Boot camp was finally over, and Peter was feeling pretty good about his prospects. If he kept killing monsters and absorbing that strange black mist, he'd grow stronger. It wasn't the traditional way of leveling up, but it would do. It might even be easier this way, just a steady kill count. The only thing that concerned him was whether the threshold would eventually bring diminishing returns.
He stood in formation with the other new recruits while Orban launched into one of his trademark speeches.
"When you all came to me, you were like mewling babies sucking off the teat, but now you're ready to take on the world…"
Peter tuned out the rest. The usual string of insults, maybe one or two compliments buried somewhere in the filth.
Afterward, the recruits headed into the Guild hall for drinks. There didn't seem to be a drinking age here, so even the teens were throwing back ale. Peter wasn't really in the mood, but he had a few and left early. The others would probably drink into the night. He wanted to be well rested, tomorrow he'd receive his copper medallion and become a full-fledged adventurer.
There were several different types of medallions representing ranks in the Guild, and they also acted as a kind of passport when traveling to other towns. The Adventurers Guild had representation in every town and city throughout the continent. Larger towns and cities had larger branches. Ranks ranged from copper, iron, and silver to gold, platinum, mithril, diamond, and at the top, elementium.
He wasn't even sure what elementium was, just that it sat at the top of the hierarchy, so rare only two people on the continent had one, supposedly. Diamond rank sounded more achievable, at least in theory. Fame, prestige, power. A long way off, but not impossible.
Since higher-ranked adventurers were extremely powerful, they were also considered a nation's trump card in times of war. They were even granted titles of nobility and given land. Peter had high hopes for his first day as an adventurer, but the main reason he became one was to find a way to make a living and maybe learn something, anything, about returning to Earth.
When he awoke the next day, he did his usual routine of saying a few words to his daughter in another world. After that, he wiped himself down with a cloth, changed into his equipment, and headed out. There was some time before he needed to show up at the Guild, so he decided to take a walk around town.
He walked from the inn, through the town center, to the blacksmith. There were approximately seven thousand people living in the town, and in addition to that, there were adventurers from other places and traveling merchants. Enrein was busy, nestled on the border between two kingdoms. He'd heard the whole kingdom had less than a million people. For a place like this, a few thousand was already impressive. Only the capital could claim more, and even that wasn't exactly a metropolis by Earth standards. Most people lived in scattered villages and farms, not surprising, given the state of the kingdom.
The citizens of the town were beginning to congregate around the town center. The morning bell had already rung throughout the town and people were opening up their shops or looking to get some early deals. Peter needed to get his armor refitted, so he headed over to the blacksmith. The man was already busy at work when Peter arrived and was happy to take his measurements. The blacksmith told him to come back later that day to pick it up. It wouldn't take long to refit it since it was leather and only needed slight adjustments. With that taken care of, it was finally time to head to the Guild.
The Guild was busier than on previous visits. Many adventurers were sitting at the various tables, most likely preparing parties or discussing their plans for whatever requests they had accepted. Peter headed to the receptionist counter. Three were on duty, including two young women who, according to the gossip, were popular with the adventurers.
One of the men leaned on the counter with a grin, trying his best to charm one of the receptionists. She giggled but didn't write down his name any faster.
He walked up to one of the girls and greeted her. She was someone he recognized since he had been introduced to her by Reia originally.
"Good morning, Jill. I'm here to receive my copper medallion."
"Oh, aren't you that new adventurer? You must be excited to get your first medallion!" Jill smiled, polite and professional.
"By the way, what is your name again? Sorry, I forgot."
"It's Peter." He had introduced himself to her once already, but it wasn't that strange she forgot. She probably met a lot of new people every day.
"Well, you need to fill out some information on parchment first. Can you write, or do you need a scribe to fill it out for you?" There weren't too many people who could write in this world, so a scribe was a necessity. Each Guild Hall had one for that purpose. They also handled accounting records and other clerical work.
"I'll need the scribe." Learning to write wasn't one of his top priorities right now, but it was on the to-do list.
"One second." Jill stepped away and returned a moment later. "The scribe will come soon. In the meantime, let me explain what you need to put down."
She pointed to the top of the parchment. "Here, you write your name or alias, whichever you prefer. Many adventurers like to be known by an alias of their choosing. You can also list any skills or abilities you want people to know about down here." She continued explaining the rest of the form.
While he waited for the scribe, Peter stared at the parchment. His real name probably sounded strange here. Out of place. Like he was still trying to cling to a world that no longer had a place for him.
He thought about his daughter. About Earth. About how he had just... vanished from her life. One day there, the next, gone.
Faded.
He swallowed. That word hit a little too hard.
"Fayde," he whispered.
It was quiet. Subtle. It didn't scream for attention. It felt right. Like a reminder of everything he'd left behind. A shadow of who he used to be. Not forgotten. Just... out of reach.
That would be his name in this world.
When the scribe arrived, Peter gave his information plainly.
Alias: Fayde
Class: Swordsman
Skill: Intermediate sword proficiency
That was all. No need to advertise more than that.
Jill glanced at the paper, then at him, tilting her head. "Fayde, huh?"
He nodded. "Yeah. It just felt right."
She smiled and handed him his copper medallion.
He slipped it around his neck, the metal cool against his skin.
Step one, complete.
Peter scanned the request board for copper-ranked adventurers and felt his excitement die almost immediately. Most of the listings were basic manual labor jobs.
So copper adventurers were just glorified day laborers, huh?
Looking around, he noticed an alternative, he could simply hunt monsters for their parts. Those could be sold or used as ingredients for potions, gear, and other items. Killing monsters was the better option anyway since he could absorb the Dark Matter Contamination they left behind. But without his armor, he wasn't ready to leave town just yet, so he grabbed one of the labor requests for now.
The request was from a merchant with a stall in the town center. The task? Haul cargo between his shop and the caravans arriving that day. The reward was several copper coins and a small discount for future purchases. Not much, but it was something.
Peter turned around, request slip in hand, and smacked straight into a wall of muscle.
"Ah! Sorry," he muttered, looking up. It was Orban.
"Well, well, the runt's finally got his first quest."
"Yeah, just grabbed a labor job. Waiting on my armor."
"Labor requests are important! Remember to look at the big picture…"
Not another speech. He barely held back a groan.
Orban continued anyway, going on about how these kinds of tasks were vital for building trust with townsfolk and merchants. Peter just nodded. He wasn't wrong, but his lectures always felt long-winded.
"So make sure you do a good job and take it seriously!"
Peter gave him a half-hearted salute. Orban seemed satisfied with that and walked off.
Finally left alone, Peter made his way to the town center and met with the merchant. The man was friendly and even offered him a drink, which was a nice touch. He apologized for the low pay, but Peter didn't mind.
The merchant also promised him a ten percent discount at his stall from now on. He sold a mix of potions and basic goods, so Peter figured he'd be a regular customer, assuming he stuck around town long enough. Still, what he really wanted was information.
"Any places with decent rates on health potions? Trade routes that don't get robbed every week?" he asked casually, like a man comparing grocery stores, not trying to survive another world.
The job took a couple of hours. The roads were still slick from last night's rain, and maneuvering the cart through the town gates was a nightmare. Lugging the crates and barrels after that was the easy part.
While wrapping up, Peter's thoughts drifted to Reia. She still hadn't returned. Not that it was unusual, he knew it would take a while. She probably also planned to spend a few days there before coming back. She could show up any time now.
He hoped she was okay. What if she ran into another monster like last time? Or slavers? Or something worse?
He had no way of knowing. No way to contact her. The lack of cell phones was seriously starting to sting. Maybe there was some magical equivalent he could look into.
Once the job was done, the merchant thanked him again and gave him his coppers. Peter headed for a nearby food stall and grabbed what he dubbed "meat on a stick." He had no idea what kind of meat it was.
I told myself it was chicken. It wasn't. But I didn't ask.
Ignorance really was bliss, at least when it came to mystery meat.
He returned to the blacksmith and waited thirty minutes until the work was done. Once he slipped the leather armor back on, he finally felt whole again.
Fully equipped, he left town and headed toward the Iendal Hills to hunt goblins. This was a moment he had been looking forward to, though maybe his expectations were a bit too high. Still, the afternoon was young, and goblins were plentiful. They were weak enough to go down easily, perfect for testing a few Void tricks.
He had some ideas. Maybe he could block a metal weapon using his defensive flames. Maybe even enhance his sword with them. The Void Flames were flexible, there had to be ways to weaponize that.
He found a small group of goblins and started experimenting. Circulating the flames around his blade worked better than expected. It gave the sword Void-like properties, dealing extra damage and occasionally setting the monsters alight. His basic attack, launching Void Flames from each arm, could be done simultaneously now, one per hand. The cost was steep, though, his VP regen was slow, only one point every ten minutes.
Most of the experiments were successful, but one thing stood out. Metal could deflect his flames. Not always, but often enough to be annoying. At the same time, if he concentrated, the Void Flames were still capable of halting metal weapons mid-swing. That meant he could shield with his arm, or punch someone straight in the face while it was engulfed in flame. That part, at least, was effective.
By the time Peter returned to Enrein, the sun was low on the horizon. Tired but not drained, he made one last stop at the Guild to cash in. Adventurers were gathered inside, drinking and swapping stories. He spotted Orthus and Arin sharing a drink and waved as he passed.
He turned in the twelve goblin ears he had collected and received a silver and two copper coins for his trouble. With the exchange done, he made his way toward the glowing crystal, curious to see how much had changed.
Time to find out if all that effort was worth it.
Peter touched the glowing crystal, and his status window appeared:
[Level: -1 EXP: 0/0]
[HP: 15/15]
[Health Regen: 0.01/min
[VP: 30/30] [Void Threshold: 38 Next level 60]
[Void Regen: 0.1/min]
Strength: 9 (Representation of your attack power as well as your physical strength)
Dexterity: 9 (Representation of your reflexes, movement, agility, and evasion)
Constitution: 10 (Representation of your resilience and affects health/health regen)
Charisma: 10 (Representation of how others perceive both your physical appearance and personality as well as your skill at social interactions)
Intelligence: 137 (Represents intellectual capacity, Affects Skill Growth)
Wisdom: 165 (Represents an accumulation of life experience and common sense)
Acquired Proficiencies: Sword (Level 3/10 Intermediate)
Blessings: Blessing of the Void (?)
Special ability: Molecular absorption (Absorbs dark matter contamination strengthening host)
Inherent status: Immortality (Immortality grants agelessness, your body and soul will no longer age)
Affinities: Void (Your natural and innate magical affinity, Void Element)
Void Element: Void Flame (5VP - 1VP/min) (Manipulate flames from the Void for both attack and defense)
Not much had changed. He'd killed twelve goblins but only gained eight points of Void Element, so the one to one ratio was already falling off. Diminishing returns, just as he'd suspected.
Nothing seemed to progress until he hit the next threshold.
Wisdom had ticked up again, though. That made sense. He'd learned a lot about this world in a short time.
Alright. That's enough for today.
He was starting to understand most of his status now. Not everything, but enough. It was progress.
There wasn't much else to do at the Guild, so he made his way back toward the inn, just in time to bump into someone at the front door.
He looked up.
"Reia, you're back! You look exhausted."
She definitely hadn't slept.
"Yeah. I just got in. I checked the inn first, then came here."
She looked like she could fall over at any moment, and based on the travel grime, she hadn't had a chance to clean up, either.
"Let's head inside first," he said. "You look like you could use a rest... and a bath."
They walked back toward the inn as she began filling him in.
"I told my father about you," she said. "He gave me permission to bring you to the village. He wants to meet you."
Peter raised a brow. "You still haven't told me who your father is. Should I be nervous?"
She hesitated. "Right, sorry. I forgot. He's the chieftain of our tribe."
Peter blinked. "So you're a chief's daughter, huh? Should I be bowing right now?"
She gave him a playful punch, and he smirked.
"It's not a big deal," she muttered, her voice dropping a little. "Our tribe isn't very large… it's not something worth making a fuss over."
There was a quiet weight in her words. Something unspoken behind them.
Maybe a story for another time.
"Well, that's fine with me," he said. "But seriously, you need a bath. You stink."
That earned him another punch, harder this time. He staggered theatrically.
"Hey! I'm wounded!"
"You deserved it!"
He laughed, brushing it off as they stepped inside.