Off to be an Adventurer!

Not sure what to gather before leaving, I took hold of the necklace left for me on my nightstand. The object was obviously an amulet of sorts, and as I looked over the tarnished bronze pendant, it became quickly apparent that it was one of those Cool-S shapes from the 90s.

Examining the front intently, I touched the iconography on its surface. Etched into the metal was the faded image of an angelic-looking being. She wore Grecian robes, adorned with a halo of sunlight and carried a tome in her hand. A Goddess of the Emerald Pantheon.

“The Sunblessed Scholar?” I muttered and, with a shrug, slipped the holy emblem over my head. “Goddess of knowledge—sure, why not?”

A wave of warm power suddenly pulsed through my body as an unusual knot settled in my chest. I remembered Phyllis saying she was gifting me with some experience, which I guess meant I gained a few adventuring ranks.

And, based on this item, it must have meant I was a Cleric of sorts.

Really? Me? Religion? I thought and sighed. At least I got something. Better than nothing.

The average person in this world didn’t have the ability to become an adventurer, but those who did show martial or magical prowess were able to travel beyond the boundaries of cities and protected roads. These adventurers gained ranks, which allowed governments and guilds to gauge their power.

Through the guidance of magical schooling over the ages and the constantly evolving Adventurer’s Guild, the world had developed twenty levels ranked as followed:

F – These were new adventurers, fresh from their farms or military service. As they completed quests and defeated monsters, they ultimately gained experience. With enough of it, they would level up. These first four ranks of F were 4F, 3F, 2F, and 1F. Only once you had a better grasp on your abilities were you able to graduate from F to E.

E – These were young adventurers who were no strangers to fighting off goblins or wild beasts and may have even saved an insignificant village from a curse or minor threat. As heroes of small hamlets, they often caught the eyes of medium-power patrons or villains. The next three ranks of E were 3E, 2E, and 1E.

D – These adventurers were often the ones requested for jobs by nobles and could be found traversing their local regions for quests. They regularly came up against tougher enemies, and if not careful, could find themselves in precarious positions rather quickly. The three ranks of D were 3D, 2D, and 1D.

C – Many of the adventurers that found themselves at C-rank were often, at this point, hired on by regional governments for specialized duties. These involved larger tasks for Capital Cities, regularly taking down regional threats or even leadership and teaching positions within the military or guilds. Most adventurers stopped at this rank, as it offered the best jobs for the least amount of effort. The C ranks were 3C, 2C, and 1C.

B – For those adventurers who continued down the exploration path instead of settling into government work, this rank challenged them to search the world for rumours, myths and lore that they could use to fight increasingly difficult foes. B-rank adventurers often found themselves travelling to the bottom of the sea, the heart of volcanoes or even other planes of existence. Aside from F-rank adventurers, B-rank adventurers were most likely to be killed throughout their journeys. There were only two ranks for this group, 2B and 1B.

A – These adventurers spent their time hunting forgotten magics, slaying ancient monsters and parleying with Gods. Historically, less than ten percent of the total adventurers worldwide successfully reached A-rank. And of those, less than a third achieved the status of Double-A. A-ranked adventurers were rarely called to service, but when they were, it was to take on colossal titans, ferocious ancient dragons, and other world-ending threats.

S – Only a handful of S-ranked adventurers had existed since recorded mortal history began. These were the heroes of eras, the beings that stood against fate and held back the tides of Heaven and Hell. They harnessed the power to shape reality and bend the past, present, and future to their will. Double-S adventurers had been known to challenge entire armies without breaking a sweat and could cause even the mightiest dragons to flee in fear. The highest rank of Triple-S was a mythical position not achieved for millennia. These adventurers, if you could call them that, harnessed the ability to kill gods with a strike of their spells or blades, and, with the proper resources, could even raise themselves to godhood.

This was all to say that even though I knew the entire lore of this world, I was nowhere near S-Rank. But, based on the warmth I felt at my core while wearing the holy pendant, I’d hazard a guess that I was probably a 1F. Which, for no sweat equity, was a good start.

And the only way to improve is by improving. I thought to myself as I searched through drawers and cabinets for clothes that weren’t the ratty ones I had spawned in.

Unfortunately, other than the World Eighty-Two items Phyllis had added to my room, I had nothing. This meant it was time to step outside.

As I did, I stopped, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror and taking in the new body I had stolen.

A good three to four inches shorter than I was, as Tahvin, Ishara stood just under six feet. His body, lanky and malnourished, was like my old one in the sense that there was no defining musculature to be seen. His skin was significantly darker and more sun-damaged than Tahvin’s, which made sense as his original home had been located at the edge of a desert. The biggest surprise came when I examined my average-looking face and noticed that my hair was an achromatic snow white mop, which was further contrasted by a set of piercing ruby red eyes—a typical Kalish look.

“Gods,” I muttered, leaning into the mirror and rubbing at my cheekbones. “When I wrote the Kalish, I didn’t realize how strange it would be to see yourself in a mirror. Oh well, it’s normal here.”

I gave my face a trio of smacks at the jawline before exhaling a nervous huff.

It was time.

Exiting my room, I descended a claustrophobic set of spiral stairs and emerged through a secret door hidden behind racks of cursed armour marked down by fifty percent. I had officially entered Phyllis’ Phiner Phylactery, the one-and-only magic shoppe allowed on the continent of Moal’aw.

And, currently, it was a special week of sales thanks to ‘Back to School!’ or at least that’s what the red and gold banners hanging from every available surface told me.

Phyllis’ shoppe was organized chaos to the extreme. It was as though a magical chocolate factory and fantasy tabletop game had a baby that a hoarder then adopted.

Swords by the barrel, a soda fountain of various potion types, catwalks where magical armours strut to show off the latest trends—at the end of the day, Phyllis’ store was the one-stop shop for everything magical.

“Hey, come back.” A First Year student giggled as she ran past in pursuit of her friend.

“The last one to the charms section is a dirty mundane!” The boy ahead taunted.

Eh, pure-magic Anak. I wanted to scoff at the pair.

I understood that some people in this world were prejudiced. After all, I wrote it that way. A realm of total peace was unrealistic. But it didn’t mean that I enjoyed their existence. They were a necessary evil because, just as heroes needed villains, altruistic saviours needed elitist pricks to knock down a peg.

But I didn’t say anything—this time. A child shouldn’t be punished for their upbringing, nor should they be blamed for the sins of their parents. Though if that child became an adult of the same standing, then they deserved to be knocked down a bit.

You’ve got four years, kid. I watched them disappear around a corner as I pulled a slip of paper from my pocket.

Thanks to Phyllis’ contract, I was given an allowance for materials I could gather from her store free of charge. And, needless to say, the voucher was burning a hole in my pocket. So, with nothing but time to kill, I wandered the shoppe, searching for the gear I needed to be an adventurer.

I picked up some gently cursed items, fresh armour and weapons, a wand, and even a special pendant that stabilized me if I got knocked out. If I was going to stay out of the way of people and not influence this world, I would need some sort of backup plan for my solo levelling.

This was why I also filled my shopping cart with enough peppermint-flavoured healing potions to drown a dragon.

“Do you really need that many?” Phyllis asked me as the bottles clanked to the cash wrap counter. “Like, wow, I probably need to put more syrup in the machine now, huh?”

“Never know when you’ll need one,” I said with a smile, handing over the ticket stub that would pay for everything this time around. “Right?”

“I mean, I guess. Leave it to someone from World Eighty-Two to believe in consumerism and excess. Screw everyone else, right? Anywho, if this is all you want, done and done!”

Taking the ticket, Phyllis snapped her fingers, and it disappeared in a puff of pink smoke. With a step to the side, I brushed all the items I had collected into a Phyllis Brand Bottomless Bag TM and then looked for an available fitting room.

I slipped into a side alcove meant for exactly that purpose, where I donned my armour and affixed the short sword to my hip. Admiring myself in the foggy mirror after completing the task, I felt pretty badass.

I’d always wondered what leather armour would feel like and, spoiler, it wasn’t comfortable. But I looked like a real adventurer from a video game now! So, that was exciting—

I guess.

Peeking my head out from the dressing room, I caught sight of something beautiful. Standing a safe distance away were the future Heroes of Esseria. A triop of three young adventurers just beginning their many years of travel together. They didn’t know it yet, but today would begin a journey that culminated in them slaying a horrid parasitic lich and ending the doomsday cult keeping this world locked in eternal conflict for millennia.

“Yes, children. Always shop with Phyllis, I have everything you could ever wish for.” Phyllis, also acutely aware of their destiny, cozied up to them.

“What about Madam Murdoch’s store across the way?” The small turtle-boy asked, his head bashfully poking from his shell.

“Maaaaaadam Muuuuuuurdoch!?” Phyllis bellowed, her voice shaking the store and flinging open the saloon doors that led outside.

That’s my cue! I thought as I snuck behind the panicking baby heroes and through the opening.

I couldn’t let them see me, but it was also finally my time to explore!