*SMACK*

  “What makes you think we’ll listen?” A mercenary stabs the ground with his sword, shouting at the officer.

  “Ya, why should we?”

  “Ya, I can just kill them.”

  The inn got chaotic as more and more joined in the quarrel. Mercenaries stood with their sword raised, merchants threatened with their wealth, and well the owner just stood at his counter, gently cleaning a beer mug. Edric, on the other hand, sat at his seat, quietly observing he was more concerned with his situation than anyone else. The chaos looked like it would lead to a fist fight or worse, with some bloodshed.

  “I am just following orders, If you want to talk to the Governor’s Sentries,” the officer yelled at the top of his voice with vigor. As soon as the statement ended the crowd became silent that even a fly could be heard.

  The mercenaries sat down, the merchant whispered among themself, Edric thought ‘Governer Sentries?’. Edric leans his head closer to the merchant table , “Why are those guys coming here?” One of the merchants' voices trembled as he murmured to himself.

  “Just who the heck are these guys?” Edric let out a gasp, frustrated. Based on the reactions, it was serous , Then a voice cuts through .

  “The Governer Sentries consist of the highest ranked officers, noble bastard and the highest position in Magnus. Below the governor himself that is.” The blonde waiter explained to Edric like a child. “Sorry , you look new here”.

  “It's fine, can you explain more” Edric smiled back comforting her. Any information is good information after all.

  “Well those guys live in the rich district and are under the governor of Magnus.” The waiter came closer to Edric. “They rarely come to the these parts of town, unless the situation… is more dangerous than expected. ”

  “Thanks, I will remember that.” Edric places coins on the table to pay for the food. “ Can I get a room to sleep here?”. Edric lets out a smile, trying to comfort the scared girl.

  “Alright mister, it’s usually busy as you can see but I could arrange a small room, How long will you be staying- oh right” the girl embarrassed blushed, rushes off to the counter, talks to the bartender who he presumed is Lester- a muscly guy, tall intimidating but not in a scary way, his hair was white as a snow leopard, and looked around late 30s.

  He might be the owner.’Edric stretches out his arms and leans back on his chair. Facing the ceiling.

  A few minutes later, the girl came back. The clinging sound of key’s apparent.

  “Here is your room key, it’s on the 4th floor. Just take a right from the stairs and go to the end.” The girl gave him the keys, “Thank you, by the way I didn’t quite catch your name.”, Edric grabs the key .

  “It’s Xantha,” She replied with her innocent smile.

  Edric greeted her goodbye and made his way to the stairs. He climbed upstairs,the stairs in the building were made in a circular fashion, sturdy and creaking non nonexistent.

  Edric reaches the fourth floor, following Xantha’s instructions and makes his way to his room. ‘401, 402, ah 403’ Edric locates his room 403. He opens the door to a small single room.

  There was a bed next to the window frame, a single light on the ceiling with a string to turn it on and off in the centre, a cupboard and a table and chair in the corner. The room is spacious for one person at least bigger than Edric’s room with Garrick and even has an attached bathroom.

  Edric tossed his bag into the cupboard, then collapsed onto the bed, the mattress sagging beneath him. His muscles ached from the three-day journey, but the exhaustion was almost comforting. The bedsheets were rough, but at this point, he could sleep on a rock and not care.

  What should I do now? Should I just wait until the ban is off …. No, no, that will just waste time. Who knows what danger lurks out there, especially with those Sentry guys patrolling. Edric puts his index and thumb on his temples, various thoughts came in his mind. With no direct solution.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  “I’ve already come close to death three times. Sitting around isn’t an option. If I can’t leave the city, I might as well gain experience while I’m stuck here.” he muttured. A job made sense to Edric, he planned on doing missions, quests, and odd jobs to gain experience.

  With his skill’s level increasing with it’s use it made sense. Even though he thought of doing it after reaching the estate, doing it now won’t be too bad. Not like he got a choice at the moment.

  “Are there even quests or missions here?” Edric muttered.

  ‘System’

  Edric looks at his map, the system map is limited to only a few places he walked by, and at a radius of 1 kilometer. There weren’t any mercenary guilds nearby. But he was sure there was something like a guild system in this world, after all how would the mercenaries below would earn. He decided to ask Lester tomorrow.

  “Well, I guess that's the plan, for now at least.” Edric closes his eyes and gets knocked out instantly.

  The golden light of dawn streamed through the window, casting soft shadows across the wooden floor.

  Edric stirred awake, the muffled sounds of the city creeping into his ears. He stretched, letting out a deep yawn.

  "Haven’t slept like that in a long time."

  The past day replayed in his mind. The lockdown. The Governor’s Sentries. The tense atmosphere. He shook off the drowsiness, freshened up, and grabbed his robe and bag from the cupboard.

  As he descended the stairs, the scent of fresh meat and bread hit him like a wave. His stomach rumbled in response.

  “Morning, Ed!”

  Edric turned to see Xantha weaving between tables, balancing a tray of drinks with practiced ease.

  “Morning, Xantha,” he said, taking a seat at the counter. “Just give me whatever breakfast you’ve got.”

  “You got it!” She flashed a smile and disappeared into the kitchen.

  A deep chuckle rumbled from behind the counter. “So, you’re on a first-name basis now, huh?”

  Edric turned to the source—a broad-shouldered man with a red unbuttoned shirt and a jagged scar running down his left eye. His presence alone carried weight.

  “You must be Lester,” Edric guessed.

  “The one and only.” Lester poured a mug of ale for a waiting mercenary before leaning on the counter. “So, what’s your story? You a mercenary?”

  “Just a traveler,” Edric said cautiously.

  Lester smirked. “Yeah? Well, travelers don’t usually walk into a mercenary town with a sword on their back.”

  Edric said nothing.

  Lester gave him a long look, then shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. Just don’t go making trouble for my employees.”

  Before Edric could respond, Xantha returned, placing a plate of sausages, spiced curry, and vegetables in front of him. “Here you go, Ed.”

  “Thanks.”

  As Xantha left to serve another table, Lester leaned in again, lowering his voice. “You planning to stick around?”

  “Not if I can help it,” Edric admitted. “But with the lockdown, I need to find a way to make use of my time. Sitting around is going to do nothing.”

  Lester nodded. “Then you should check the West Side Mercenary Guild—it’s just across the block. They’ve got all sorts of jobs posted. Just be careful.”

  “Why?”

  Lester smirked. “Because half the jobs are either lies, scams, or someone else’s mess waiting to be dumped on you. Plus, with the whole lockdown happening, the jobs will be disappearing like flies, so better hurry.”

  Edric absorbed the information as he finished his meal. He paid for breakfast, thanked Xantha, and stepped out into the streets.

  The city felt different.

  Yesterday, Muris Magnus had been bustling. Today, people moved cautiously, keeping their voices low. City guards patrolled the streets more frequently, their eyes sharp, hands resting near their weapons.

  Edric made his way to the West Side Mercenary Guild, a solid brick structured building which was painted black, with a bold sign above the entrance. He pushed the doors open and stepped inside.

  The guild hall was alive with noise. Mercenaries lounged on couches, argued over contracts, and collected payments from the counter. A massive job board stood against the far wall, covered in parchment sheets of varying sizes.

  Edric approached the reception desk. “I’d like to apply for a job.”

  The receptionist, a middle-aged woman with tired eyes and a dull expression of an office drone, slid a form across the desk. “Fill this out. Then pick a job from the board.”

  Edric expected some sort of verification process, but that was it? No questions, no background checks?

  He took the form, completed the basic information, and turned toward the job board.

  It was overwhelming. Hundreds of job postings, ranging from simple deliveries to high-risk bounties. Then the system suddenly flickered to life which caused Edric to have a light scare. Then it started scanning through the options and highlighting rewards.

  [Job: Deliver package.]

  [Reward: 10 silver]

  [Job: Load and carry crates.]

  [Reward: 5 silver]

  Edric scrolled through the list. “Too easy… too easy… too boring… too dangerous…”

  Then he saw something that piqued his interest.

  [Job: Escort and protect medical herbs]

  [Reward: 10 gold]

  Edric paused; he found it. That was significantly higher than most jobs. Either the job was a scam, or the herb cured cancer because that’s the only reason it made sense to him.

  He searched the board and found the actual parchment pinned near the bottom, hidden behind several other requests.

  He pulled it free. The edges were slightly worn, as if it had been sitting there for a while—ignored. The content’s of the parchment itself looked legit.

  Edric turned to the receptionist. “I’ll take this one.” he slid the paper across

  The woman looked at the paper, then at him. “You sure? This is your first job.”

  “Who posted it?”

  She pointed to a symbol on the paper—a crest with a golden balance scale. “It’s from the Merchant Guild. They're in the Merchant District.”

  Edric ran his fingers over the paper, deep in thought. The Merchant Guild had power. And with the lockdown, a job like this could be risky… but it could also be an opportunity.

  If merchants were still moving goods in and out of town, maybe they had a way to escape this city.

  He met the receptionist’s gaze with a reassured look. “Yeah. I’m sure.”

  She hesitated before sliding a contract toward him. “Sign here.”

  Edric took the pen, staring at the Merchant Guild insignia for a moment longer.

  Something felt off.

  But he signed it anyway.