Chapter 6:

Chapter 6. I Became an Adventurer

Want to live? Level up

The plan I’d laid out so confidently—catch a fish and grill it over a fire—collapsed at the very first step. The “catch a fish” step.

It’s been half an hour of me sitting on the riverbank, soaked from head to toe, and… I haven’t caught a single fish. Not even a tiny one.

“Why the hell is this so hard?!” I muttered, staring into the water.

Yeah, I’d gone fishing a few times as a kid. We used nets back then, sure, but still—it hadn’t seemed all that difficult.

And I’d seen videos where people catch fish with their bare hands. They managed it! So why can’t I?

I’m level 27 now—faster and stronger than before. By all logic, I should be like a ninja in the water. In practice… total zero.

At first there were only a few fish in the river. By all laws of nature, they should’ve swum far away by now, scared off. But no.

There are dozens here now, even some fairly big ones.

And the worst part—they circle right next to me, like they’re teasing me.

I lunged to grab at least one again, but the fish slipped away at the last second as if on cue.

The more I failed, the more fish gathered near the bank, as if for the sole purpose of getting on my nerves.

“Fine…” I hissed through my teeth and smacked the surface of the water with my palm as hard as I could.

A loud splash rang out, and almost all the fish darted away.

“Hey! You didn’t get away, I let you go!” I shouted after them. “We’re all clear on that, yeah?!”

Excellent. Operation “Catch a Fish”—a spectacular failure.

Although… even if I did catch one, how was I going to cook it?

Start a fire with my bare hands? Like in those videos—stone on stone?

Does that work with any rocks, or do you need special ones?

Yeah, looks like I’ll have to head to the village sooner than I planned.

Originally, I was going to leave only after I’d eaten all the red berries and peaches.

But in reality I ate… at most a tenth of them.

When you eat only one kind of food, you get sick of it fast. Especially if it’s fruit and berries. At first they were tasty, even novel, but after a few days I just can’t look at them anymore.

I glanced at the sun. Around six in the evening. It’ll set in a couple of hours.

Which means it’s not the best time to set out—if I leave now, night will fall halfway there.

Although… I do have a safe place—the training room.

To hell with caution, I’ll just follow the road, and when it gets dark, I’ll spend the night in the training room.

…Wait.

Something’s off with that plan.

Even if I go into the training room to sleep, when I come back out—it’ll still be night.

For example, if I lie down and sleep eight hours, then, considering time flows 120 times faster in the training room, only four minutes will pass in the outside world.

So if I want it to be tomorrow morning, I have to spend the whole night outside.

Which means… sleeping in this dangerous world, under the open sky.

“No…” I shook my head. “I need a different plan.”

—

Right now I’m just lying on soft grass, looking up at the starry sky. Night has long since fallen, and there are far more stars visible than on Earth. So many… And the moon—full and bright. Well, almost full. Sleeping under a sky like this would be perfect… if not for one thing. It turns out it gets pretty cold at night here. I shivered involuntarily—my body had already started to chill.

My new plan was simple: I walked upstream toward the village for about two hours, just like I’d planned. When it got dark, I stopped at a convenient spot, laid down a layer of grass, and made an improvised “mattress.” The grass was soft—an excellent makeshift bed. I’d put together almost the same thing in my training room and slept on it for the past four days. Some might find it uncomfortable, but if the temperature is warm enough, a “grass mattress” is perfectly fine.

At first everything was okay, but about an hour later I felt the temperature dropping. It got noticeably colder. I had to come up with something else. I decided to alternate resting here with short training sessions. I’d lie on the grass for about half an hour, rest and stargaze, then hop into the training room and do a few exercises. Training warmed my body quickly—I’d even start sweating a little—and then I’d come back out here again.

Yeah, maybe someone would call this stupid or risky, but I don’t have another way to keep warm. I couldn’t get a fire going: I never found the right rocks, and the ones at hand didn’t spark. There’s no proper firewood here either. So for now this is the only plan that works. With any luck, I’ll even complete another quest by morning.

—

[Quest No. 17 completed.
Gained +700,000 EXP.]

[Status]

[Name: Alisar]
[Level: 28
EXP: 350,510/505,000
Rank: 2]

HP: 3,050 (+120)
MP: 2,860 (+120)

Strength: 113 (+4)
Defense: 99 (+4)
Speed: 93(+4)
Intelligence: 102 (+4)
Magic Power: 97 (+4)
Magic Defense: 87 (+4)

Free Attribute Points: 84 (+8)

Skills: —

Special Skills:
• Training Room (Rank 2)
• Alchemy (Rank 1)]

The night turned out to be very productive—I managed to complete another quest and reached level 28. After that I decided to get a little rest. Even though morning had already arrived out here, I went back into the training room to sleep. I spent about 6–7 hours there just sleeping. In the outside world, that took only a few minutes.

After a good rest I headed upstream. Pretty quickly—about half an hour later—I came across the bridge where I was supposed to turn left.

To be honest, the bridge wasn’t at all what I’d imagined. I thought it would span the entire gorge, but no—it was a small wooden bridge, just wide enough for a single wagon to cross. Its length barely exceeded five meters.

On both sides of the gorge, roads had been carved into the rock so you could descend to the river, cross the bridge, and climb back up.

Well, what did I expect? I’d pictured a tiny village building a bridge across the whole gorge. That would require a bridge at least fifty meters long and about ten meters high. For an ordinary village, constructing something like that is nearly impossible. It’s much simpler—and more sensible—to build a small bridge over the river at the gorge’s base. Yeah, I’d simply set my expectations too high.

All right, left it is. I took the road to the left.

If not for the road carved into the rock, climbing up from here would have been extremely difficult. The ascent was pretty steep—I even wondered whether horses with wagons could manage that grade. Then again, maybe the local horses really are stronger than usual.

As soon as I got to the top, a road stretched out before me straight into a dense forest. That, I should’ve expected. The trees were tall and tightly packed, and it looked like the forest went on forever.

I looked back—yep, forest on the other side too. It seemed the gorge cut right through a thick woodland. Seen from above, it would probably look like a huge scar slashed across a green sea of trees.

Okay, enough useless thoughts. To the village.

I started down the road at an easy pace, and the moment I entered the forest, it became clear—without the road I’d definitely get lost. The trees grew so close together that after a couple hundred meters, the sunlight stopped reaching the ground at all, even the road itself.

Good thing I didn’t come here at night. Yeah, that was the right call. If the road is this dark even in the daytime, what would it be like at night? You wouldn’t see anything. Pitch-black, dead dark. Even for a grown man like me, walking this road at night would be truly scary.

Still… I hope I don’t run into any monsters along the way.

Lost in thought, I sped up without realizing it. After about an hour and a half a dim light appeared ahead—like light at the end of a tunnel. My brisk walk turned into a run, and soon I reached the spot I needed.

And yes, just as I’d hoped. A village spread out before me.

It was still quite a ways off, but I could already make out many small houses clustered at the center of a huge clearing. Though… calling it a “clearing” felt wrong—the place was too large.

On both sides of the road lay wide wheat fields. Everything around the village was cultivated. I noticed other crops too, though from this distance I couldn’t tell what they were. Farther out, beyond the fields and houses, the forest began again. The tall trees were clearly visible even through the village buildings, framing it on the far side with a green wall.

I headed toward the village. This time my steps were slower—much slower than when I’d gone through the forest. No need to hurry—there was still plenty of time before noon.

Okay, plan once more. First—find the Adventurers’ Guild branch. Then—register as a new adventurer. After that… I glanced down at my pockets.

In one pocket I had three health potions. In the other—about sixty, maybe seventy rabbit-monster magic stones. In truth, I’d collected far more; with Rem and Sherial’s permission I gathered a lot, but I left most of them in the training room—they’ll come in handy later.

Registration first, then selling these things. That should be enough to get me started.

I hope everything goes smoothly.

Soon I reached the village. Now I just had to find the Adventurers’ Guild. I moved deeper in, hoping to ask directions from a local.

But on the streets I only saw children playing between the houses. Very young—six or seven years old. Well, in villages kids start helping adults early: by eight or nine they’re already working in the fields with their parents. I grew up in a village too; I was helping in the fields by eight. Still, someone should’ve stayed behind in the village—to cook, keep the house.

While I was thinking about that, a woman with a basket stepped out of a house a little ahead and walked my way. When she saw me, her gaze lingered a bit longer than usual. Strangers don’t show up often in a village, after all. But a second later she looked away, as if she’d lost interest.

As she drew closer, I stepped forward.

“Excuse me,” I said.

The woman stopped and looked straight at me.

“I wanted to ask where the Adventurers’ Guild is,” I said.

She looked over my clothes and my face carefully, then narrowed her eyes.

“You want to be an adventurer too?” she said in a tone that sounded almost reproachful. Then she sighed, disappointed.

“Go straight along this road, don’t turn. You’ll reach the Adventurers’ Guild soon enough. You won’t miss it.”

“Thank you,” I said and quickly headed straight down the road.

After I’d gone a few steps, I thought I heard her grumble something under her breath.

Probably my imagination.

Before long I stopped in front of a building that stood out at once. It was strikingly different from all the houses around it.

First, it was much larger—four or five times bigger than a typical village house—and noticeably taller, even though it was still only one story.

The main thing that drew the eye was the massive double door. And right above it was a crest: a sword and a staff crossed over a shield. If this really was the Adventurers’ Guild building, that crest had to be the guild’s emblem.

I took a deep breath.

Here it is—my first step in the life of an adventurer. This is where my new story begins.

I pulled the heavy door toward me, and it opened with a soft creak.

Inside was a spacious hall. Directly opposite the entrance stood a long registration counter—by all the stories and books, this is where a cute receptionist girl should be sitting to greet new adventurers.

But there was no one at the counter.

I stepped inside. It was quiet.

To the right stretched a fairly large room with tables and chairs—probably enough to seat forty people, if not more. To the left was a door, and another door stood directly behind the registration counter.

I approached the counter. A small bell sat on it—the kind you press to call the clerk. I pressed the button lightly.

Ding!—a clear, fairly loud ring.

I waited ten… fifteen seconds.

Silence. No one came out.

I pressed it again, a bit harder this time.

Ding!

“Quit ringing that damn bell already!” a loud voice boomed from behind the door. It sounded like a grizzly suddenly decided to speak human. I flinched in surprise.

The door flew open and out came a huge man. Well… that’s what I thought at first. In reality he was only a little taller than me—but incredibly broad-shouldered and muscular. I’d peg his face at around seventy years old, though maybe he was younger. The contrast between his wrinkled face and his powerful body was striking.

He had a short gray beard and a completely bald head. Several scars marked his face. The old man looked stern, like he was ready to wrestle a bear with his bare hands even now.

“What d’you want, kid?” he rumbled in a voice that almost made me take a step back.

“I… I’d like to become an adventurer,” I said.

“Registering? No problem. Name?”

“Alisar.”

“All right. I’ll be right back,” the old man said and disappeared through the back door.

I remained by the counter, staring after him a little dazed.

That’s it? Nothing else required? My name… is that enough to become an adventurer?

Left alone, I had no idea when he’d return. I got bored and started looking around. On the left side by the entrance, I noticed a board.

Oh, that must be the quest board. Wonder what kind of jobs are posted?

There were only five papers hanging on it. I walked over and read them.

First job: “Help with the apple harvest.” Reward—30 copper a day.

Second: “Clear trees from a field to prepare a new plot.” Reward—40 copper a day.

I read the rest. They were all ordinary field work. There was even one for mucking out a cowshed.

“Damn… Is this really the Adventurers’ Guild?” I muttered. “Or did I wander into a day-laborers’ guild by mistake?”

No, I told the old man I wanted to be an adventurer. So I’m in the right place. These must just be newbie jobs. Which means if I want to be an adventurer, I’ll have to do these too. Although… I don’t think it’s necessary. Quests aren’t mandatory.

While I was mulling it over, the door behind the registration counter opened and the old man came out. I headed straight for him. He set something metallic on the counter.

“This is your guild tag. You’re an adventurer now,” he said.

Lying before me was a small iron plate—slightly smaller than a credit card—with a neat hole in one corner. A thin metal chain threaded through the hole so you could wear it around your neck. I picked it up and examined it closely. One side was engraved:

<ALISAR

ADVENTURER
G-RANK>

On the other side was the guild’s crest—exactly like the one I’d seen over the entrance.

“Hey, don’t lose it. If you do, replacing it costs money,” the old man said.

“Got it,” I replied, hastily slipping the tag over my head.

“Congratulations—you’re officially an adventurer now,” he said.

“Thank you,” I answered.

Yeah, I’m officially an adventurer now.

“And now, kid, I’ve got just one question for you. And you’d better answer it right,” the old man said, staring straight into my eyes.

The pressure in his voice was so strong I instinctively stepped half a pace back.

What happened? Did I do something wrong?

No—I hadn’t done anything…