinic” wasn’t just a sheet spread out on the ground.

The first floor seemed to have been converted into a storeroom of sorts and wasn’t really in use. We had to be careful not to trip as we made our way to the second floor.

I opened the door to see several patients waiting inside.

They must have been residents of the black-market district, because they all looked pretty raggedy.

The healer who tended to them was a mean-mugged man who appeared to be in his fifties. I assumed he must have been Vlad.

“Hello. It’s been a while,” Hester said to him.

He narrowed his eyes, practically glaring as he looked over at us, but when he realized it was Hester who’d spoken, he broke into a full grin and dashed over to us, leaving his patients waiting.

“Oh! You really came!” He said, wringing his hands as he spoke. “So, you’re really going to have the surgery performed here?”

“That’s right. We’ve prepared the funds we agreed upon last time.”

“Oh, very good! You’ve made an excellent choice! I-I’ll start preparations immediately!” Then, looking at his other patients, he announced, “Clinic’s closed for the rest of the day! Go home!”

The man clearly had no pride whatsoever, because as soon as he’d finished buttering Hester up, he shooed away the rest of his patients.

I already knew from the rumors that this guy was a real piece of work, but it had been a long time since I’d last met someone as untrustworthy as him.

“Come right this way! Sorry about all the mess,” he said as he led us to a smaller room. In the corner, there was a pitiful excuse for an operating table.

It certainly didn’t seem like the room got much use, because there was dust everywhere the eye could see.

“Now then... I’ll take the money first, if you please?”

His lips were twisted into a smile, but not a trace of it reached Vlad’s eyes.

Hester immediately made to give him the money—but I couldn’t let her do it.

It felt bad to back out now, when we’d come so far, but all of my instincts were screaming at me not to trust this man.

“Hester, wait,” I said. “Don’t pay him yet.”

“Excuse me? What?! This isn’t what we agreed on!”

“I don’t like your attitude. We’ll pay once you’ve successfully completed the surgery. If you can’t accept that, then we can just forget any of this ever happened,” I said.

“Like hell we can! I’ve already gone to great pains to prepare for this operation!”

“If you’re so desperate for the money, then just complete the surgery successfully. It’s that simple. I’m not saying we won’t pay you, so I don’t know why you’re getting so upset.”

“Because there’s every chance you’ll just make a run for it once I’m done! I can’t accept a deal that puts me at such a massive disadvantage like that!”

“Then the deal’s off. Ralph, Hester... We’re leaving.”

I turned right around and made to leave.

Sorry, Ralph... Seems like we’re gonna have to wait just a little longer to get your knee fixed, I thought, but just as we’d gone down the stairs, a loud voice called out desperately from behind us.

“Please, just wait a minute! Surely you see what a difficult position this puts me in? Please rethink this,” Vlad cried.

We turned around to find him kowtowing at the top of the stairs, his forehead touching the floor.

I was taken aback by the radical transformation; this simpering man was like a completely different person to the high-handed one we’d just been talking to.

It seemed like that arrogant attitude was his way of getting patients to agree to his terms, but if he could tell that they weren’t going to budge, then nothing was beneath him if it meant sealing the deal.

He was one of those people who operated at zero or a hundred, but nothing in between.

“What do you want to do here, Ralph?” I asked him. “You’re the one getting the surgery.”

“I... I’ll get it. This guy does seem pretty shady, but I’m pretty confident that he’ll do it for the money. And if we’re putting the condition on it that we’ll only pay if he succeeds, then I have a feeling he’ll do whatever it takes.”

“All right. Then I think we’ll leave our intel gathering for later and stand watch during the surgery, actually. We’ve got no way of knowing what kind of stunts this guy might try to pull.”

“Thanks, Chris. You’re a real stand-up guy.”

With that decided, we headed upstairs again and reentered negotiations with Vlad.

We agreed that the surgery would take place tomorrow, and that he’d have everything ready to go. All we needed to do was bring the money.

It was nice that the price of the five platinum coins was all-inclusive.

I was feeling pretty anxious about how this was going to go, but we really couldn’t pull out now.

After Vlad told us to come back tomorrow, we decided to leave the black market and head for the shopping district in search of a place to stay while we were in the capital.

Ralph and Hester had apparently stayed at a cheap inn near the black market when they’d visited previously, but we decided not to stay there this time. It felt too risky to spend the night there with so much money on us.

Safe lodgings weren’t worth skimping on. We needed to find somewhere we could trust. Plus, Ralph would be undergoing surgery tomorrow, so we wanted to find somewhere relatively nice that he could really relax in.

“Hey, Chris, what do you think of that place? Seems pretty cheap, right?” said Ralph.

“Actually, Chris, I think that place might be cheaper,” said Hester.

“Guys, I told you: We’re not looking for somewhere cheap, we’re looking for somewhere safe.”

Growing up so poor must have really ingrained in them the importance of finding the cheapest option possible, because no matter how many times I told them that that wasn’t what we were looking for, they just kept pointing to cheap lodgings.

I had a feeling it would fall on me alone to keep an eye out for somewhere nice, so I poured all of my energy into trying to find one.

Relaxation Inn, R&R Hotel, Sanbei Inn, Beyson’s Park... The places I was spotting all seemed pretty nice, but I wanted something with a little more oomph.

I spent several minutes pushing through the crowd as I surveyed the area. Finally, I found a hotel that met my expectations.

“Ladies and gentlemen, how do we feel about...the Grabbel Hotel?”

I pointed to a nice hotel about a stone’s throw from the main road, in a safe-looking location.

It was a level above the Shangri La Hotel, where we usually stayed, but hey... We were in the capital, so why not live it up a little?

“Oh, nuh-uh. That place looks like it costs a fortune!” cried Ralph.

“It sure does. Let’s not!” Hester chimed in.

“Listen, that’s a good thing, actually,” I argued. “We don’t want to cheap out on somewhere with bad security and have all our money stolen. That’d be a huge loss, don’t you agree?”

“You’re probably right about that, but we could always just take turns keeping watch, couldn’t we? I’m not gonna be able to relax if we’re staying somewhere that nice.”

“Oh, come on. Let’s just go,” I said, dragging my two reluctant party members to the building with “Grabbel Hotel” on the sign.

The interior walls were a simple black brick, but everything was so tastefully coordinated that there was a certain je ne sais quoi about it that made it sparkle.

I was so nervous that I had to swallow my spit, which had been pooling in my mouth, as I approached the front desk to check in with the young man working there.

“Welcome. Do you have a reservation, sir?” he asked.

“No reservation. Do you have any vacancies?”

“We certainly do. What type of room would you like?”

“Wh-What type? Um, what types are there?” I asked.

I was the one who’d dragged Ralph and Hester in here, but now I was starting to regret it. It was somehow more comfortable to be treated a bit like dirt than it was to receive such good service.

I’d made fun of Ralph and Hester for being so incorrigibly frugal, but as it turned out, I was pretty frugal too.

“We have several different types of rooms available, including single, double, twin, triple, and family. Once you have selected one of those four options, you may then select the grade: economy, standard, superior, deluxe, or suite,” the man at the front desk explained.

I actually had no idea what he was talking about. Are we even speaking the same language right now?

I glanced over at Hester, trying to signal that I needed a little assistance, but she was just standing there with her mouth agape.

That just went to show how bizarre this was. Even Hester, who was used to learning all kinds of new words on the fly during her magic studies, couldn’t wrap her head around any of that.

“Sorry, but this is all pretty new to me. I’ll just take whichever room is the cheapest option for three people,” I said.

“Very good, sir. Please take a seat and wait just a moment.”

At times like these, I had no choice but to leave it up to someone else. Maybe he’d look down on me—or even rip me off—but this was clearly a legitimate (and very nice) establishment, so I was hoping not.

I sat down as the man instructed. I could feel how stiff and awkward my posture was.

Ralph and Hester remained standing, keeping an eye on the situation.

“Thank you for your patience. I can reserve a triple economy room as per your request. How many nights will you be staying with us?”

“Could you tell me how much it costs for one night first?” I asked. “Sorry to have to ask.”

“Please feel welcome to ask any questions you like. One night with breakfast included comes to one gold coin.”

“One gold coin?!” Ralph blurted out.

“That’s good to know, thank you. We’ll stay for three nights, then,” I said.

“Three nights?!”

“Shut up, Ralph!” I hissed at him, trying to put an end to his outbursts as I finished the reservation process.

To be fair, a night in a shared room at the Shangri La Hotel was only six copper coins, so this was about seven times that much. Three nights here could pay for more than a month at our usual place. Honestly, though, that said more about how cheap the Shangri La was than anything.

It might have been the lowest grade room available, but price-wise, it was actually pretty reasonable. So, I decided to go ahead and book at the Grabbel Hotel.

“Thank you, sir. I’ll begin the booking process. Could you please present your identity documents?”

“Sure. Here you go,” I said, handing him my adventurer’s card. Then I waited for him to finish filling in the documentation.

“Thank you, sir. Here is your card back. The bellboy will show you to your room now.”

The man standing at his side bowed his head politely and emerged from behind the front desk.

“Please allow me to show you to your room. I’ll take your luggage.”

“Oh... That’s okay. You can just show us the way,” I said.

I wasn’t about to entrust him with a bag full of money. I didn’t want to suspect him if anything were to happen.

The bellboy didn’t try to argue. Instead, he just escorted us to our room. We followed him, taking in the vast, luxurious halls of the hotel as we walked.

“This is your room and key,” the bellboy said, handing the latter to me. “Please ensure to always lock it when you leave.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Please enjoy your stay.”

With a final deep bow, the bellboy left us. We quickly unlocked the door and entered the room.

“Wow! This room is insane! The bedding is so nice and fluffy!” Ralph exclaimed.

“It really is amazing... It’s got such a beautiful view too. Can we really afford to stay at a place this nice?”

I could easily understand their excitement; the room was nice, and luxuriously large too.

On top of having a private shower and toilet, it even had a magical device that could control the temperature and air flow in the room.

After living at the Shangri La Hotel for so long, it was practically paradise.

Three beds were neatly lined up next to each other. It was honestly kind of hard to believe that this was the cheapest-grade room available.

“We’ve worked really hard, so I think we deserve at least a little reward, wouldn’t you say? We’ll get back to the grind once we return to Realzahd, so let’s kick back a bit while we’re in the capital,” I said.

“Yeah... He’s got a point, right, Hester?”

“Yeah... You know, I don’t think I’ve ever kicked back before in my whole life. I’m not really sure I know how to?”

Even though I’d been the one to suggest it, I actually hadn’t ever kicked back before either.

If I had to name a time, then I guess my plant gathering expeditions into Patia Forest might count...but that carried a risk of death, and the only meals I got out of it were a bunch of poisonous plants. So, honestly, I wasn’t sure if that really fit the bill.

“I don’t really know either, but I think we just have to take it easy and relax. Let’s start by taking turns with the shower,” I suggested.

“I like that idea! It’s so nice to have our own bathroom,” Hester said.

“Definitely beats wiping ourselves down with damp towels when we’re in a rush, that’s for sure. Still...even that’s better than when we were living in that abandoned house.”

“It might be nice to find a new place to stay once we reach the silver rank. We haven’t really been able to get to know any other adventurers anyway at the Shangri La, so I’ve been thinking it might be worth moving to the Pigeon Inn on the main street,” I said.

“That sounds awesome! The Pigeon Inn feels like the height of luxury for poor adventurers like us.”

“Nah, I wouldn’t go that far,” I said. “We can find somewhere even better if we want to. We’ve crossed Hester’s grimoire off the list, so once we get your surgery done with, that’ll be the last of the big expenses we were saving for. That being said...I’m thinking it’d be nice to buy a house for just the three of us, so I’d kind of like to start putting aside money for that.”

A house of my own was part of my own personal wish list, but I thought it could be appealing as sort of a clan-house-type deal too.

Not to mention...a house would enable me to cultivate my own garden of poisonous plants.

“A house?! Now that’s dreaming big... It does sound pretty great, though,” Ralph said.

“I agree wholeheartedly. It feels pretty good that we’ve reached the point where we can think about saving up for a house now!”

“I’m glad you guys are on board. But...we’ve wandered off topic. Who’s gonna shower first?” I asked.

“You go ahead, Chris.”

“Yeah, I’m cool with that.”

“All right, I’ll take you up on that, then.”

I was really ready to wash the sweat from today off, so I didn’t argue.

It really is pretty amazing that we’ve come far enough to think about buying a house, huh? I thought to myself.

Even just a few months ago, Ralph and Hester probably would’ve immediately denounced the idea as a pipe dream.

As I changed out of my clothes and headed for the shower, I couldn’t help but reflect on how much all of us had grown.

***

“Think Chris is in the shower yet?”

“Well, I hear it running, so yeah... I’m gonna assume he is.”

“This really is incredible, isn’t it? I can’t believe we’re actually staying somewhere this nice,” Hester whispered, sounding deeply moved as she looked out the window.

It really was hard to believe. Before we’d met Chris, I could’ve never imagined that we’d be looking at a view like that.

“I know I said this on the road here, but our lives really have changed dramatically.”

“Yeah. We were barely scraping by just to survive, and then we thought the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony would change everything for us...but it didn’t change anything. Nothing did, until Chris came along.”

“I can’t believe we actually tried to steal from him at the beginning. We really did that, huh?”

“We did. Sometimes my heart aches when I think back to that day, especially because of how nice he was to me even then, when I deserved it the least.”

“Chris always says not to worry about it, but...we owe him a debt we could never repay in all our lives.”

“I made up my mind when he agreed to form a party with us—no, actually, it was when he agreed to live with us. I swore to myself that I’d devote my life only to him,” Hester said with an earnest look in her eyes.

I’d never admit it—partly because I’d be too embarrassed, and partly because I knew Chris would hate it—but I’d sworn to dedicate my life to him a long time ago too.

“No matter what happens, you ’n’ me are always gonna be on his side,” I said.

“Well, that goes without saying. You’d better hurry up and get that leg healed so you can actually make yourself useful, though, Ralph.”

“It’s not the kind of issue you can just fix with hard work, you know... But if I can get it healed, then I’m gonna get way stronger. I’m gonna improve like crazy!”

“And I’m going to keep working like crazy on learning more magic. I’m going to study a whole bunch too.”

We finished sharing our resolutions with each other just as the sound of the shower stopped.

I gave Hester a meaningful look as if to say, Let’s never let Chris know we talked about this, before we switched to some small talk.

Chapter 9: Followed

I felt extra refreshed the next day, probably from sleeping on such nice bedding.

After our showers yesterday, we’d gone out for dinner, and once we got home, we all immediately plopped into bed and fell asleep.

For dinner, we’d bypassed the street lined with incredible-looking restaurants and settled on a cheap diner. We were saving the lavish feast for tonight, once the surgery had been successfully completed.

“How’re you feeling, Ralph?” I asked. “All mentally prepared?”

“Yeah. I feel a lot more relaxed after such a good sleep. I think I’ll be in a pretty good headspace for the surgery today.”

“Glad to hear it. I’ll be crossing my fingers that we can all head back to the hotel today with smiles on our faces. Okay, then... Ready, guys?”

And with that, we left the Grabbel Hotel and headed for the black market.

Ralph must have been speaking the truth earlier, because I couldn’t sense the usual anxiety radiating off of him. Instead, he made pleasant chitchat the whole way to Vlad’s clinic.

There was no sign of any other patients today. We made our way through the empty building to the operating room that Vlad had shown us to yesterday.

Vlad was already there waiting for us, wearing a white coat. It was a complete transformation from his disheveled look yesterday.

“Welcome, welcome! I’ve been waiting for you. Thank you so, so much for your understanding yesterday,” he said.

“No need to apologize. Just make sure today’s surgery goes well.”

“Of course. Leave it to me,” he said. Then, turning to Ralph, he instructed, “Now then, Mr. Ralph. Just lie down here, please, all right? We’ll start with some anesthetic made from razzle leaf, and then we’ll put you to sleep with extract from the dormir fruit. From there, I’ll begin the surgery. I expect it will take some time, so I hope you won’t mind waiting.” The last part was directed at Hester and me.

“That’s all right. We’ll wait as long as it takes,” I said.

Before I’d even gotten the sentence out, Vlad had already deftly administered the anesthetic to Ralph’s leg. It was clear he was an old hand at this. Once Ralph took the sleeping medicine next, he was out in about thirty minutes.

After that, Vlad waited about an hour to make sure that the medicines had taken full effect. Then he began the reconstructive surgery.

Vlad didn’t have operating assistants or nurses; he did everything by himself.

Just as the rumors had suggested, he was clearly in a league of his own. I didn’t have to know anything about medicine to realize why he’d made a name for himself.

About eight hours had passed since Vlad cut Ralph’s knee open, and he must have finally completed the operation, because he began sewing it up again.

The guy was clearly a grade-A asshole, but putting his personality aside, his surgical skills were absolutely worthy of respect.

Vlad wiped some sweat that was beading on his forehead as he flashed a tired smile at Hester and me.

“The surgery was a complete success. I’ve used some custom healing medicine on him, so he’ll just need to keep the wound closed for about three days. After that, I can remove the stitches and he’ll be good to go, no further steps necessary. It will probably take some time before he can walk again, but if the healing process goes well, then eventually, his leg should be as good as new!”

“Thank you. You’ve helped us immensely,” I said.

“Oh, don’t mention it! I was just happy to do what I could for him, of course. Now then... Perhaps I can take my payment now?”

Just as I was starting to respect him, he had to go and ruin it.

It was strange how massive an impact his personality had. He was so loathsome that I could understand why he’d found himself working in the slums, in spite of all his skill.

If he could only fix that moneygrubbing aura he gave off, I felt like he’d probably be a lot more successful—and he’d be able to help a lot more people.

No... Actually, I doubt he’d have been able to learn all those skills if it weren’t for his personality, I thought.

“I still can’t pay you in full yet,” I said.

“Excuse me...?”

“I’ll pay you three platinum coins today, though. If no issues have emerged in three days when we come to visit you again, then you can have the other two after you’ve removed Ralph’s stitches.”

“Right... Yes, all right! Well, that’s perfectly fine, then! May I have the three platinum coins now, then?”

Honestly, I didn’t even want to give him those, but I could easily see him screaming at us and pitching a fit if we didn’t.

Greedy son of a bitch...

I knew that he wouldn’t do a good job completing his work if I didn’t withhold the two other coins.

I withdrew the three platinum coins from my bag. After Vlad sidled up to me, I handed them over to him.

“Wah hah hah! Oh, yes! These are real, bona fide platinums, all right! Ahem... I’ll claim the rest in three days’ time, so...until then. You can leave whenever the boy wakes up,” Vlad said, still admiring the three platinum coins in his hand, before taking his leave.

After witnessing that little spectacle, I felt pretty confident that I’d made the right choice in holding off payment until after the surgery—and to hold on to the last two coins until he’d taken out the stitches too.

Now that it was all over, I was suddenly hit with a wave of fatigue. But I was glad that Ralph’s surgery had been a success.

Technically, we couldn’t actually confirm that until he’d woken up...but from what I’d seen, it didn’t look like there had been any issues.

“Chris... Thank you so much,” Hester said.

“It’s still too early to thank me, remember? We’re not out of the woods yet.”

“I know. But I can’t just keep my gratitude to myself.”

“In that case, I’ll accept it, then.”

The two of us watched Ralph sleep as we spoke, our voices the only thing breaking the silence of the operating room.

Two hours passed. Finally, Ralph woke up.

“Hey, Ralph. How’re you feeling?” I asked.

“Hmm...? Oh...right. I got that surgery today, didn’t I?” he muttered quietly as he looked groggily down at his legs.

The wound where Vlad had opened up his knee had been stitched tightly shut, so you could barely even see it. It probably didn’t feel real to Ralph when he looked at his leg.

“Are you in any pain?”

“No... I’m completely numb, actually. I don’t feel anything.”

“The anesthesia must not’ve worn off yet. Vlad said that the surgery was a success, but we can’t relax just yet,” I cautioned.

“He said that it should be back to the way it was if you make a solid recovery, though,” Hester added.

“He did...? Chris... Thank you so much.”

“Like I said, it’s too early for that. Come on, let’s go back to the hotel. Do you want me to carry you on my back, or do you want to try walking by yourself with a cane?”

“I’ll take you up on that piggyback ride today. I can’t feel the lower half of my body, so I don’t think I’m gonna be able to walk right now.”

With that, we headed back to the Grabbel Hotel with the still-recovering Ralph on my back.

We’d been planning a big celebration for tonight, but with the way Ralph was looking right now, it was hard to get up the energy for that.

We had some dinner back at our room, and once I’d confirmed that Ralph was asleep, Hester and I headed out into the nighttime streets.

My other reason for coming out to the capital was to look into Claus’s whereabouts, and it felt like the right time now to start making some headway on that.

It was already pretty late, so Hester and I weren’t going to be doing anything too intensive. For today, we just planned to pay the informant a visit who’d helped her find Vlad.

According to Hester, he was offering his services at a room in a bar, but...

“Is this the place, Hester?”

“Yes. The bar’s on the second floor of this building.”

The old, four-story building wasn’t in the black market, but it was pretty close.

It was hard to be sure what was on the first floor, since it was already closed for the day, but it looked to be a clock shop of some sort. On the second floor was the bar.

There were other establishments on the third and fourth floors, the former being a shady-looking place with a bunch of portraits of women plastered outside, and the latter on the fourth floor—which announced itself in pink letters as a massage parlor—looked equally shady.

All of the establishments here earned full points for seediness. I wasn’t really sure if it was a good idea to go inside.

Hester didn’t seem the least bit fazed by my concerns, though. She just marched right into the building without a second thought.

We went up the stairs and pushed open a wooden door that said “Open,” then stepped inside the bar.

Unlike its dubious exterior, the bar was actually pretty clean and nice on the inside. A handful of customers were chatting animatedly, so the atmosphere wasn’t bad either.

I was honestly surprised. I would’ve expected a bar like this—far from the center of town and sketchy looking from the outside—to be patronized exclusively by hoodlums.

“Which one’s the informant?” I asked Hester.

“Wait just a minute, please. I’ll go talk to the bartender,” she replied before walking up to the bar and sitting straight in front of him. She produced two silver coins, which she plopped down onto the counter, and ordered something to drink.

The bartender poured her a glass of water and placed it on top of a coaster in front of her.

Hester proceeded to down the glass of water in one full gulp, then gave the bartender a little nod and came back over to me.

“Did you just make some kind of deal with him?”

“Yes. Follow me, please.”

I did as I was told and followed her to a door, which had a thin slot as if for receiving letters. We stopped in front of it and she dropped the coaster that the bartender had given her through the slot.

After a few moments of waiting, I heard the sound of a door unlocking. Hester knocked four times, and then we entered the room.

“Welcome. Oh...? You’ve come to see me before, haven’t you?”

“Yes. It’s good to see you again. I’ve come looking for some more information,” Hester replied.

“I see. And were you able to put the information I gave you last time to good use?”

“Thanks to what you told me, we were able to find who we were looking for. Thank you for your help.”

Sitting in the center of the dimly lit room was a man with what appeared to be some sort of crests or seals tattooed all over his body. His head was completely shaved, and he even had tattoos on his face, so it was hard to tell exactly how old he was.

If you’d told me he was twenty, I’d have believed you; if you’d told me he was forty, I’d have believed that too. That’s how difficult it was to discern his age.

The informant chuckled. “I’m glad to hear it. And what information have you come for today? It won’t come cheap, but I’ll be happy to tell you everything I know,” he said.

Hester turned to look at me as if prompting, and I spoke.

“I’d like to know any information you have on a man named Claus.”

“Oh...? I like the look of you. And who might you be?”

“My name is Chris. Hester here and I are in a party together.”

“Chris, hmm? I’ll remember that. Now then, what was it you were after again...? Oh, right. You want information on Claus, correct?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“By Claus, I’m assuming you mean the Claus? Of course I have information. It’ll come at a hefty cost, though,” the informant said, lighting a cigarette. “Are you willing to pay for it?”

I felt like information about a potential future hero was bound to become public knowledge soon enough, so I wasn’t sure it was worth quite what he was making it out to be. At the same time...maybe there was something juicy in the information he had?

In any case, I wasn’t about to be stingy when it came to information about Claus.

“That’s fine. I’ve got the money.”

“I’ll tell you, then. Claus was blessed with a sword god affinity at the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony. The king is expecting great things of him as a potential future hero. Roughly half a year ago, he left his hometown to move to the capital, and he’s currently attending an elite royal academy where only the brightest are allowed to study.”

“And...?” I pressed him.

He rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together as if to say, If you want more, pay up.

I pulled out a gold coin and flicked it at him.

“Why, thank you,” he said, then jumped right back in. “This year’s Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony must have yielded quite the abundant harvest of new talent, because the lineup of new students includes a sage, a necromancer, a holy dragon knight, and a mighty ruler. Oh, and not to mention a paladin who was in the Royal Guard before receiving their blessing, as well as the king’s own daughter, a war princess.”

“But,” he continued, “the new student that’s held in the highest esteem is none other than—you guessed it—the young man you’re asking about: the sword god Claus.”

That’s an insanely powerful collection of people. But even compared to them, Claus holds the top spot, huh?

At the very least, it came as a relief to know my brother wasn’t slacking off.

“Apparently, they’re going to take on a dungeon soon, and the question everyone’s dying to know is: Who, among the seven people I’ve just mentioned, will form a party? For your reference, Claus holds all of the power in making that decision.”

“I see. Well, thanks for all of that detailed information. You’ve been a big help,” I said.

I’d managed to learn a lot more than I’d expected from this informant.

In the half year since I’d run away after almost being killed, I felt like I’d progressed a lot. But it seemed like Claus had been progressing just as much—no, probably even more.

“Huh? You’re...happy with just that?” the informant asked.

“Why? Is there more?”

“Is there more? Listen... You haven’t heard anything yet. This is where it actually starts to get interesting.”

“Well, come on, then!” I said, practically lunging across the table.

I’d been more than satisfied with the information he’d already given me so far. I couldn’t believe there was more...

What in the world had Claus been doing in the sixth months since he’d moved to the capital?

“Oh, don’t be like that. No one likes a greedy boy.”

“Just hurry up and tell me what you know.”

“All right, all right. Hopes are high for the potential future hero, but Claus has some dark rumors dogging him. People are saying that he gives money to the Maginix—the underground organization that’s responsible for almost all crime in the capital. There are also rumors that he’s connected to the Under Eye—an underground group of excommunicated former adventurers.”

“Why would he do any of that? There’s nothing to be gained by taking risks like that when you’re in the public eye,” I said.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have any insights into his motivations. These are all just rumors, anyway. It’s entirely possible that they’re just being spread around by people who have something against him.”

“So there’s only a fifty-fifty chance that any of that’s true?”

“Well, I think it’s likely, personally. I can’t say for sure what he’s thinking, but if you want to be a real ‘hero,’ I think it’s only natural to need an underground organization or two at your beck and call. Also, I’ve heard that he formed some of those connections because he’s trying to find someone.”

The last piece of the informant’s intel made my heart almost leap out of my chest.

There was no way Claus was still looking for me...was there?

A long time had passed since Claus had tried to kill me, and I hadn’t left any trace when I disappeared. Besides, surely a farmer like me with a useless skill wouldn’t have even been worth his consideration?

But when I thought back to his bizarre grudge against me, I realized that it probably wasn’t out of the question.

“Anyway, that’s about all I know. So? What do you think? He’s a pretty nasty piece of work, that one. Personally, I can’t wait to see what happens next for him. Exciting stuff, isn’t it?”

“Yeah... I guess it is. Anyway, thanks for the information. Here’s a bit extra for everything you’ve shared with me.” I flicked another gold coin his way.

“What’s this? A bonus? One gold was perfectly adequate, though.”

“For all the intel you’ve given me. I’ll be back again if I need some more.”

“Just be careful, all right? Some of those things I told you haven’t been verified yet. I’m curious about Claus too, so I’ll look into it further.”

The informant seemed careful to add a disclaimer to the rumors that Claus was connected to any underground organizations, but I felt like there was a fairly solid chance those rumors were accurate.

And the odds that he was still chasing after me were very high.

I felt validated now in my decision not to accompany Hester and Ralph to the capital last time they’d gone, and now that I was here, I felt the risk increasing that Claus might find me if I stayed too long.

Actually, considering that I’ve been going in and out of the black market—and that I’ve just enlisted an informant’s services—it’ll probably be a matter of days before Claus gets wind of me sniffing around.

I should probably stop my investigation and leave the capital as soon as possible, I thought as Hester and I were leaving the bar.

There hadn’t been a chance to try Grabbel Hotel’s breakfast yesterday, since we’d had Ralph’s surgery, so I made sure to order it for our room today.

And since we’d had a pretty simple dinner last night, I was even more excited to see what they’d bring up.

“Man, how long’re we gonna have to wait for this food?!” Ralph exclaimed.

“Feeling all better today, Ralph?” I asked.

“Yep, I’m back to normal now that I’ve had some good sleep. My leg feels a little weird, but it doesn’t hurt!”

“Glad to hear it. Sounds like you’ll be able to head back home without any issues after the stitches come out in a couple of days.”

“Did you say that you’re leaving tonight, Chris? Was the intel you got yesterday really that alarming?”

“Yeah. I never would’ve thought Claus would still be putting in so much effort to find me. I figured it’d be fine to go looking for information now since he’d have already forgotten about me...but it sounds like our hunt for intel on each other is mutual. He might seriously come for my head if I don’t get out now.”

After giving it a lot of thought, I decided I’d better head straight back to Realzahd instead of waiting with Ralph and Hester to make sure Ralph’s leg had completely healed.

I still didn’t know if the information I’d gotten yesterday was actually true or not, but if it was, then it was simply too big a risk to take.

Now that I’d made up my mind to leave early, I decided to stay here at the hotel until sundown and head back when it was dark so people would be less likely to see me.

I was a little worried about leaving the other two behind, especially because Claus might go after Hester if he got word that she’d been with me...but I was the only one he was actually after, so leaving alone seemed like the best option.

“Your backstory sounded pretty outlandish, so it’s kinda shocking to learn it was all true. Who would’ve guessed all that stuff about your little brother being a potential future hero was legit after all?” Ralph said.

“I feel like you two’s backstory is way more outlandish, personally,” I shot back.

“Oh! It’s here!” Hester interjected, as a knock sounded at the door. “Our breakfast is here!”

She opened the door, all in a fluster, and a waiter entered, pushing a dining cart through.

“Thank you for your patience, and please enjoy your breakfast,” he said, placing the dishes on the table in an elegant and practiced manner.

Once he was done, he bowed his head deeply and left the room.

I’d never seen a breakfast as extravagant as the one on the table in front of us. When I thought about how it had only cost one gold coin total for the three of us, it really hit home just what amazing value for the money this hotel was.

“This is incredible! Is this really all for us?” Ralph exclaimed.

“Well, the waiter brought it all to our room, so...I think it’s safe to eat it, yeah.”

“I wonder if rich people get to eat a breakfast like this every day?” Hester mused.

“I couldn’t say, but I think it’s certainly possible. Anyway, let’s eat up, guys.”

After clapping our hands and expressing our gratitude, we started digging into the dishes on the table.

There were croissants with nuts and fluffy pancakes that came with options of butter, jam, and honey. There were even herb sausages and scrambled eggs, along with a medley of fruit and crisp vegetables covered in a delicious-looking dressing.

Add to that some tomato soup and yogurt, and it was hard to ask for more. It really did feel like the perfect breakfast.

The first dish I went for was the pancakes. I cut into one with my knife and put some butter and honey on top, spreading them so that they coated the inside too. Then I shoved the whole bite into my mouth.

It was heavenly. I felt like my brain was melting—that’s how sweet and delicious it was.

The pancake itself was amazing, but the honey was what really sealed the deal. And the butter, which complemented it perfectly, played an essential part in the perfect symphony that was harmonizing in my mouth.

“This is so good... I’m in heaven right now,” Hester moaned.

“Yeah! I haven’t had anything this delicious since the feast we had to celebrate forming a party. That was really good too, but this is even better ’cause it’s still warm!”

“It really is,” I agreed. “It’s so good, it’s hard to even focus on conversation.”

The three of us just kept eating and eating as we took turns commenting on how good it was.

It was hard to believe that we got to stay in a room this nice and eat food this good for only a single gold coin.

Sure, one gold was kind of a big expense, but when I thought about how just one ability assessment cost the same amount, it actually seemed really cheap.

Maybe that just means that the ability assessment is too expensive? I wondered.

Father Graham did seem pretty shocked at how many times I’d requested one in such a short period of time.

Now that I knew what incredible service the Grabbel Hotel provided for the same amount, I felt like it had changed my perspective on what a gold coin ought to get you.

That being said...it wasn’t as if forgoing ability assessments was actually an option.

“Damn... I wish I could’ve had this breakfast tomorrow too. But I guess I’ll see you guys once you get back to Realzahd,” I said a bit mournfully.

“Yeah. We’ll head back as soon as I get these stitches removed.”

I’d made up my mind yesterday to leave the hotel today—but now that I’d had a taste of their food, I was having some regrets. It felt especially bad to miss out when I’d already paid for it, but unfortunately, I didn’t really have another choice.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to come back and have this breakfast again some time in the future,” Hester said.

“Yeah, it’s a great spread, but it’s not worth trading your life for. Don’t worry, though. Hester and I will be more than happy to eat your portion too,” Ralph added, smirking at me, and I kicked him under the table.

As soon as night fell, I packed up my things and left the Grabbel Hotel.

I would have honestly preferred to have stayed longer in the capital so I could get my fill of the place, but Hester and Ralph were right: I didn’t really have any choice but to leave as soon as possible.

The crowds were somehow just as thick during the evening as they’d been during the day. I weaved my way through the throngs of people as I made my way toward the city gate.

Just like Realzahd, you had to pass through strict security to enter the capital, but you were free to leave as you liked.

Once I’d made it outside the gates, I breathed a sigh of relief and started walking down the dark highway, heading straight back to Realzahd.

About two hours passed with practically no sign of anyone else on the road, probably in part because I was making my journey at night.

During the day, you’d see a person or two every once in a while, but right now, the only presence I could make out in the light of the moon was a few bugs.

There didn’t seem to be anything around that I needed to worry about, and I was really enjoying the beautiful scenery and sense of safety, so I thought I’d take a quick breather and sit down on a nearby rock.

But the minute I retrieved my waterskin to take a sip of water, someone reached out from behind and held their blade to my neck.

After a prolonged moment of silence, I asked, “Who are you?”

“Shush. I’m the one asking the questions here,” replied a husky male voice.

There was something strange about it...but I couldn’t put my finger on what, exactly. There was just something about their voice and the way they spoke that seemed to clash in an odd, almost imperceptible way.

“Why are you looking for information about Claus? And don’t even think about telling me anything but the truth, because the moment you do, I’ll slash your throat.”

I knew it. One of Claus’s buddies, I thought. They must have been keeping tabs on me and followed me out of the capital.

“I think there must be some sort of misunderstanding here. Yes, I was looking into Claus, but why wouldn’t I be? Isn’t it only natural for a guy to worry about his younger brother?”

I knew there was no point in lying—not unless I wanted that blade to slice into my throat.

I’d picked up a bit of a sense for magic after helping Hester with her magic lessons, so I knew that this man had used magic of some sort when he’d put his blade to my throat.

I had no idea what kind of magic it was, but judging from how quickly he lowered his blade, I suspected it had something to do with mind reading.

“Are you really his brother?” he asked me.

“That’s what I said, isn’t it? I’m not lying.”

“Show me your face.”

I turned around to look at the man who’d just ambushed me.

He was a scruffy-looking man, probably in his thirties, with a face full of stubble. But he was clearly extremely stealthy, because I’d had a lot of practice detecting enemies during my stays in Patia Forest, and I hadn’t noticed him at all.

His capabilities certainly weren’t obvious just by looking at him, thou—

Wait... Huh?

“Now that you mention it, you do look alike...” he said.

“Wait... Weren’t you that guy at the bar the other day?” I asked. “No, hang on... You’re that old lady I just passed in the capital, aren’t you?”

“Huh?”

Honestly, even I had no idea what I was talking about. There was no logical thread to my comments at all, but...he really did look like the thin young man I’d seen drinking yesterday at the bar. And he also looked like the old woman I’d passed when I was exiting through the city’s gate.

The stubbled man in front of me somehow bore a striking resemblance to both of them.

I desperately racked my brains, until it finally clicked.

“It’s that ring on your pointer finger. Both of them were wearing it too,” I said.

“What are you even talking about? Are you pretending to be insane so I won’t hurt you?”

“No... It’s not just the ring, is it? The shirt peeking out of your sleeve—it’s the same underlayer they were wearing. Your shoes are the same too. And...the scar on the back of your hand.”

After several moments of silence, the man muttered, “Huh. You’re surprisingly sharp... Not sure I like that, to be honest with you.”

Now that I’d named several similarities I could remember, he seemed ready to give up the ruse.

In the next moment, his face began distorting. At first it almost looked like it was melting into liquid, like the slime I’d fought a while ago, but instead, it gradually changed into a different face as he reverted back to his original form.

“I never thought you’d figure me out, but bravo. You’re absolutely right. Each of those three people was actually me.”

The person in front of me now was a young woman with long, black hair.

She had large eyes that slanted upward slightly, and a beautiful nose. Her lips were slender and perfectly positioned.

I was pretty sure there wasn’t a person alive who could look at her and not think she was gorgeous.

“Who are you, and why were you following me? Have you been keeping tabs on me the whole time I was in the capital?” I asked.

She laughed. “Who would ever waste their time following someone like you? Our paths crossed by coincidence last night because I just happened to be consulting with the same informant. When I found out that you were digging up dirt on Claus, I thought I ought to get rid of you—just to be on the safe side.”

So, it was just a coincidence that I saw her last night at the bar? I wondered.

That must have meant that she’d eavesdropped on my conversation with the informant, and that she’d followed me out of the city for an opportunity to ambush me, then.

“I see. So, it’s not really me you’re interested in. It’s Claus,” I ventured.

“Exactly. But...you really do look like you’re related, so I guess I can believe you. You know, I’ve never met someone who could see through my disguise magic before. You must have received a pretty impressive blessing too.”

“Nope. My blessing is a farmer’s affinity.”

“Y... You’re a farmer?” she repeated, looking absolutely stunned. Both of her hands immediately flew up to cover her mouth.

“So, the younger brother is a sword god and the older brother is a farmer...? Pfft! Ah hah hah! I-I’m sorry. I don’t mean to make fun of you. Hee... Hee hee hee! Ah hah hah! O-Oh god, my stomach hurts... Pff! Ah hah hah!”

In the quiet stillness of the night, the strangely dressed young woman clutched her stomach as she burst out laughing.

She seemed to be awfully tickled that the sword god Claus’s older brother would be a farmer, of all things.

I couldn’t even be annoyed about it when she was laughing this hard.

I waited with a completely serious expression on my face for her to stop laughing, and finally, she managed to compose herself. As she wiped a tear from her eye, she looked over at me again.

She was still laughing a little bit, but she’d recovered enough to talk, at least. “Hee hee... I’m sorry, really. Heh heh! I promise I’m not laughing at you, it’s just...it’s kind of funny.”

“I don’t mind. I’m used to people laughing at me.”

“No... I’m not, though, really. But wow, that must have been horrific for you at the ceremony. I’m sure you’ve had a tough time of it since then, haven’t you? I mean, when you’re younger brother’s a sword god, people can’t help but compare you to him.”

Things had been tough since the ceremony, but to be honest, they’d been pretty tough even before then too.

A tremble ran through me when I thought about what my life might have looked like now if I’d gotten a seasoned swordsman affinity at the ceremony instead and had never been kicked out of the house.

“I guess I have, yeah... But enough about that. Who’re you? I’ve introduced myself already, so at least give me your name.”

“My name is Mielle Crawford Ettex, and I attend the same school as your brother, Claus. It’s nothing to brag about, but my affinity is sage.”

So, she’s the sage that the informant mentioned yesterday...

Despite her claim that she wasn’t bragging about her affinity, she wore an awfully smug expression.

She looked to be about my age, so I’d already had a hunch that she might be one of Claus’s party members. Now, based on how she was dressed and her motivation for ambushing me, that hunch felt all but confirmed.

“I take it you’re in Claus’s party? I guess it must be your job to make sure he doesn’t attract any unwanted attention.”

“No, I’m not in his party...yet. I put a blade to your throat because I thought he might invite me to join if I could get rid of someone who was sticking their nose in his business. But I think this turned out even better than I could have hoped for, actually. I never thought I’d get to meet his older brother.”

“So that’s what you’re after. Right. I guess Claus gets to pick who’s in his party, huh?” After a moment of thought, I nodded. “All right. I’ll give you a recommendation, then.”

“Huh? Are you sure about that? I just ambushed you.”

“Yeah, but you did it for Claus, right? From my perspective, that makes you pretty trustworthy.”

“Thank you... Truly, thank you. I’m really sorry I laughed at you.”

“Like I said, I don’t mind. But in exchange for my recommendation, I’d like to write him a letter for you to pass along. I’ll write a letter of recommendation to go along with it.”

“Of course!”

It was clear that Mielle was extremely capable, and a sage affinity was hardly something to scoff at...but it was also clear that she was still a kid who’d just barely grown up.

All I had to do was butter her up, and she was eating right out of the palm of my hand.

My plan wouldn’t have worked at all if she’d known about the bad blood between Claus and me, though. I was grateful that she seemed to not have a clue.

I guess Claus can’t exactly make all of that public—which probably explains why he’s using underground organizations to look for me.

I started writing a letter to Claus, using the light of the moon to see.

Mielle seemed eager to put her hopes in me, but my real plan was to write a letter of recommendation that would make Claus want nothing to do with her.

I didn’t know if it would actually work as intended, of course, but I could only hope for the best.

It was impossible to say just how much Mielle knew about me, but she probably had the most information out of everyone in Claus’s school after tonight, so I had to make sure she didn’t have the chance to get close to him.

I did my best to carefully craft my letters so they would seem perfectly normal to a third-party reader, but I was confident that Claus would understand the implications perfectly.

“Once Claus reads this, you’ll be set. He’ll definitely want you in his party,” I said. “Make sure you give him my other letter too, please.”

“Thank you. I’ll never forget the debt I owe you. I’ll be sure to give Claus your regards.”

“Please do.”

With that, I gave Mielle a fake smile as I saw her off. She waved goodbye to me and headed merrily back to the capital with my letters in hand, clutching them carefully, as if they were priceless. She didn’t have a clue in the world what I was scheming.

Once she was gone, I sat back down on my rock and took a sip of water.

Whew... I got lucky this time, but that was a close one, I thought.

If Mielle had known that Claus had tried to kill me, I probably wouldn’t have survived my encounter with her. Now that I knew what it felt like to be ambushed, I’d have to be a lot more careful than I’d been up until now.

Thanks to my run-in with Mielle, Claus would know for certain that I was still alive. Fortunately, I hadn’t breathed a word about which city I was living in, so that should take him some time to figure out, at least.

It was only a matter of time before he narrowed it down, though. There were only so many cities near the capital.

Mielle knew which way I’d been heading, but I was counting on Claus not listening to a word she said after she handed him my letters and my regards.

I worried about Hester and Ralph back in the capital, but I figured it was unlikely anyone would find them within the span of two days.

As I reassured myself, I looked around several times to ensure the coast was clear before I resumed my journey back to Realzahd.

Interlude: Mielle’s Report

Heh heh heh. My hunch was wrong, but things turned out even better than I could have hoped for. Claus is sure to be impressed.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined that I’d get a letter of recommendation directly from Claus’s older brother.

I made my way back to the capital, holding on to the letter—along with Chris’s personal letter to his brother—carefully, as if they were priceless. Once I’d returned, I set off immediately to find Claus.

There had never once been a sword god who hadn’t made their mark on history. Essentially, that meant anyone who received the sword god blessing had to be extraordinarily gifted.

Even among the students at the Royal Training Academy, who were all gifted, the sword god stood out. And that was saying a lot, because this year’s Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony had apparently yielded an abnormally talented pool of young people—the sort of bumper crop harvest you’d see only once every few centuries.

It was no exaggeration to say that how much he liked you—or didn’t—could well define your entire future.

Thanks to how useful I was as a sage, I already had a pretty good relationship with him, but this letter from his brother was bound to cement that.

I headed for Claus’s room, unable to suppress the smile on my face.

I knocked, and he opened the door.

“Good evening, Claus,” I said. “Pardon the intrusion.”

“Mielle...? What’re you doing at my door so late at night?”

I entered Claus’s room and saw that we weren’t alone—a suspicious-looking man was here too.

I already knew from the informant’s intel who it was: Millwork, the leader of the Under Eye. He had a very distinctive face, with a deep scar that ran down the right side of it, and a tattoo that he’d gotten to try to cover it up.

His hood was drawn so low that I couldn’t see his eyes, but I could catch a whiff of drugs on him, and he had the aura of a seasoned murderer.

All of that, combined with the unusual badge that only Under Eye members wore, made me confident that he was indeed Millwork.

“I have something important to tell you. Can we get some privacy?” I asked Claus.

At this, Millwork made to leave, but Claus detained him.

“Actually, he was here first. If you can’t say what you came to with him here, then maybe we can save it for later?”

Has he lost his mind? I wondered. Not only was he not trying to hide his ties to the underworld, but he was putting one of its members before me, a sage!

If this jerk wasn’t a sword god, I’d want nothing to do with him.

“All right. Let him stay, then. We can discuss the matter now,” I said.

“Just keep it short, please.”

I whipped out Claus’s brother’s letters. I figured it would be more efficient to just let them speak for themselves.

“What’re these?”

“I think you’ll find them of great interest, considering their sender. Why don’t you give them a read and see?”

Claus took the letters, which had been folded roughly and sealed with only a bunch of weeds, and opened the first one. He inspected it with a suspicious look on his face.

I kept an eye on Millwork as I eagerly awaited Claus’s response.

But to my shock, he suddenly grew even angrier than before.

His grip on the letter tightened so much that he was practically clenching it. I thought he might rip it up at any moment.

I was so used to seeing Claus with either a polite smile or no expression at all that the sheer fury on his face caught me by surprise. His brow was furrowed, a vein was bulging out of his forehead, and his eyes showed red veins.

At this point, I was starting to get a really bad feeling about these letters...but there was nothing I could do now. I’d already handed them over.

Once he tore the letter he’d just read into shreds, he began to read the second one—which is to say, my letter of recommendation.

“Hold on just a—” I began, trying to stop him.

But it was too late.

Once he’d read over the letter of recommendation, he crumpled it in his fist and took several steps until he was standing right in front of me.

“Did you meet Chris, Mielle?” he asked me.

“Y-Yes? He said he was your older brother, so we just had a little chat, that’s all. I barely spoke to him.”

“Then what are you doing with these letters?”

“I have no idea what’s in them... Did he write something offensive?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, you filthy sow!”

“F-Filthy sow?”

“Get out of my sight! Don’t ever show yourself in front of me again... Unless you want to die.”

With that, Claus shoved me hard and expelled me from his room. As he was slamming the door in my face, I saw Millwork give me a condescending smirk.

Thanks to Claus’s push, I’d fallen over backward, flat on my butt, in the hallway. My mind had gone completely blank.

I don’t understand what just happened here...

I was baffled. Crossing paths with Claus’s brother should have solidified my standing with him. At least, that’s what was supposed to happen...

So, why had Claus gotten so upset and kicked me out of his room like that? Why had he said he never wanted to see me again?

Did that guy I met on the highway trick me? Was that not really his brother? I wondered. No, that can’t be right. They looked so alike, and there was no way he would have known all that he did if they weren’t brothers.

That meant it must have been the letters’ contents that were the problem.

I hadn’t been able to sneak a peek at them, since they were sealed with all those weeds, but maybe Claus’s brother had actually thrown mud on my name?

Ugh... I should have read them before giving them to Claus.

I hadn’t gotten the sense from Chris that he’d lied to me, and since he really did seem to be Claus’s brother, I’d made the mistake of trusting him.

These brothers are trouble, I thought.

Chris had probably been playing some sick game, getting my hopes up by saying he’d write me a letter of recommendation and then damning me to hell. He was probably imagining how furious his letters would make Claus and laughing to himself right now.

Sure, I’d tried to kill him...but was that really enough of a reason to try to screw me over this badly? I mean, come on. I was just trying to look out for his younger brother. He didn’t have to go and make such a fool of me.

I decided that I’d head back to my dorm for now and wait out the storm for a while. I could apologize to Claus once his temper had cooled.

Once I cleared up any misunderstandings and let Claus know that his brother and I were on good terms, I knew he’d probably understand.

I tried to reassure myself of that as I headed back to my dorm room, rubbing my aching back.

The four heroes who had been blessed with the sword god affinity had all accomplished incredible feats.

The first slew the evil dragon Bahamut, as well as the original demon lord that had ruled over all the demons in the land. And he hadn’t stopped there; after slaying the demon lord, the first hero continued slaying demons to ensure lasting peace.

He was an exemplary hero, so much so that every hero to this day was held to his standard.

The stories and legends of that first hero that I would hear as a kid used to set my heart aflutter. Even when I reread them now, I’d secretly plan how I’d look for his relics.

The most famous of the first hero’s relics was his weapon. Its name was Vendettatyne.

It earned its legendary status because it was created from Bahamut’s remains, and it enabled whoever wielded it—even, say, a saint—to use dark magic. It was said to be sleeping in a cave in the mountains just north of Edestolle, one of the kingdom’s three major cities.

Although the legends pinpointed the sword’s location, no one could actually verify its existence—an odd discrepancy that owed to the dangers of trying to retrieve it. Theoretically, since the sword was made from Bahamut’s remains, it emitted an evil energy that gave birth to powerful monsters who now overran the mountains.

What’s more, the long years’ worth of evil energy had produced a deadly pool of powerful poison that kept anything living from being able to enter the cave.

My dream had been to one day perfect the art of detoxification magic and get my hands on the first hero’s sword.

Then, one day, the first person in centuries received a sword god affinity as his ceremony blessing—the same affinity that the first hero had been blessed with.

That person was Claus, a boy in my class. So, I had to make absolutely sure that I didn’t ever get on his bad side.

I wanted to make up for my blunder yesterday, so I headed to Claus’s door again first thing in the morning.

I immediately began to try to clear things up.

“I think there were some crossed wires yesterday. Perhaps you misinterpreted the letters I gave you,” I said.

“Didn’t I tell you to never show yourself in front of me again?”

“I can’t make a promise like that when we go to the same school. So, at least let me explain the situation.”

Claus was silent. He looked angry, but he said nothing in response. So, I forged ahead.

“Chris and I are actually good friends. We’ve talked about all sorts of things, including even our pasts. I’m sure his letters contained all kinds of—”

“I will seriously kill you, you know. Just try me. Talk about him more and see what happens. Or I can just tell you what’ll happen: I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth, and then I’ll end your life.”

Claus unsheathed his sword and pointed it at me.

Judging from his expression, he meant what he’d said. The moment I said another word, he would actually kill me.

I reflexively readied my magic at the threat, but I knew that I couldn’t even think about using it right now if I wanted to leave here alive.

I managed to suppress the urge, and with a bow of my head, I left him.

I had apparently bitten my lip without realizing it—and with a fair bit of force, because I tasted blood pooling in my mouth.

Now I’m really done for, I thought.

Now that I’d cemented my place on Claus’s bad side, I’d pretty much ruined any chance of climbing the ranks.

Actually...there was still one other way. I could always try to get in good with the princess, who wasn’t a part of Claus’s faction. In fact, she had a faction of her own.

That would take me on a completely different trajectory than the one I’d been aiming for, but it would still give me a chance of getting to the top.

The only problem was that it meant I’d have to butter up the stupid, strong-willed princess...and that I’d have to find a way to get along with her ridiculously doting admirer from the Royal Guard.

Nope. No way. I can’t do this.

I’d rather die than serve that meat-headed princess.

I was desperate to avoid having anything to do with her. That was exactly why Claus’s party had been my only option.

As I replayed what had just transpired in my head, I felt like I was watching my best-laid plans fall completely apart. My life was ruined, and it was all thanks to Chris. I was quickly coming to despise him.

Judging from Claus’s reaction to just hearing Chris’s name, I could only conclude now that they hated each other’s guts.

I could see now that trying to get on Claus’s good side by claiming to be friends with his brother had been the completely wrong tactic.

I knew it had been a mistake to immediately trust him upon first meeting, especially after I’d just tried to ambush him, but I still couldn’t forgive Claus’s idiotic older brother for the part he’d played in all of this.

How dare a farmer like him try to screw over a sage like me? I’ll make him regret this, I swore.

To distract myself from my unfortunate fate, I decided to track him down and get my revenge.

Little did I know that several months later, when I finally did track him down, I’d find nothing more than an empty husk: a long-vacated room at the Shangri La Hotel.

And when that time came, I would let out a wail of anguish over all the time and energy I had wasted on finding him.

But that was for future me to know, and current me to find out...

Chapter 10: A New Chapter

It was nighttime, two days after I had safely made it back to Realzahd.

According to our schedule, Ralph and Hester should have been returning today, but since night had now fallen and they still weren’t home, I was starting to grow worried.

When I stopped to think about the distance between the capital and Realzahd, though, I knew it wouldn’t have been out of the question for them to arrive even as late as tomorrow.

Just as I was trying to reassure myself of that, I heard the door open.

“We’re back, Chris!” Ralph exclaimed.

“I’m glad to see that you made it back safely too,” Hester added.

The two of them entered the room, carrying their luggage with them.

Whew... Thank god they’re okay, I thought.

I was relieved that they seemed to be doing well and had arrived back in one piece.

“I’m glad you’re both safe. How’s your leg, Ralph?”

“It’s totally fine! I just got the stitches removed, and we took a carriage on the way back, so I got to rest a bit. Vlad said I’d be good to go after some rest and rehabilitation.”

“So, I’m guessing the first goal is just to get you walking again, huh?”

“Yeah, and you’d better not treat me like an errand boy once I can, got it?”

“Heh. I’m looking forward to that.”

Ralph seemed so fired up that it was hard to even picture just how depressed he’d been not that long ago.

It had been a risk to cheap out and put our trust in that sketchy doctor to perform the surgery, but it had paid off in the end. I was so glad that it had been a success.

“So, what should we do from tomorrow on?” Hester asked. “Ralph still needs to recover, so that will just leave me for now...”

“Good point. Hmm... With your current capabilities, I think you could take on bronze-level quests on your own now, but...why don’t we take on some quests together for a while?” I suggested.

“Huh?! You want to do quests together?!”

“Yeah. Not as a party, though, exactly. We’ll each take on a location-specific quest and go to two locations per day. For my quests, I’ll do the bulk of the fighting, with you just providing support, and vice versa for yours. I think that should work pretty well for us.”

“Okay! Count me in!”

It was settled: Hester and I would take quests together while we waited for Ralph to recover.

It would be painful not to be able to hunt stray cowbirds (which was the most efficient way to make money on bronze-level quests), but I couldn’t exactly pit Hester against monsters like that when she’d only just started learning magic.

“Man, I wish I could start smashing out some quests already too!” Ralph exclaimed.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. You’ve only just had your surgery, so you need to take the healing process step by step. Nothing good will come of pushing yourself.”

“I know, I know... But surely I can get some practice swings in with my sword, right? I’m itching to get moving.”

“I guess that’d be fine, as long as you don’t use your legs.”

“Great. I’m gonna get some in now, then.”

“Hold on, you can’t start on that today. Why don’t you hold off until tomorrow? From tomorrow on, you can start doing your practice swings in between your rehabilitation exercises,” I said, just as Ralph picked up his wooden sword. “Putting that aside for now... There’s something I need to tell you guys.”

At this, Ralph and Hester sat back down.

I’d been mulling over something ever since I got back to Realzahd a couple days ahead of them, and I’d decided that it was time to fill them in.

“Oh, what now?”

“Is it...something bad?”

“Well, I don’t think the two of you are going to like it,” I began. “I got ambushed on my way back to Realzahd by one of Claus’s acquaintances. I managed to get away without a scratch, but worst-case scenario, Claus might end up figuring out that I’m here.”

“What?! You got ambushed?! What are you gonna do now, then?”

“Well, my attacker doesn’t know I’m living in Realzahd, at least... But I think it’s just a matter of time before that comes to light. So, I’ve been thinking about moving our base once Ralph’s knee has fully healed.”

“So... The bad news was that you got ambushed?” Hester asked.

“No, it’s that I’m proposing we leave Realzahd. You two were born and raised here, right?”

I knew that insisting they leave their hometown would be a big ask. They probably knew a lot of people here, and anyone would balk at the idea of leaving behind the streets they knew and loved.

“Well... This may be our hometown, but it’s not like we have many happy memories of it. Actually, most of our happy memories are from after we met you, Chris.”

“I share Ralph’s sentiment. It’ll be a little sad to say goodbye to some of the people here, but I’m not really opposed to leaving. It might actually be nice to have a fresh start in a new town,” Hester added.

“Well, that’s a relief to hear... I appreciate you guys being open to the idea.”

“It’s actually perfect timing, don’t you think? I mean, we’re about to start working together as an actual party. Moving to a new city feels like the perfect way to kick off that new chapter,” Ralph said.

“That’s right! The timing couldn’t be more perfect!” Hester agreed.

I was grateful that no one was against my idea.

Just like they were saying, it felt most appropriate to get our things in order and wait until Ralph’s leg was back to normal—then we could make our start as a real party in a new city.

Now that Ralph’s surgery was over with and Hester had gotten her grimoire, we finally had some breathing room. But things were probably only about to get busier from here on out.

“Well, that’s settled, then. Make sure you keep our plan in mind,” I said.

“Will do.”

“Roger that. So, have you already decided where you want us to move to?”

“I’ve got a rough idea, yeah.”

I felt bad for prioritizing my own needs again, but I wanted to pick somewhere where I could continue my studies on poisonous plant species—which was to say, somewhere near a forest that would contain more of the unclassified species listed in Otto’s autobiography.

Ideally, I’d still be able to find ghost grass, speckled shrooms, and lyzoff fruit there, along with other potentially performance-enhancing plants.

Best-case scenario, there would be a bustling town near the forest that we could stay in. But I hadn’t found anywhere that fit the bill yet, so I’d have to keep looking.

“Great. We’ll leave it up to you, then. I’ll just focus on getting my knee all healed,” Ralph replied.

“I’m happy to help you think through the options, so please just say the word if you’d find that helpful. And if you need to find more information about a place, I’m your gal!” Hester added.

“Thanks, I appreciate that. I’ll let you guys know as soon as I’ve picked somewhere.”

Now that we’d each made our respective reports, the conversation came to an end.

We didn’t know yet how long exactly it would take for Ralph’s knee to fully heal, but since he’d be using healing potions, around a month seemed a reasonable estimate.

In that month’s time, I’d need to supervise Hester as we paired up on quests, make excursions to Patia Forest to gather more of my three favorite plants, and figure out where we’d be moving next.

As I got my things ready for tomorrow and climbed into bed, I braced myself for the chaotic month up ahead.

About three weeks had passed since Ralph and Hester had returned to Realzahd.

In the first couple weeks, I’d completed some location-specific quests with Hester and had finally reached the silver rank.

After a bit of supervision, Hester was now ready to tackle bronze-level quests on her own. So this whole week, I’d left her to it while I camped out in Patia Forest.

My plan was to gather as much lyzoff fruit as possible, just in case it didn’t grow in the vicinity of wherever we were going next.

That just left the most important factor: the status of Ralph’s knee.

“Chris! You’re finally back!”

When I returned to the Shangri La Hotel, carrying a giant backpack from my time in Patia Forest, I saw Ralph waiting outside for me. He ran up to greet me, full of energy.

That was enough to tell me that his recovery had gone even better than expected. He’d been able to do some light jogging before I’d even left for Patia Forest, and now he was running in earnest. His leg was clearly doing much better.

“I’m home. You’re in pretty high spirits, huh?” I replied.

“Of course I am! Check this out.” He jumped from side to side repeatedly, his movements incredibly speedy. “Fast, right? And it doesn’t even hurt a bit!”

He’d removed his splint. The wound still looked like it should have been pretty painful, but he claimed that he didn’t feel any pain at all.

I was legitimately glad that he’d made a full recovery, but it was kind of too bad that it had also made him even more obnoxious.

“That’s great. Now, I’d like to get back to our room, so maybe you can let me through,” I said.

“Aw, come on! Throw me a bone here, man! At least spar with me for a little bit. I’ve gotten so stiff from all this resting, and I’m itching to get moving again!”

“We can spar tomorrow, all right? I’m exhausted. And besides, if you’re knee’s all better, then I want to talk about our big move.”

At this, Ralph perked up.

“Did you finally pick a place?! Let’s hurry back to the room, then!” he said and immediately left me to go back inside the hotel.

Seeing him rush like that made a wildly inappropriate thought pop in my head:

Honestly, I kind of preferred the slower pace he used to take when he’d had a bad knee.

“Welcome back, Chris,” said Hester, when I returned to our room. “Ralph just told me that you’ve made a decision about where we’re going to be moving. Is that true?”

“Yeah. I made up my mind while I was at my camping spot. You know Norfast, one of the three major cities in the kingdom?”

“What?! We’re moving to Norfast?!”

“Not quite. We’re moving to Oxstar, one of its satellite towns.”

“Wait... So we’re not moving to Norfast?”

“I’m a silver-rank adventurer now, but you two are still bronze rank. There’s no way we can make it in one of the three big cities.”

“Well, I think we could. I’m sure the adventurers at the top of the food chain are pretty high-rank, but there’s gotta be plenty of low-ranking adventurers too, right?” Ralph argued.

“Listen, I think we’ll be better off finding our footing in Oxstar than pushing our luck in Norfast. We’ll also be able to fly under the radar better there.”

The past three weeks had been so peaceful that I’d almost forgotten, but I had to keep in mind that Claus was trying to track me down.

Judging by the fact that I hadn’t picked up on anyone following me lately, it seemed like the letters I’d given to Mielle had had their intended effect. But I had no idea when my luck would turn. Someone could find me any day now.

I’d have to take pains not to stand out too much until I’d gotten a whole lot stronger.

“If it’s your brother you’re worried about, then Oxstar certainly seems to be the safer choice,” Hester said.

“We can think about moving to Norfast once we’ve started getting stronger,” I tried to reassure Ralph.

“I don’t have any objections to Oxstar,” Hester continued. “It’ll feel a lot like Realzahd, since they’re both close to big cities, so I think it’ll be a good fit for us!”

“No objections from me either,” Ralph chimed in. “Let’s start from square one in Oxstar.”

“Great. Thanks, guys.”

And just like that, we’d officially picked our new base.

We decided that we’d leave in a week. My hope was that we could take the next several days to say our goodbyes and prepare for the journey.

Four days later, our preparations were almost complete.

The three of us were hanging out in our room that evening when we heard a knock at the door.

“Huh...? Who’s that? Did you invite someone over, Chris?” Ralph asked in a normal volume.

“Quiet, Ralph,” I shushed him, wary that the person at the door might hear.

In the entire time we’d been living here at the Shangri La Hotel, we’d never had a single visitor. The odds felt high that the person on the other side of the door had something to do with Claus.

“Keep your voices down. It could be someone Claus sent to find me,” I said. “You two stay here. I’m going to climb down from the window and wrap back around so I’m approaching them from behind. Act like nothing is wrong and try to buy whatever time you can.”

“All right. We’ll stay here and wait for a signal from you, and we won’t open the door,” Hester said.

“Wait... Why would they knock, though? It’s a pretty flimsy wooden door. Surely they could just kick it in?” Ralph questioned.

“Well, maybe they aren’t after me. That would be great. But don’t open the door, even if they say they’re someone you know. Please, guys.”

Taking nothing but my steel sword with me, I hopped down from the window as quietly as I could. We were pretty high up, but I still managed to mostly cushion my fall.

I moved quickly, making my way back through the hotel’s front door and up to our room, praying it was just one person and not a whole gang at our door. I crept up carefully, trying to sneak a peek at them before making any moves.

There was a single figure standing outside our room, wearing a black robe and carrying a long staff. I couldn’t see their face, but they looked like a magic user of some sort.

Mielle? No, surely not...

I carefully approached them, using the stealthy method of walking I’d come up with to avoid catching the attention of any Ducalursi when I was in Patia Forest.

I had to take care where I stepped, since the hotel’s wooden floors were at least a hundred years old, but I managed to sneak up behind them without making a single sound.

I held my blade to their throat so they couldn’t move, just like Mielle had done when she’d ambushed me.

The visitor flinched, finally realizing I was there. They must have figured out that there was no chance of resistance, because they just gave me a single nod.

“Don’t move. And don’t speak either,” I commanded. Then, to Ralph, I said, “Open the door, Ralph.”

At my signal, Ralph did as I asked. Grabbing the robed visitor by their right arm, I led them into the room.

“Ralph, pull up their hood so we can see who they are. Hester, be ready to use your magic at a moment’s notice. And you,” I said to the visitor. “If you move even an inch, I’ll break your arm. I mean that, so don’t test me.”

“Hey, isn’t—” Ralph began to say.

“Just pull back their hood already,” I interrupted, curtly.

Ralph moved to do as he was told.

I couldn’t see the visitor’s face from my position, so I was relying on Ralph to tell me what he saw.

“Well? Who is it?” I said.

Ralph looked startled.

“Whoa, let go of him, Chris! It’s the old man from the Seven Fortunes!” he exclaimed.

This set me into a panic, but I paused when I remembered how Mielle had been an expert at disguising herself. There was a chance that she was just pretending to be Lugentz. What’s more, she could even disguise her voice.

“Ralph, I need you to just calm down for a moment and do as I say. This might be someone in disguise,” I said.

“Nope! That’s definitely the old shopkeeper!” Ralph argued.

“Again, I need you to calm down and listen to me. Does he have a ring on his index finger?” I asked.

“No!”

“How about a scar on his left hand?”

“No!”

Those had been the two features that Mielle hadn’t been able to hide with her disguises, and our visitor had neither of them.

Oh... I think it really is Lugentz, I thought. I’ve screwed up big time.

I let go of him and immediately apologized.

“I’m so sorry for ambushing you like that. We haven’t had any visitors the whole time we’ve been here, so I just assumed you were someone bad.”

“No, I should be the one apologizing for paying you a visit so late in the evening,” Lugentz replied.

“Please don’t apologize. You’ve done nothing to deserve what I just put you through.” I bowed my head deeply as I spoke.

“You’re way too paranoid, Chris! You almost broke old man Lugentz’s arm!” Ralph exclaimed.

“You’re probably right about that... But if it hadn’t been Lugentz, and I’d waited to restrain him until I knew that, it would have been too late. I’m not ready to die just yet.”

“Now, now. Let’s just put this all behind us, shall we? It was my mistake for stopping by unannounced. You’d do well to continue keeping your guard up, Chris, just like you did tonight,” Lugentz said with a smile, trying to mediate the argument breaking out between us.

At this, Ralph and I dropped it.

I could see where Ralph was coming from, but Mielle’s ambush was still fresh in my mind. I absolutely couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

That was the one thing I couldn’t budge on. Not if I wanted to survive, at least.

“Well... I’m sorry that Chris came out of nowhere at you like that. So, what brings you to our room at this hour? Do you need something?” Ralph asked him.

“Actually, I’m here because there’s something I wanted Hester to have,” he replied.

“Huh? Me?” came a surprised yelp from Hester, who had been left completely in the background until now.

Something for Hester...? I wondered. I honestly had no idea what it could be.

“This used to belong to my parents, a long time ago. I can’t bring myself to sell it, so I brought it for you as a parting gift. Consider it a token of my thanks for all Chris has done for me,” Lugentz said.

“Are you sure you want me to have it?”

“Oh, I’m sure. I’ll be much happier knowing that it’s being put to good use than I will be letting it gather dust in my house.”

Lugentz handed her the long staff that he’d been carrying with him.

It had a beautiful red gem embedded into the tip, and it looked like it must have been pretty expensive.

“Thank you so much, Lugentz! I’ll take good care of it!”

“I hope you will. And pop into my store again sometime while I’m still on this earth, will you?”

“We will. We’ll bring you some souvenirs from our travels, and I’ll make sure to pay you back for the staff,” I said.

Lugentz chuckled. “I’ll look forward to that.”

With a little bow of his head, Lugentz bid us farewell.

The Seven Fortunes has been a lifesaver from the beginning of my journey here in Realzahd to the very end, I thought.

Not only had Lugentz bought those stolen goods from me after only just meeting me, but he’d trusted me enough to let me defer payment for that life-changing botany book.

And tonight, even though I’d ambushed him by mistake, he didn’t even get upset. He’d just laughed it off.

We may have had very different aspirations, but Lugentz was the only elder that I respected.

One day, when I’m older, I swear I’ll repay the debt I owe him, I thought to myself as I watched him leave.

After Lugentz’s visit, the days leading up to our departure passed without incident.

Whatever friends Ralph and Hester might have had, none of them saw us off on the day we left. We simply hefted our heavy bags onto our backs and prepared to leave our room at the Shangri La Hotel.

I’d originally planned to stay at this ridiculously cheap hotel only as long as I needed to in order to save up some money adventuring, but in the end, I’d ended up staying from my first day in Realzahd to the last.

The whole place was run-down, and by no stretch of the imagination was it spacious. We’d huddled up in our three-person room like sardines.

I couldn’t even remember how many times I’d thought about switching rooms, but now that we were finally saying goodbye, I knew I was going to miss the place.

“The day’s finally come to leave our hometown, huh?” Hester said.

“I don’t exactly have a bunch of happy memories of living in the backstreets...but I will kind of miss it here,” Ralph said. “This hotel, especially. It’s had a really, really important place in my life.”

“Me too. This hotel is basically where our lives began in earnest, after all. Wouldn’t you say, Ralph? And it was all because I had the courage to ask Chris to let us move in together with him back then. So, you’d better be eternally grateful to me for that!”

“Yeah... I was totally against the idea at first, wasn’t I? Still, the person we should be most grateful to is Chris.”

“You’re absolutely right. I couldn’t be more grateful for all he’s done for us.”

As we stared at the hard, moldy bedrolls and the busted-up lamp that adorned our room, Ralph and Hester seemed to be getting lost in their sentimentality.

I had a feeling they would just keep going with their endless expressions of gratitude if I didn’t intervene, so I decided to change the subject.

“It’s time to get going, guys. We should go thank the hotel owners before we leave,” I said.

“Come on, what’s the rush?” Ralph protested. “Just let us walk down memory lane a little bit longer, all right?!”

“If we linger here too long, we won’t make it to the village we’ll be spending the night in on time, and we’ll end up having to sleep under the stars.”

After several moments of silence, Ralph conceded.

“Okay, no way am I doing that. Let’s hurry up and go, guys!” He said, rushing to grab his bag.

For someone who’d grown up in the backstreets, he seemed unusually against the idea of sleeping outside.

The three of us bowed goodbye to our room, which we’d left cleaner than we’d found it, and left the hotel.

I took in the sights of the commercial district one last time as we made our way to the city gate, remembering how surprising it had all been to me when I’d first arrived in Realzahd.

Our route didn’t take us through the backstreets, and we couldn’t see the area from where we were. I was a little tempted to take a peek before we left, but I resisted the urge.

Just as I’d made up my mind about that, I saw a building up ahead that reminded me that there was someone I’d forgotten to say goodbye to.

“Sorry guys, but I just remembered that there’s somewhere I still need to stop by before we go. Mind waiting here for me for just a bit?” I asked.

“We don’t have time for that, do we? I really don’t want to sleep outside tonight, okay?!” Ralph whined.

“Don’t worry. I won’t be more than five minutes.”

“Go ahead,” said Hester. “We’ll wait right here.”

After apologizing to them, I lugged my big bag with me to the most prominent building on the main street: the church.

I’d thought that the only real acquaintance I had in Realzahd was Lugentz, but I’d completely forgotten about Father Graham, who’d conducted god only knew how many ability assessments for me over the course of my time here.

I still wasn’t sure if I could call him an “acquaintance,” exactly, but after subjecting him to my bizarre whims, it didn’t feel right to leave without saying goodbye.

I paid no attention to the service that was ongoing as I entered the church. I just made a beeline straight for the back room in the corner where the ability assessments were conducted.

When I rang the bell, as I always did, Father Graham appeared in moments.

“Oh? You’ve got a lot of luggage with you today. Has something happened?” he asked.

“I’m leaving town, actually. So, I thought I’d come by to get one final ability assessment and say goodbye.”

“I see... Well, I’ll miss your visits.”

“My money, you mean?”

“Oh, no. Your money goes straight to my superiors. I simply meant you,” he said.

“I know. I’m sorry for teasing you. Okay... One last assessment, then, please.”

After a little banter, I handed Father Graham my adventurer’s card, along with a gold coin.

“I’ll begin the assessment now, then. And... Done.”

“Thanks. I’ll stop by again next time I’m in Realzahd.”

“I look forward to— Actually, could we speak for just a moment?” he asked, his smile transforming into a grave expression.

“Hmm? Was there something else?”

“I wasn’t sure whether I should tell you this, but consider this information a token of my gratitude for your patronage. The cardinal in the capital advised me to report to him immediately if I came across anyone named Chris, and it did cross my mind that he might have meant you.”

“The cardinal in the capital?” I repeated. “Is he a high-ranking clergyman?”

“Yes. Second only to the pope, as a matter of fact.”

“And this high-ranking clergyman is looking for someone named Chris? Does this kind of thing happen often?”

“No. This is the first time there’s ever been an order like this. I haven’t said anything to my superiors, but I would advise you to exercise caution,” he replied. Then he added, “My apologies if I’m overstepping my bounds with that suggestion.”

Does this mean Claus has connections with the church too? I wondered.

Maybe my letter to him had lit a fire under his feet?

“Not at all. You’ve done me a huge favor. Thank you for sharing that with me.” After a pause, I asked, “Can you give me any idea of how wide the church’s web of information spans?”

“I don’t know the specifics, so I’m afraid I can’t tell you much, but what I can say is that the order I received went out to every church near the capital. I doubt that you’d need to worry about venturing near the other three major cities, however. They’re unlikely to be reporting all the way back to the capital.”

“I owe you a real debt for this information. Will you be in danger for sharing this with me?”

“I’ll be all right. Sometimes things ‘just slip’ when a man has had ‘a few too many drinks at the bar.’ Please take care of yourself out there.”

After bowing deeply to express my thanks, I quickly left the church, newly aware that the only person I could trust there was Father Graham.

I felt immensely grateful for the information he’d given me, and that I’d had the fortune to have him as my regular ability assessor.

“Five minutes, huh? Yeah, right! You took ages!” Ralph cried as soon as I returned to where I’d left him and Hester.

“I got a little wrapped up in a conversation. Sorry, guys. Let’s go.”

“Let’s,” Hester agreed.

“It’s entirely on you if we have to sleep outside tonight, Chris!”

“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine. Now that your leg’s all healed, if we end up cutting it close, you can just run.”

“Heh heh! Yeah! I can sprint like the wind now!”

“Okay, maybe don’t do that...”

As we chatted away, I thought about how chance had brought the three of us together here in Realzahd to form a party.

We’ve had quite the year here, I reflected as we left the city behind.

I’d made a few blunders, but once we were somewhere new, I could just focus on taking whatever time I needed to get stronger.

With the fire of revenge burning in my heart, I set off toward the beginning of a new chapter.