Chapter 7. A Small Room

Chapter 7. A Small Room

I tensed up, thinking hard. Maybe… just run? Yeah, I could probably bolt out of here before he reacts. Although, judging by the old man’s corded, powerful body, he was likely a former adventurer. Getting away from him wouldn’t be so easy.

But I wasn’t planning to surrender without a fight either.

“Hey, what are you brooding about?” the old man’s voice snapped me back to reality. “It’s just one question. And you’d better answer it right.”

He stared straight into my eyes. The pressure of his gaze felt like he was trying to burn a hole through me.

“You know the Adventurers’ Guild rules, don’t you? The rules every adventurer needs to know,” he said in the tone of someone who fully expected a “yes.”

“…Yes,” I forced out, my throat suddenly dry.

“Great,” his voice flipped from threatening to cheerful in an instant. “I didn’t want to waste an hour explaining a bunch of damn rules. Going through all that in detail is boring as hell and takes forever. Good thing you know them already. Saves both of us a ton of time,” he said, sounding satisfied.

I exhaled and loosened up a little.

Hey, what the hell? I don’t know any guild rules at all!

What rules is an adventurer supposed to know? I ransacked my brain. Nothing.

Maybe I should’ve said “no”? But under that glare and the weight of his words, I just couldn’t. It was like he wouldn’t accept any answer except “yes.”

I drew a deep breath. No… this won’t do. Better to admit it now than get into serious trouble later for not knowing something important. I had to brace myself and honestly say I didn’t know the guild rules.

I opened my mouth to confess, but the old man spoke first:

“You know, most folks who come here are teenagers,” he began—“dreamers chasing great deeds. They picture themselves as heroes, can’t wait to set off on some grand journey, get famous and rich. And every single one of them needs those damn rules explained from scratch.”

He sighed, shook his head, and went on:

“If they’re so set on becoming adventurers, why not at least study the rules beforehand? I’m glad that sometimes young men like you show up—already set on their path, with some experience behind them. You’re clearly not some greenhorn. But those other brats… milk still wet on their lips, and they’re already barging into adventuring. Sometimes I wanna wring their necks after explaining the same thing for the hundredth time,” he grumbled, as if complaining to an old friend.

…Great. After that speech, admitting I know nothing would be like signing my own death warrant.

Fine. I’ll learn the rules from someone else later. That’ll be easier…

I swallowed and changed the subject:

“Um… excuse me, I’d like to sell a few things,” I said, trying to sound confident.

“Yeah? What’ve you got—put it all here,” the old man said, nodding at the counter.

I took out everything I’d prepared: magic stones from the rabbit monsters and three health potions.

“Not bad,” the old man said with an approving grunt. “Just as I thought—you’ve already got some combat under your belt. Let’s see… sixty-four monster magic crystals and three Rank I health potions.”

He did a quick calculation and said:

“For the magic stones you’ll get sixty-four copper coins, and for the potions—two silver and forty copper.”

With that, he scooped the items off the counter and disappeared through the back door. This time he returned pretty fast, coins clinking in his hands.

“Here’s your money,” he said, and laid out three silver and four copper coins on the counter.

I gathered them up and slipped them into my pocket at once.

“Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. This is the guild,” the old man smirked. “Though I should say, not many folks bring in stuff like this around this village.”

So, if my math’s right, 100 copper equals 1 silver. Yeah—just like in most of the novels I’ve read. A Rank I health potion goes for about 80 copper apiece, and zero-rank monster stones only fetch a single copper each. Rem did say they were dirt cheap.

Looks like those rabbit monsters that almost killed me were actually very weak. If their stones are valued at just 1 copper, then they really aren’t much of a threat. And I even took a couple down myself… Yeah, weak.

Oh, right—I wanted to ask something else before I left.

“Excuse me—one more thing. Is there a general store here? I need to buy a few supplies,” I said.

“Head out and go left. After a couple houses you’ll see the general store. It’s got everything you can get in this village,” the old man replied.

I thanked him and left the guild, heading in the direction he’d indicated. Sure enough, in under a minute I’d arrived at the general store.

Outside, fruit and vegetables were laid out; inside was a whole assortment of goods: tableware, clothing, farm tools, as well as swords, spears, and even bows with a hefty stock of arrows.

As soon as I entered, I heard a woman’s voice:

“How can I help you?”

A woman of about forty—forty-five—stepped out from behind the counter.

I quickly bought the essentials: a couple sets of clothes, footwear, and a canteen. I also picked up a large backpack that could hold a lot—definitely something I’d need going forward. Most important of all, I bought food: dry, long-lasting provisions suitable for traveling. Altogether it cost me two silver and ten copper.

I wanted to buy a sword too, but the price was way too high—ten silver for the most basic blade. Why are they so expensive?..

After that I asked the shopkeeper if there were any inns in the village. She said there weren’t. However, since I was an adventurer, I could lodge at the guild—there were rooms, and they were quite cheap. If I wanted to stay long-term, I could even rent an empty house, but I had no need for that. I wasn’t planning to stick around. It seemed most adventurers stayed at the guild anyway—definitely convenient for newcomers.

Well then, back to that scary old man. Hopefully he wouldn’t be in a bad mood. Luckily, he seemed fairly genial. There were two types of rooms available: a shared room—with several people staying together—or a private room. Naturally, I chose a private one. One night cost only 10 copper. I decided to take it for a single night—to test it out. If I liked it, I could extend my stay.

The old man offered to add dinner and breakfast. Of course I agreed—dinner was 5 copper, breakfast another 5. Altogether I paid 20 copper. With the key in hand, I walked into the corridor. Doors to the rooms lined one side, and on the other were windows looking out onto the guild’s inner courtyard. Through them I saw that the yard was more like a training ground: targets, wooden dummies, and farther in, a ring-like area for sparring.

I went down the corridor looking for my room. My number was 11. Good thing the doors were numbered. Oddly, starting from the sixth room, the doors were packed suspiciously close together—barely a meter between them.

There it was: Room 11. I put in the key, opened the door… and immediately understood why the doors were so close. The room was tiny. Not just small—very small. A bed took up most of it, with a narrow strip of floor left to walk to the window. By the window sat a little table for your belongings.

The size—about a meter and a half by two and a half. Honestly, it felt more like a closet where you’d store gear or old mops. Judging by the layout, every room after the sixth was about the same. Yeah… harsh.

Still, for just sleeping—it’d do. And now, the main task.

I activated the training room skill and, in the next instant, found myself inside the stone chamber.

Compared to the little cubby I’d just been in, this place felt enormous.

All right, let’s not waste time.

The moment I got ready to start and thought about taking on a quest, a system window popped open with a detailed task list.

[Quest No. 18

Squats: 0 / 1,800

Push-ups: 0 / 1,800

On-the-spot jumps: 0 / 1,800

Plank: 0 / 18 minutes

Sit-ups: 0 / 800]

I think I’ll start with squats, as usual.

And the moment I began, it was like gravity tripled.

Now I understand perfectly how this works. With time I figured it out: this force compensates for everything I gain by leveling—almost as if the system “debuffs” me by amping up gravity, or something like it.

While I’m doing quests, I feel like an ordinary person again—stat-wise.

For example, if my Strength is 50, and then with levels and attribute points I raise it to 100, the gravity acting on me during training doubles too.

If my Strength hits 150, the load triples.

In short, the higher my stats go, the stronger this effect becomes, so I can’t coast on the advantages my levels give me.

The tasks don’t get easier. They stay just as hard as they were at the very beginning, despite all my progress.

But there’s one exception—the health potion.

Yeah, that’s my main edge. It’s the best energy drink imaginable. And apparently without any side effects.

The higher my level, the more health potions I can make. I think soon I’ll have as many as I want.

With them, I can complete tasks without fatigue and steadily earn experience.

My plan for the near future was simple.

Stay here and try to complete as many quests in the training room as possible to push my level as high as I can.

But I couldn’t have imagined that this simple plan would be disrupted in a way I never expected.