Chapter 23 — Test Subject, Part 1

Chapter 23 — Test Subject, Part 1

By the time I came back and reached the ravine near the bridge, the sun was already dipping toward the horizon.

Well, I decided to stay here. It seemed safer than pitching a tent by the roadside, inside the forest.

Morning came. I packed up the tent and set off again.

On the other side of the ravine, the road also ran through a forest, and sunlight barely reached the ground.

Good thing I didn’t take this road at night — I’m sure I wouldn’t have been able to see anything at all. It would’ve been pitch-black. Absolute darkness.

---

Two days passed, and finally, in the distance, I saw the walls.

Even from here they looked massive — stretching far to the left and right.

It seemed like the entire city was surrounded by colossal stone walls.

Well, that was to be expected. Nothing particularly remarkable happened along the way.

Sometimes I passed travelers — small caravans with guards, usually accompanied by adventurers.

But I didn’t greet anyone. I just kept walking.

And just like that, I reached the city without any problems.

As the walls grew closer, I suddenly felt a twinge of anxiety.

What if the guards at the gate checked everyone’s identification?

…Wait. I have my adventurer badge. That should work, right?

Yeah, it should. The badge serves as identification — or at least, I hope so.

---

Looks like I worried for nothing.

When I approached the gate, I saw guards — two on each side.

Fully clad in iron armor, holding spears and swords.

But they just stood there and didn’t stop anyone.

People entered and left the city freely, without any checks.

I walked past them too, entering the city without any problem.

Yeah… inside the walls, it was a completely different world.

As soon as I stepped in, a street opened before me, lined with buildings — mostly two or three stories tall.

Sometimes even five.

All of them were built from stone — solid, imposing, nothing like those in the village.

There were no single-story houses at all. Almost every ground floor was used for business — grocery stalls, trading counters, or something similar.

It looked like every first floor was meant for trade.

I even spotted a few restaurants and cafés.

Even from here, I could smell the food — especially the strong aroma of grilled meat.

God, I was hungry…

But no. First, I needed to go to the Adventurers’ Guild and get rid of the extra weight.

That is, sell my health potions.

I planned to sell everything I had.

This was a big city — there had to be plenty of adventurers here.

And Rem said that selling potions in places like this wouldn’t be a problem,

as long as I didn’t do it too often.

---

And here I was, standing in front of the Adventurers’ Guild.

Finding the building was easy — it stood out from the rest.

A massive stone structure with heavy doors and the guild’s crest above the entrance.

Yeah, impossible to mistake. Comparing this guild to the one in the village was like comparing heaven and earth.

Before me towered an impressive five-story building.

From the first glance, it was obvious — this place belonged to a serious and influential organization. The double doors were wide open, and armed people constantly went in and out.

Judging by the badges on their necks, they were all adventurers.

The interior didn’t disappoint either.

The ceiling was very high, the hall spacious. It was supported by several massive columns — wide and imposing.

Their surfaces were decorated with frescoes and patterns depicting hunting scenes, battles, and ancient heroes.

It all looked genuinely majestic. Beautiful.

Straight ahead stood five registration counters.

Two were staffed by young women — around twenty or so.

Two others by men of about the same age.

And at the fifth, farthest counter, sat a man around forty-five or fifty, with a serious, focused face.

Each of the five counters had its own line — about eight or nine people each.

At first, I wanted to go to one of the counters where the cute receptionists worked, but…

Yeah, luck still wasn’t on my side.

If I wanted to sell potions, I had to stand in line for the stern fifty-year-old man.

Everyone in the other lines had empty hands or papers.

Only the adventurers standing at his counter carried large bags and backpacks.

Thankfully, that line was short — only three people.

So, if I wanted to sell my health potions, that was my spot. I joined the line, and to my surprise, it moved quickly — less than ten minutes later, it was my turn.

That was… unexpectedly fast.

In the village, when I sold a hundred health potions and magic stones to the old man, the whole process took more than half an hour.

Here, three adventurers with huge bags sold everything in under ten minutes.

“Put your bag here,” the man said when I stepped up to the counter.

I placed my bag down, and it immediately glowed.

The light lasted only a moment — I almost thought I imagined it.

But no, I’d seen the same thing happen with others.

The man looked at something behind the counter.

“All right. We’ve got 1,415 zero-rank magic stones, 692 first-rank, and 154 second-rank. And the main part — 457 first-rank health potions and 51 second-rank health potions,” he recited without lifting his head.

“For everything, you’ll receive eight gold, sixty silver, and eighty-five copper,” he said.

Wow… that calculation was fast. There must’ve been some kind of magic device built into the counter that did all the counting automatically.

Wait, hold on…

Fifty-one second-rank potions? How?

After the old man in the village told me that twelve out of a hundred I’d sold were second-rank, I carefully checked all my remaining potions — and found no difference.

All of them — more than five hundred — looked exactly the same.

And now again, fifty-one second-rank? What the hell?

Why couldn’t I tell them apart?

It looks like some of the potions I received from the dungeon as a reward for defeating the boss were Rank 2 Health Potions.

And I didn’t even notice it.

Whatever. It doesn’t matter now. I’ve already sold them. It’s not like I’ll ask for them back.

I’ll figure this out later.

“All right, your adventurer badge,” the man said.

I quickly took it off my neck and handed it over. He examined it, then looked up at me.

“So, you’re an F-rank adventurer?”

“Yes,” I replied. “Only became one a few days ago.”

“Good. Wait a couple of minutes — I’ll prepare your payment,” he said.

He did some calculations behind the counter, then placed a small tray on the table. Gold, silver, and copper coins lay on it in neat piles.

I quickly gathered them up. Gold and silver went into one pouch — I didn’t have a separate one for gold — and the copper coins into another.

Yeah, that’s the right way. Keep them separate.

I was just about to leave when the man stopped me.

“Hold it. What’s the rush?” he said. “You planning to leave your bag here? And your adventurer badge is still with me. Where do you think you’re going without it?”

“Sorry,” I said, returning to the counter.

Damn, I’d completely forgotten that I’d given him my badge… and my bag.

A young guy came out from behind a partition, took my bag, and returned it empty a couple of minutes later. The middle-aged man handed me a slip of paper along with my badge.

“Take this paper and get in that line over there,” he said, pointing to another counter. “Just show it to them — they’ll understand.”

“Thanks,” I said, taking the paper and badge, then moved to the farthest line from that gruff man.

Damn…

Curious, I unfolded the paper to see what was written on it. A few lines of text — but I couldn’t make sense of any of it.

Maybe I just couldn’t read the local language?

No, wait — I did read the quest postings at the guild…

Crap. Maybe I should just leave before this turns into a problem?

I was about to bolt when my turn came.

All right. I didn’t break any rules. Everything will be fine.

I handed over my badge and the paper to the receptionist. She scanned it and said:

“Please wait a couple of minutes.”

Then she disappeared somewhere and came back less than a minute later — with another receptionist.

The second girl took her place behind the desk, and the first one stepped out from behind the counter.

“Please, come with me,” she said.

I followed her. She walked toward the stairs leading to the second floor and began climbing. I went after her, tension growing inside me.

When we reached the top, she turned right and stopped in front of a door.

Strange marks were carved into it — they looked like ancient symbols.

She opened the door, looked back at me, and smiled slightly.

“Oh, you seem nervous.”

“Yeah, a little,” I said.

Well… that was a lie.

I was very nervous, not a little.

“Don’t worry, it won’t take long. Everything will be quick,” she said with a charming smile.

“Please, go inside,” she added, still smiling.

“…All right,” I said.

I hesitated, then stepped inside.

The room was a bit dim. Actually… that’s putting it mildly. It was almost completely dark.

Apparently, there were no windows, and the only light came from a few faint magical lamps that gave off a weak, flickering glow.

“Well, well, well… what do we have here? A new test subject, huh?” a man’s voice said.

Goosebumps ran down my back. A man stepped out of the corner — wearing a white coat and gloves.

Even in that dim light, it was clear: his coat, and especially his gloves, were covered with brownish-red stains.

Blood.

I took a step back — and behind me came a dull sound: click.

The door had closed.

Damn. What did I just get myself into?

Instinctively, I grabbed for my sword.