Issue #4-Chapter 5.1: Adventure Request

"Something urgent,' huh? And that is?" I cucked my eyebrow and leaned forward with my skeptical eyes.

Please don't tell me I have to go on a quest to defeat the dark lord. Please don't tell me I have to go on a quest to defeat the dark lord.

"I've requested people outside of Mysteria to take on this task and many feared more for their lives than saving Mysteria, even through begging," Arwen explained while she walked in front of the statue back and forth. "Yet none of them would take this task; there was one man who was brave enough to go on it, yet he was no longer interested in completing it." Sighing, she put her head down. "Such a shame really."

Well, that guy's sure as hell a coward, is he?

"And it's goin' on a quest to defeat the dark lord, is it?"

Arwen turned to me in such amazement. "H-How did you know?"

I knew it!

"Trust me, I know how fairy tales and fantasy stories play out. I'm not stupid."

Arwen chuckled a bit. "Ah, I see now…"

And I couldn't blame people who refused to take the offer, I mean who the hell would want to go on a quest to take out that dark lord? Can you imagine how powerful he is to have to take him down.

"And I'm gonna turn down that offer," I responded.

"But, sir. I-" Arwen puts her hand out forward.

I immediately glared at the woman. "No, not gonna happen. Never gonna happen! I'm not riskin' my life gettin' killed on a quest durin' my long ass journey, and be reincarnated something worse than as a poor, homeless man! Nope! So can you get me the hell out of here already, lady?!"

"But sir, please allow me to teach you how to fight and use spells for your quest against the dark lord."

"Um, I said, 'No!' n' that's final! Now take me back home or you'll see my ugly side. And trust me, you don't want to see my ugly side, do you?!"

Arwen sighed again and turned her smile upside down. "Alright, very well, Mike." She closed her eyes, lifted her head up and raised up her palms in the air. "By the will of goddess Astoria, I hereby send Mike back to Basilia and may the gods be with you."

Finally, 'bout damn time!

With the same white sphere above the stool flashed its light and spreaded it across the room. Everything disappeared and Arwen and I disappeared with it.

Once the white flash disappeared out of sight, I suddenly saw myself in an alleyway. The gray buildings stared down at me and the clouds' tears were still pouring upon me.

With my eyes investigating, I barely saw anyone in sight except a small child, who was only wearing a large, holey shirt and had messy hair, lying against the wall inside a large box, zoning out. No one else was around.

The sound of thunder roared across the sky, echoing my ears. That rainy smell entered my nostrils.

Okay, I'm back in Basilia, right? 'Cause I haven't been to this place before.

I investigated some more until a woman's voice echoed in my head, saying, "Mike, I found you some shelter and food. Look to your left. There should be a note in there."

"Huh?!" I recognized that voice and it was none other than Arwen. Arwen has found me some shelter and food, huh?! How the hell is that possible?! 'Look to your left,' she says. She better not be bullshitting me.

I looked to my left and stumbled upon something that sparked my interest. Huh?

And there it was-a small building with a candle lighting inside it and a note on a basket full of bread loaves standing in the middle of the table. The candle light did a pretty damn good job lighting the room.

So she isn't bullshittin' me after all. Good to know.

I walked my way towards the bread loaves and opened the note. I read it and the foreign language was magically translated into English, and it said:

Thank the goddess Astoria for this. You no longer have to live in the streets with that man now. Take care.

-Love, Arwen

Was she talkin' about Gideon?! How the hell does she even know that?! Then I folded the paper back up and placed it on the table. Oh, never mind that. Thanks, Arwen. I'll never forget this. If I see you again, I'll be sure to show you my gratitude.

Once my stomach growled at me again, I looked down at it and was about to enter and dig in, until I heard Gideon's voice calling my name. I stopped what I was doing and turned around, hearing Gideon's calling my name two more times and his footsteps echoing in the area, with my stomach still growling.

Looks like I am back in Basilia.

I saw Gideon moving his head sideways out of search for me. He placed his hands around his mouth like an oval.

I grinned at Gideon and called his name back. "I'm right here!"

Gideon turned to his left and smiled back at me, calling my name. "I thought I lost you!"

"Yeah, I thought I lost you too!" Gideon and I wrapped our arms around one another and broke it up. "Did you get a job or an I.D. even? Did you also do anything from either beggin' or stealin' yet?"

"Well, I got zero coins from begging in the street and I haven't stolen anything yet. No job nor I.D."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, Gideon. Me neither."

"Oh, I see. It's alright, Mike." He turned to the shelter and back at me. "And what's this? You found a new shelter?"

"Actually, Arwen led me here."

Gideon gave me his puzzled look on his face. "Uh, who's this Arwen person?"

I explained everything to Gideon and he shook his head out of understanding. "Ah, I see…" He turned to the shelter. "I believe it's a much better place to live than our last one, so let's reside in our new home, Mike. And thank the goddess Astoria for that as well as the food at last."

I chuckled a bit. "Okay, Gideon. I got ya!"

As Gideon and I sat at the table and ate our food, we chatted with one another for a while. We had a great time together in our brand new home-no more living in that hole, no more people terrorizing us and no more sleeping on the floor. The moment I asked Gideon how he got into this kingdom, and Gideon told me he snuck in from the merchant carriage here, hidden in the box. That made me understand how Gideon got in this shitty kingdom.

After that, we slept on the hay and covered our blankets, once we blew out the candle. We tried to sleep our way for the night as there were no windows to keep us warm.