The Guild Master mirrored the Tower Master’s heavy expression, while Liz kept a straight face, but her right index finger’s anxious tapping revealed her true feelings. Liz spoke up, “Putting aside that decision, we need to know what happened to the Magic Sensor. What exactly is the Tower saying? Back when I was studying to take over our families Magic Tower, I read from my ancestor’s writings and according to what she said, a scenario like this should never have happened. The Tower’s security system would have automatically inform the tower master of the problem the moment it appeared. This is so the problem can be fixed as soon as possible.”
The Tower Master sighed and shook her head before responding, “That’s the problem, it’s not saying anything and when I ask about the Magic Sensor, it responds by saying it doesn’t have a Magic Sensor. I used my authority to run a Tower check, and everything came back positive, with the exception of the Magic Sensor.” The Tower Master sighed again as she laid face down on the wooden table, the aura of a strong tower master long gone replaced by a sense of weariness. The Guild Master didn’t know anything about Magic Circuits or how the Magic Tower is used so she remained silent as she thought about the original problem.
Liz’s expression slightly changed as she came to a dreadful conclusion, “What if there is no Magic Sensor?” The Tower Master jerked upright and retorted, “Impossible. It was working perfect yesterday. It must be a mistake within the Tower’s security system.” Liz’s expression didn’t change, instead it grew darker as she sharply asked, “That narrows down the timeline to just yesterday then. Did you leave the Tower at all yesterday?” The air in the room seemed to freeze as the Tower Master’s eyes began to glow blue and cyan. “No, I would never neglect my duty. Are you trying to say I failed in my duties as Tower Master?” Liz’s eyes began to glow red as she harshly answered, “Perhaps I am. Something happened yesterday, and it broke up the Magic Tower’s sensor. That in of itself is a dereliction of duty.”
The Guild Master shifted uncomfortably in her seat before cutting in, “Alright, alright. Give me some face and calm down a bit. We have another important topic to discuss, and we can’t do it if you two are trying to destroy my Guild Hall.” The two female mages shot glares at each other, but the oppressive atmosphere dissipated. “Fine but just know I’m going to report this to the Magic Council after I leave. Don’t expect to keep your job and make sure you have enough coin to pay the fines heading your way. I swear this on the Kilowatt name.” The relaxed atmosphere quickly tensed up once the promise was made.
“Oh, is the stray eldest daughter of the Kilowatt family trying to use her family’s power to pressure me. I’m sorry, the days where your words matter in that family will never come to be. Isn’t that right, Flaming princess of the Lightning Clan?” The Tower Master mocked in retaliation. Suddenly the table was flung to the side and Liz’s eyes began to ooze flames as she approached the smug Tower Master. Before she could get any closer, the Guild Master stood in-between the two, “Stop it. You’re both acting like children. What we need to do is find solutions to our problems, not poke each other in our sore spots. If you keep this up, I’ll talk to my grandfather.”
The two women glared at each other, but Liz obediently sat back down in her chair as the Guild Master cautiously looked between them before slowly walking over to the thrown table. When she turned her back to pick it up, the two began to subtle release their mana as they glared at each other. They quickly stopped when the Guild Master turned around, table in hand. She violently slammed the table back onto the wooden floor, making the two slightly jump from the noise. After a moment of harsh breathing, the Guild Master broke the silence, “Alright, now that were being civil again. What are we going to do with the anomalous forest? According to Burning Blades’ Isaac, it is the source of the Beast Tide this time. At this time, the source of the anomaly is unknown. I need your opinions on this matter from a mage’s perspective. My grandfather is currently unreachable due to visiting the Imperial Capital to visit his friends a few days prior and my father left this decision in my hands.”
The two stopped glaring at each other long enough to answer, “Coming from someone who saw it up close, I think we should explore the anomalous forest in search of answers. If you give me two adventurers with decent strength and map making skills. First, we’ll map out the full extent of the anomalous forest before taking samples to experiment on to find the anomaly and eradicate it from its roots.” Liz said, subtly mocking the Tower Master, who remained silent, silently agreeing with her. The Guild Master nodded with a heavy heart, “Okay. What should we do about the adventurers who will enter to explore it? I think we should set up a minimum Guild Rank to enter, as for this rank, Liz, your initial exploration of the flora and fauna should give up what we need to judge the strength of the anomaly. I’ll trust your Burning Blades judgment, just give me the report and the Guild Rank you think is required to safely explore it.”
The Guild Master suddenly smiled, “See that wasn’t so hard now was it. Liz, I’ll give you a list of adventurers that match your requirements later. Beth, stop provoking her and try to fix the Magic Tower’s issue as soon as possible. Please, just take this as a personal request from Yonder’s Adventurer’s Guild Master.” Beth, the Tower Master sighed before nodding, “Fine, for you Rebecca. Just keep her away from my Magic Tower and I’ll remain civil. I wanted to ask for her assistance due to her being a Kilowatt, but that was a mistake on my part. I knew I shouldn’t have tried to ask, I’ll do my best, as always.” Beth sighed as she stood up and walked away with a furrowed brow. “You always do.” Rebecca, the Guild Master sighed as the Tower Master left.
The Guild Master turned her attention back to Liz who was silently sitting her chair before speaking, “I have work to do, please escort yourself out. I’ll call for you when I have the list made.” Liz snapped out of her daze, “Wait, one more thing. Can you post a notice for me in the guild hall?” The Guild Master raised an eyebrow but nodded, “That’s easy. What do you want it to say?” Liz bit her lower lip before responding, “I want it to say, “To whoever has that odd defensive magic that saved our fellow adventurers. I hope you can assist us in our exploration of the anomalous forest tomorrow.” That’s all.”
The Guild Master furrowed her brows as she asked, “Why don’t you ask them directly?” Liz deeply sighed as she stood up, “I would if I could, but I don’t know who they are. They kept themselves well-hidden and I didn’t want to get distracted while fighting the Beast Tide to find them. Goodbye, thanks for your assistance, Guild Master.” The Guild Master watched Liz leave before shrugging and relaxing her brow.
By the time the meeting finished, Ingram was coming to the realization that he was still poor. ‘I’m so poor, it hurts. It took me all my money just to buy supplies. I don’t have enough to buy any armor or anything. Oh well, it was money well spent, two pieces of flint, basic cooking supplies and a few days' worth of essential supplies for ten coppers, or one silver is pretty good deal. I don’t quite believe the owner when he said I was doing him a favor by buying some of his excess stock. No matter what I got the better end of that deal.’ Ingram chuckled slightly as he patted his right pocket with a satisfied expression, before his expression changed when he heard a familiar voice speaking to himself in a low voice in an alley.
“I took too long to prepare for the Beast Tide event, but I still have a chance to enter the Stellar Forest early. I’m already Life Level Ten, after I pass my advancement quest, I’ll enter the forest as help and if I assist the Flaming Blades along with the ancient Scroll of Universal Blessing, I’ll be able to quickly reach Life Level Twenty. I’ll have to forgo my Class Level to take the leading position on the future Rankings, the benefits will outweigh the demerits. It’s fine if my Skills are locked at Talented, I can still accumulate Proficiency Points. I already learned the Mapping Skill from a quest and leveled it up to Talented Level Ten, so I should make the cut for the first exploration of the Stellar Forest due to the only map maker being too old to work even if my strength doesn’t make the cut.” The familiar voice stopped as he firmly tied his bundle together before hoisting it onto his shoulder and walking towards the exit.
Ingram quickly ducked out of the way and hid in the shop he just exited, much to the owner’s confusion. Ingram wasn’t focused on him right now, instead he focused his hearing to continue to listen to the man who was boldly announcing his plans to the world. “Adventurers of Yonder never had to make maps so it’s a skill most don’t have. In a way, Yonder is like a retirement area. Aside from the occasional beast tide every few years, it's always peaceful. If not for the fact it border’s the Forest of Death, it wouldn’t have to be a C Ranked Town. Now that I’m thinking about the Forest of Death, the people and animals won’t leave it for a few years. Unless I cause any more hiccups, the Tree of Wisdom should still get corrupted and pollute the central area of the forest. Just thinking about those monsters makes my skin crawl, that event was not a fun experience and now I have to go through it again.” Ingram had a confused expression as he tried to understand what he was talking about.
‘The way he talks it’s almost like he learned about all this beforehand… he must be an inside Alpha tester. Since he’s just saying all this aloud, it would be a mistake not to listen in. Maybe he knows something that can help me with my money problems.’ Ingram wickedly thought, but when he tried to listen in again, he realized the man with black hair had moved too far away and his words were lost to the wind. Naturally, Ingram started to trail behind him, just close enough to hear his words. “...he Mythical grade Looting skill so I can obtain items from corpses by touching them instead of by dismantling them by hand. In order to learn such a special skill I need to achieve the top of the rankings for the Beta Test. It’s an impossible skill to learn otherwise.” The man chuckled as he finished his thought, “Looting only exists because of a mistake, a rare vestige of the previous version, but I don’t care about that. As long as it still exists, it will be to my benefit. Sorry Merchant Lord, you won’t get your few days of fame.”
The man fell silent, but Ingram memorized his back before he stopped following him and walked away. The man with black hair turned around with a cold expression, “I think someone was following me. My intuition seems to have gotten weaker in this weak body. I need to pass my advancement quest as soon as possible. I can’t stand being weak, at least once I pass it I won’t have to go through another one until Life Levels Twenty, Thirty, and Forty. The reason for these advancement quests is to open the Sub-Class Slots. After that they only appear after every one-hundred levels, but they’re so much harder, because they’re so random. I’m not looking forward to doing them again. I mean what kind of advancement quest was Provoke a Red Dragon until it chases you. Sometimes I thought this game hated me, but other players got worse, like King, he was stuck at Life Level Two Hundred for weeks because he had to find a Mythical Animal and touch it before it touched him. I miss you, Eve.” The man let out a wistful sigh as he continued on his way to the Adventurer’s Guild to update his information.
Ingram was thinking about the information he obtained from the “Alpha Tester” and realized he didn’t know what to do with it. ‘Now I know that the odd forest is called the Stellar Forest and there’s another forest called the Forest of Death that has a Tree of Wisdom that’s going to be corrupted. What I really want is that Mythical skill, Looting, so I don’t have to… wait a second. I don’t think I couldn’t use it even if I had it, I can’t kill things. Wait, maybe I can loot the bodies of all dead creatures even if I didn’t kill them. I don’t know, but I want it. Mostly because I don’t want that other guy to have it. I know I’m being petty, that Alpha Tester and the Rude Caller might not even be the same person. I have to top these Rankings or something to get it anyway.’
Ingram gave it some serious thought, but had no idea what to do, so he chose to… ignore it and instead think about his next steps, ‘I don’t know, I give up. I don’t want to draw any attention to my, perhaps, unique magic. I don’t want to be hunted down or plagued by people asking for my help. I just want to master my barriers and find the rest of
Ingram slowly walked into the Guild Hall in silence before walking up to the E Rank Quest Board and slowly scanning it for a suitable quest. As he did, the Guild Master walked out of her office and gave a sheet of paper to one of the receptionists, “Post this on the notice board. Where is the adventurer information I asked you to compile?” At her words, one of the receptionists walked out from behind the counter with a stack of papers, that the Guild Master leafed through before taking them and heading back into her office with a weary sigh of, “Thanks.”
Ingram finally decided on an easy quest, well for him at least,
[Find 10 Common Healing Herbs
Reward: Ten Silvers]
‘This picture, I’ve seen this plant before, well the Uncommon one anyway. Ten Silvers, so one Common Ranked Healing Herb is worth One Silver. With my current Treasure Seeking opportunities being at eighty-four, I can most likely find them relatively fast. If I had to guess, this quest should only take an hour or two, with most of that time being spent traveling.’ Ingram sighed to himself as his eyes scanned the orderly board for a similar quest, ‘I’m really slow, if only I had a way to move faster…’ Suddenly Ingram had a flash of an idea, but it quickly faded. ‘I might have an idea or two of how to move a bit faster, but I’ll have to test it out before I commit to using it for long distance travel.’ Ingram thought as he took down the quest poster and as he turned to walk towards the walked over to the guild receptionist, he stopped and focused on another herb gathering quest,
[Find 10 Common Mana Herbs
Reward: Twenty Silvers]
‘If I can take two, then I’ll also take this one. So, this is what a Common Mana Herb looks like, it seems like the only difference is how many leaves it grows, how peculiar. I already found an Uncommon Mana herb, so if I cross reference this with the differences between Healing Herbs, my Uncommon Mana Herb is worth Four Silvers. ‘Ingram estimated before he gently took this quest off the quest board too. He quickly walked over to the reception area and saw that Ruby had a line with over twenty people, so Ingram chose the shortest line, but he still had to wait for nearly ten minutes, mostly because the person in front of him decided to flirt with the female receptionist until she got fed up and told him to get lost. Ingram kept a straight face, even as the man stormed away purposely bumping into Ingram’s shoulder making him stagger back a few steps. While his expression didn’t change, he noted down his face in his little book of grudges as someone he won’t protect.
“Sorry about that. He was just so persistent, I had no other way other than being rude to get rid of him.” The receptionist with deep blue hair and bright green eyes said before slightly bowing to Ingram. “It doesn’t matter. I want to accept these quests.” Ingram answered with a stoic expression while placing the two quests on the wooden desk. The receptionist was slightly shocked by his nonchalant attitude after being shoulder checked but did her job with a professional smile on her face, “Okay. May I see your Adventurer’s Badge?” She asked as she held out both of her hands. Ingram placed it in her outstretched hands it over without any fuss. She took it and lowered her head to check his rank before placing his badge on a smooth platform before grabbing the two quests and turning around to do something behind her. After a moment, she turned back around and handed Ingram his badge back with the same two pieces of paper with a stamp with the Letter E, that looked like the one on his Badge’s front.
“Here you are. I have seen you haven’t accepted a quest officially before, so I’ll inform you of the usual process. This,” She pointed at the Stamped “E” before continuing, “Is the sign that you have accepted this quest, touch it and you’ll realize what I mean.” Ingram had a novel feeling as he touched the Stamped “E” before it suddenly began to glow as his basic Adventurer Information appeared. It looked this this,
{Adventurer: Ingram
Adventurer Rank: E
Taken Quest(s): [(E) Find 10 Common Healing Herb], [(E) Find 10 Common Mana Herbs]
Quests Completed: [(D) Find an Uncommon Healing Herb]
Skills on Record: None
Recognized Feats: None}
Ingram nodded and looked up at the receptionist again who continued explaining, “The Stamp is made of secret materials and the information on the Adventurer’s Badge is imprinted on the special paper with the Magic Ink. This is so people don’t forge official Guild Requests and take on work without going through the proper steps. This is to protect the Adventurer’s Guild reputation and freedoms, after all it would reflect poorly on the local guild if an Adventurer who took the quest did something to offend the Requester and weren’t able to figure out who they were. This is also to show the requester the skills of the Adventurer to save both parties time if the Adventurer isn’t what they were looking for. Of course this is only a rough reveal, most adventurers and requesters don’t use the information to make proper judgments, but it does ensure that the Adventurer’s Guild knows who went where just in case of an accident. You get the idea, also if you’re caught forging official guild seals, you will be fined up to ten gold and you’ll have your Adventurer’s Badge revoked for a month. That’s all, I hope you have a safe journey.” She spoke so many words with such ease that Ingram began to wonder it the Adventurer’s Guild Staff have special breathing skills to learn to speak so much in one breath.
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After coming back to his senses, Ingram nodded and picked up the two quest as his system gave him to similar quests, with slight differences,
{Accepted Quest: [(E) Find 10 Common Healing Herbs] {More Details}
Reward: 106 Exp}
{Accepted Quest: [(E) Find 10 Common Mana Herbs] {More Details}
Reward: 212 Exp}
‘Huh, it’s a lot less than I thought it would be. I mean it’s not bad, it’s just low. I can get more experience from blocking an enemy, I guess this is my classes advantage. I mean blocking damage is the only way for me to obtain Experience. My time as the protagonist has come, small goal, I want to be the highest ranked player among the one hundred of us.’ Ingram decided as stepped out of line for the person behind him to get their turn. As he walked out of the Guild Hall, Ingram caught a glimpse of the notice the Guild Master had put up and was inwardly shocked, but he kept a stoic expression as he left.
‘I can’t believe they’re looking for me. I need to leave this city before they find me. As for helping them explore the forest…’ Ingram hesitated before hardening his heart, ‘No. The more I reveal myself, the higher the chances my lie to the Tower Master gets exposed. I can’t afford to be chased around by the people of the Magic Tower; I need to survive long enough to meet John_Doe2619. By that time, I should have a strong enough barrier to keep myself alive, hopefully. Although, I have twenty-four hours to explore the anomalous forest. It might be a good source of Exp for me, and I can get some subject to experiment on. I’m no saint, but I don’t want to experiment on another humanoid creature.’ Ingram sighed to himself as he quickened his pace, not noticing a pair of piercing blue eyes watching him from the corner of the Adventurer’s Guild Hall.
A mocking smile appeared on the black-haired man’s face, “There you are, First Player. What are the odds we both appeared in Yonder. Even the heavens are helping me. All I have to do is kill him back to Life Level One and he’ll fall behind the rest. I won’t though, I’ll let you grow and obtain more items for me to plunder. Keep on running, my Future Cash Cow.” The man clenched his teeth together as he hissed, “Her Blessing should ensure you’ll find a lot of good items by accident. It should have been mine; I’m always one step behind. That’s okay. This time, I’ll be the ultimate victor.” He finished his drink and walked out of the Guild Hall; he leaned against the external wall as he watched Ingram disappear into the afternoon crowd with a pair of mocking eyes.
Ingram decided to walk out of the city normally this time after an hour in the city. As he passed the guard on duty, he nodded at him before walking down the earthen road towards the forest. The guard only glanced at him before scanning the tree line for potential threats, while his partner yawned and lazily followed his example.
After he entered the forest, Ingram quickly glanced around before activating his two barriers before vanishing from sight. Afterwards he summoned his Treasure Compass,
{What Tier of Treasure do you wish to Seek?
84 Trash (There are 1,681 within the Compass’ radius)
3 Common (There are 27 within the Compass’ radius)
1 Uncommon (There are 2 within the Compass’ radius)}
Ingram mentally selected the second one and the Compass’ needle began to float before rapidly spinning in all directions. ‘Common Healing Herb, or Common Mana Herb. One of these two.’ Ingram mentally willed before the compass stopped and locked onto a treasure somewhere to the right of where he was standing. ‘I’ll take all twenty-seven Common Treasures, this time, I should remember where I came from. I won’t have a mountain of dead bodies and the trash tier items that came from them to lead me back. I guess I could break a few branches off a tree to lead me back, or should I use the Flint to cut an arrow into a tree. Nah, while both are bad for a tree’s health, twigs can grow back while carvings won’t heal properly. At least according to that nature documentary I watched,’ Suddenly Ingram slapped his forehead, ‘I’m so stupid, I can just make marks in the dirt. I guess I can use this time to test out my new traveling method. This might hurt. First, I need a strong enough Physical Repelling Barrier. How large should I make it? I wish I could increase the repelling force without making the barrier too large.’ Ingram sighed as he closed his eyes and entered the Magic Circle Space to quickly make a new Two-Meter Plate Physical Repelling Barrier worth 408 MP.
After roughly eight seconds, a third magic circle and a System Prompt appeared,
{Judgment: Magic Circle is 85% accurate. Barrier strength is decreased by 15%.
Perfect Barrier Durability: 5,834.64 HP | Penalty applied, New Barrier Durability: 4,959.44 HP
8 Proficiency Points gained.}
Ingram nodded sagely before he took a deep breath. “I got this, it won’t hurt.” He repeated that like it was his lifeline before he jumped and placed the Repelling Barrier directly under the Physical Concealing Barrier. In an instant, he was launched skyward like a rocket, the air audibly parting as he passed through it as he rapidly ascended until he reached a height of twenty-six, almost twenty-seven meters before he began to fall. As he picked up speed, Ingram had a feeling he wouldn’t survive the impact. ‘This isn’t good. I flew way too high, I doubt this is included in the game’s calculation for my Physical damage. Not when all the force is coming from my own weight and gravity. What can I do to save myself? Think… I got it, I can use the Physical Repelling Barrier again. Once my velocity and the Barriers Repelling field collide there might be a place where it gets canceled out and if I quickly deactivate then, I can land relatively safely.’
Ingram watched the ground and his barrier rapidly approach in slightly over a second. Once he entered the Physical Repelling Barrier’s field, his descent slowed until it halted. Instead of floating, he kind of hovered, he dipped down before suddenly rapidly rising before slowly falling back down again. Ingram just hovered in the air, one and a half meters above the barrier and by extension the ground as he caught his breath, ‘I honestly thought I was going to die.’ Ingram exhaled a long breath as he deactivated the Physical Repelling Barrier and landed on the ground, face first of course. He slowly stood up with shaky legs, “Never again. I’d rather walk. I have another idea, but I think that’s enough experimentation for now. It’s time for a treasure hunt to take my mind off of that fall. I don’t know how people can sky dive, I feel nauseous.”
Ingram looked at the crystalline compass in his right hand and slowly walked towards it, doing his best not to lean over and hurl. Of course, this thrilling experience didn’t make him forget to deactivate his barriers to leave marks in the dirt so he could find his way back. As he walked, Ingram felt the knot in his stomach loosen as he relaxed, but as he did, he felt his stomach rumble. ‘I guess almost dying makes a person hungry, that and the fact I haven’t eaten at all today. I’ll be fine. Let’s finish my quests then I’ll use the money to go to a decent restaurant. Or I could go back to Pheasant’s Rest, get a room and eat at the in-house restaurant. Yeah, the second one sounds better. Imagine if I’m so unlucky that the Inn gets fully booked while I’m away earning money. That’d be hilarious, in a bad way.’ Ingram sighed as he licked his parched lips, soon after he thought about losing his place to sleep, his walking speed noticeably increased.
Despite his best efforts, it took Ingram nearly ten minutes to arrive at the first Common Treasure’s location. What he saw when he arrived made him sigh out of frustration, it was a purple herb with a whorled orientation with only one dentate leaf on a long stem. Despite his feelings, he leaned down to pick it and hesitated before deactivating his barriers so he could pick it up. Once he did a beam of white light shot out of the compass and the root fell off, as usual and a system prompt appeared after ignoring the first half of the notification, he finally learned what kind of herb it was,
{… You have obtained [Common] Antidote Herb}
‘An Antidote Herb huh, I guess I lost roulette. Noted, next I hope it’s a Healing or Mana Herb.’ Ingram wished as the Treasure Compass began to spin again, this time it didn’t take more than a moment before it locked onto a treasure to his left. Ingram reactivated his barriers and quickly started speed walking through the forest again. ‘Now that I think about it, this forest is really dead. I don’t see much of anything, only trees and grass. Usually, forests have bushes of some kind too, right? I don’t remember, it’s been a long time since I entered a forest in the real world.’ He shrugged and stopped thinking about the forest and silently continued forward while thinking about his other idea to improve his movement, ‘I don’t know if it’s possible, how would I even go about doing something like that? Once I get tired, I’ll try experimenting with my Barrier Magic Circle Creation Skill. If someone else can make Barrier Magic, why can’t I improve using their magic as a base. Self-improvement is the source of divine might, well according to those novels where the protagonist becomes the strongest. They learn from everything they can, then make it their own. If they can do it why can’t I with my abnormally high Intelligence and Wisdom Stats, I just need a starting point to work from.’
He sighed as he felt his heartbeat with excitement from something that hasn’t happened yet, “It’s been a long time since I felt this excited. I feel like a kid who can’t sleep before a field trip. I’m so giddy I can’t help but smile. Why is learning Magic so fun? I always liked learning, but ironically, I hated school.” Ingram laughed as he arrived at the second Common Treasure, it was a one leafed green plant. ‘Things are looking up, one Common Healing Herb in the bag, well after I pluck it. First, I need to make sure this one isn’t being protected.’ Ingram seriously thought as he did his best to retrain his bubbling excitement. He carefully walked around the green herb and the nearby trees before quickly crouching down and plucking the herb and quickly reactivating his barriers.
After he was safely encased, Ingram let out a sigh of relief. ‘The outside world is scary.’ Ingram joked as he watched the Treasure Compass’ needle spin before stopping on the path behind him and Ingram quickly followed the needle. After nearly an hour of nothing but walking and Treasure Seeking, Ingram found all Twenty-Seven treasures and was on his way back to Yonder. ‘I found Eleven Common Healing Herbs, Twelve Common Mana Herbs, two Common Paralysis Poison Herbs, and Two Common Antidote Herbs. A fruitful harvest, I should be fine on money for a while. Thirty Silvers, or Three-hundred Coppers, along with a surplus of other herbs to sell.’ Ingram sighed aloud, “I love my first player perk. My Treasure Compass Skill is the foundation of my strength, literally, without it I doubt I would have entered that spooky building I spawned next to. Especially now that I know Ghosts exist in this world.’ Ingram shivered, but he was still riding the wave of his mysterious bubbling excitement.
“Why am I still so giddy? Am I that happy to have a good idea? I’m excited for the idea of making something new, despite knowing it might not work.” Ingram sighed as he looked up at the cloudy sky, “Am I that easy to please?” He shook his head before he looked back down to keep track of the marks he made in the soil. ‘Once I get back, I’m going to get my money, make sure I have a place to sleep, eat something and then go mess with my Barrier Magic Circle Creation Skill. I haven’t forgotten my father’s words, “All things in moderation”. I never thought I’d miss those impromptu lectures about his life and what he went through growing up.’ He felt his enthusiasm waver as those memories no one else carries flooded his mind. As he lost himself in his memories of better times, he suddenly bit his tongue and woke himself up from his revere.
“There’s no going back, I have to keep moving forward. I won’t break that promise, I can’t betray my heart again.” Despite his words, the sadness in his heart didn’t lessen. ‘Now my tongue hurts, I hope I’m not bleeding. I still have to eat later.’ Ingram sighed, but his quick pace never slowed, not even as he thought about his father.
Ingram’s father was a very… opinionated man. He never sugarcoated his words. When he hated someone, he wouldn’t talk to or even acknowledge their presence. If someone did something he didn’t like, he would tell them out right. Of course, his personality got him into more trouble than anyone could imagine, so he was also a lonely man. He liked to share his life with his children, so they didn’t end up like him. Lonely, bitter, jaded to the ways of the world, and most of all, tired. Despite his lessons, he always made sure his children knew just how much he would respect their opinions and choices. He finished every sudden lesson with a heartfelt, “You don’t know just how much I love you.” before going back to what he was doing before.
Ingram returned to Yonder as the sky began to darken as the sun began its descent. ‘I wonder how John_Doe2619, training is going. I wonder if they’re getting beat up by their master. I assume their tutelage from someone with such a powerful title might not be easy, especially in such a realistic game. Muscle fatigue is not a fun feeling, then again, health potions exist so they’ll be fine… probably. I should focus on my own problems first, like where I’ll travel to when I leave Yonder. I need to find Yonder’s Library.’ As Ingram approached the large city gate, he suddenly remembered he never deactivated his barriers.
‘Oh, it won’t look good if I don’t return through the gate after leaving and suddenly appearing in the city. Then again, I could lie and say I slipped in while during the shift change.’ Ingram gave this idea some serious thought before deciding against lying any more then he has to. He turned around and walked a bit into the forest before deactivated both barriers before hesitating for a few seconds and taking out a ten Common Healing Herbs and ten Common Mana Herbs before kneeling on the ground and digging into the ground for a bit. ‘I shouldn’t reveal my Magic Pouch, even a child would be targeted just for having a gold nugget let alone a Magic Pouch worth its weight, and more, in gold.’ Ingram decided as he slowly made his way back to the city gate again. Thankfully, all of the adventurers were resting for the day after repelling the Beast Tide, so Ingram could just walk straight up to the guards.
“Oh, hello Ingram, I see you went herb gathering. It seems like you found a lot too, good for you. Anyway, you just caught me before my guard duty ends for the day. Personal business aside, you know the rules.” A familiar face, Tod said as he smiled at Ingram, who silently pulled out his Adventurer’s Badge. Tod took it and after flipping it over to check the Guild’s Official Seal, he handed it back with a smile before he started talking to Ingram, “You’re good to go. I see you became a E Ranked Adventurer, I’m sure you’ll rise in rank in no time, on another note, did you manage to find your lost items?” Ingram silently shook his head, Tod’s enthusiasm slightly overwhelming him, “No, unfortunately.” Ingram pretended to be vexed as he sighed and continued, “I became an Adventurer to make some travel money and to make enough to pay off my losses. Oh, since you’re right here, can you tell me where the library is. I learned about an interesting subject during my travels and want to learn more about it.”
Tod nodded before scratching his head, “I can’t quite remember, it’s been a while since I visited the library, reading’s never been my thing. Well, aside from adventuring novels. Let me thing,” Tod rolled his eyes around as if trying to wind up a toy for nearly a minute. Just as Ingram was beginning to think of an excuse to leave, he spoke up, “Oh, I remember now. Due to books being expensive and needing the occasional airing out, they built the library next to the Lord’s Manor. Our Lord is kid enough to allow for the books to be placed in his courtyard when it’s time to clean the library. I only remembered this because dad forced me to help one year when I was younger. He said it build character and patience or something.” Tod suddenly chuckled as he recalled something he felt the need to share with Ingram, “I remember when he caught me slaking off, he chased me all around Yonder with a belt. He always took his job and tasks he was given so seriously, he needs to learn how to relax. I doubt anyone was going to appear while I took a break. Oh, sorry. I got lost in my memories, I’m sure this is boring to listen to.”
Tod suddenly wilted, it was so extreme Ingram felt a bit sorry for him, so he said, “I thought it was interesting. Who knew Leon was such a stickler for the rules, but I think I know where he was coming from. As I see it, if you finish your job and then relax, that’s more time to relax in the long run. Though taking breaks is necessary if the job takes a long time, “All things in moderation”, as my father always told me.” Of course, Ingram knew Leon’s actions were an occupational habit ingrained in him from being and Adventurer for so long, but he didn’t want to hurt Tod’s feelings further. Tod nodded in agreement, “Those are good words to abide by. Alright, I’ll let you go now. Maybe I’ll see you at Pheasant’s Rest, if you’re still awake when my shift ends in an hour.”
Ingram nodded, but mentally, ‘Sorry, I don’t plan on leaving my room for the rest of the night. I have something I want to try, and it might take all night.’ Ingram waved back at Tod as he walked through the gate. The bustle of the citizens of Yonder made Ingram’s tense heart relax, ‘Civilization, oddly I feel less safe here due to a sever lack of Barriers. I much safer when I was in the forest at least I didn’t have to hide my Barriers. Lies always have a way of catching up to people, I need to leave before my lies are exposed. All of my relationships in Yonder are built on lies, so I won’t be losing much when I leave. Though I do feel guilty for lying so much. My mother would gently scold me for telling so many.’ Ingram gently shook his head and quickly walked towards the Adventurer’s Guild to get his first paycheck in a different world.
While still bustling, the Guild Hall was much emptier when compared to this afternoon. Ingram kept to himself and hurried to the reception area. Perhaps due to the events the day before, but the Ingram felt the receptionists looked tired, or maybe he was reading too much into it. Either way, he didn’t care and pulled out his two quests from his bag, after purposefully creasing them so people didn’t realize he had a Magic Pouch. “Here are the Twenty herbs, as requested.” Ingram said with a purposefully tired voice, this is why he added some dirt under his fingernails when he took the herbs out of his Magic Pouch to sell the poor desperate adventurer look he was going for.
It seemed to work a little too well, because the female receptionist he met with this morning had an expression of pity on her face as she turned around to process the paperwork. “That’s good. You didn’t have to work so hard, gathering quests usually require a few days to complete. Please hand me your Adventurer’s badge, so I can update your information.” Ingram didn’t reply and just handed her his Badge. She placed it on the silver slab again before doing something behind her that made the slab flash with a low whitish green light. She turned back around and picked up his badge before placing it on the wooden desk and making a pillar of thirty silver coins, “Here’s your badge back and your rewards. If you need a coin pouch, then you can buy one from the guild for two Coppers.” The Receptionist said with a smile, but Ingram shook his head and quickly placed everything on the desk into his pockets, but in actuality he placed it all in the Magic Pouch in his Pocket.
Ingram thanked her, “Thank you for your hard work.” Before walking towards the exit, his eyes briefly scanning the place the notice asking for his help was, only to see it had been changed into a different one. ‘What is the Guild Master thinking?’ Ingram felt confused, but he was hungry, and he’d rather think about assisting with the exploration with a full stomach, now that a tangible reward was offered. The Poster read,
“To whoever can use that strange defensive magic, if you help us, the Flaming Blades, explore the anomaly in the nearby forest, we shall let you have first pick on any treasures or resources obtained from the expedition.
Elizabeth Kilowatt, of the Flaming Blades”