Chapter 9

***Talik***

As he emerged on the other side of the portal, Talik reflexively stiffened, listening.

Nature was buzzing all around him. The last time he went out into the world in the ruined village it was a little different. It was very quiet then, except for the wind. But here he could hear birds singing, trees creaking, bushes rustling, insects chirping, toads rattling somewhere nearby. The sun, streaming through the treetops, tickled his face amusingly. He stood for a few minutes, getting used to the background.

The exit from the portal opened up in a small clearing in the woods, about half a kilometer from the road. At least, that's what Illadria said. But there wasn't anything that looked like a path, or even a footpath, from the clearing. It wasn't even obvious which way to go.

"So?" Talik spread his hands in a gesture of incomprehension.

A figure in a green cloak with muddy brown streaks materialized subtly beside a bush a few paces from Talik. The figure hurriedly pulled off its hood and crouched to the ground in a respectful gesture. Soft laced boots, leather gloves to the elbows, a quiver of arrows at the belt, and a half-length carved bow in a hand. From under his long blond hair peered pointed tips of ears.

"I apologize, Your Holiness. I have been entrusted with the honor of accompanying you in secret."

"You're good." Talik smiled. "I wouldn't have noticed you."

"I am flattered. Give me your orders."

"There should be a road nearby, guide me there."

"As you wish."

The Stalker rose to his feet and, with an inviting gesture, slipped through the impenetrable thicket at the edge of the clearing.

"Hm."

Talik tried to follow his example, but it was no easy task. Shrubs and branches whipped at his face, and his feet got tangled in the thicket. To his surprise, it was more of an inconvenience than a problem. Branches and roots broke easily if he put any effort into it. When he emerged from the thicket to the road, though, he still looked pretty ragged - bits of woody debris stuck in his hair and in the folds of his clothes, mud, and sand clogged up his elegant moccasins.

"What a mess."

Getting it all out of his clothes was harder than he thought it would be. Stalker was there, still in the same position, but he didn't try to help. It was a little annoying, but it seemed silly for Talik to complain about his inaction. He wasn't a child, after all. When he'd finished cleaning himself up relatively, Talik looked around.

It was hard to call the road a road from the point of view of a resident of a city. Talik had never seen country roads in person, only in pictures and in the game. But even there they looked more... well-maintained or something. Here a road was just a bumpy, overgrown rut in the ground, going through the woods.

"And where is south here?" he asked the Stalker.

"The southern direction of the road is that way, Your Holiness." the elf pointed. "The path itself does not go exactly according to the compass."

"That's okay. By the way, I noticed that only the Elites address me as 'Prophet,' the rest say 'Your Holiness'. What's that got to do with it?" He was really curious.

"Only elder vassals are honored to address you by your true title, Your Holiness."

To be honest, Talik hoped for some other reason. He liked 'Your Holiness' more, but if he demanded that the Elites address him as such, too, instead of the "Prophet," they would think they were being downgraded.

Walking along the road, Talik admired his surroundings for the first time. Nature itself, without the attentive hand of a designer, is capable of creating more detailed, rich landscapes. It wasn't the perfectly detailed beauty of the elven groves, of course. But the terrain looked much more real, alive and authentic. Grass growing out of the dirt, twigs of hazel, thick bloated bark of old trees with large beetles crawling lazily across it. Butterflies, small and large, some insects that looked like bees, mosquitoes... By the way, mosquitoes did not fly to him at all. When they flew a couple of steps, they just lost interest in him and changed direction. It looked a little strange. Talik checked just in case to make sure he had blocked all possible effects from the skills, but everything was fine.

After two hours of travel, looking at the forest became boring. So the forest, so the leaves, so the birds. The scenery hadn't changed, just the same thickets along the road. Talik tried to get his companion to talk.

"What is your name?"

"I have not been bestowed a name, Your Holiness. I am a mere shadow, one of many."

"Oh, and how do people address you when they want to ask you something?

"Stalker, Your Holiness. So does everyone else."

"Doesn't it bother you?"

"I am proud of my right to serve you, Your Holiness. I had never considered that it might... be 'bothering'."

"I'm asking about the name. Are you comfortable that you don't have one?"

"It always has been, Your Holiness. I am quite comfortable."

"I don't. I'll call you... Spy." Talik thought the word sounded pretty good.

The named elf seemed about to collapse to the ground, but Talik just go faster. Spy had no choice but to keep up the pace.

"I have no words to express my gratitude to you, Your Holiness. It is a great honor for me..."

"Less pathos, please."

"As you wish, Your Holiness."

In general, Spy as a speaker was, in any case, rather boring. He didn't know any interesting stories, had an extremely predictable point of view on everything, and agreed with 'his holiness' on everything. Talik soon enough became frustrated with his attempts to diversify his journey and returned to contemplating nature's views.

After a few more hours of travel, the terrain began a barely perceptible downward slope, and the forest became a little sparser. The sun was nearing sunset, though it was still light. Talik, ready to give up all his legendary gear for the smallest MP3 player, decided to take a break. There was a decent meadow just off the road, and he turned there.

"Spy, we'll camp here for now."

The elf nodded and quickly set about setting up camp. He removed the excessively tall plants from the clearing, dug a small hole for the fire, and laid his cloak beside it. Talik realized belatedly that he was not at all prepared for the actual camping trip. He had no tent, no bed, not even any lighter. It was a little embarrassing.

"Your Holiness, I realize that you might find my idea of comfort humiliating." Spy bowed, pointing his palm toward the spread cloak. "Order, and you will have proper bedding delivered to you at once.

"Don't worry about it, it's fine... " Talik said. He was confused.

It was embarrassing to occupy someone else's stuff like that, but it was clear that the elf wouldn't let go. Talik rested his butt on the cloak (a rather soft cloak, by the way), making himself comfortable. He noted that he wasn't hungry at all, and the only thing that made him tired was boredom. Spy, meanwhile, had made a fire, using some pebbles that caused sparks.

Sitting in the approaching twilight and just looking at the fire, feeling its warmth, was also a new and interesting experience.

I wonder how much such a vacation would cost me in the real world? A natural forest and an open fire are so fucking expensive. An hour of an ordinary eco-tour is two of my salaries, and an open fire is even out of the list.

When it was completely dark, Spy, who was sitting across from me on the grass, turned his head and listened.

"Your Holiness, there is a group of people moving along the road here."

"How far away?" Talik raised an eyebrow. "How many?"

"One horse, a small wheeled vehicle, and two walking humanoids. I can't determine the level yet, but definitely not higher than 30, we would have known about them by now. What are your instructions?" Spy moved unambiguously with his bow at the ready.

"Stay hidden, for now, don't show your presence unless there's a direct threat, or unless I tell you so," he said after brief thinking.

He didn't want to go to any extremes without a real need. Especially since these were the first locals he would see here. He wanted to make a nice first contact.

With a short nod, Spy vanished into the shadows.

After a while, when Talik already suspected that it was a false alarm, he heard the distinctive sound of hooves. At the same time, he heard someone sneaking through the sparse brush. It was a strange thing, knowing that you could hear such things - this 'someone' was indeed sneaking quietly. Talik decided not to react and sat quietly by the fire.

After a couple of minutes, he saw a horse and a small wagon moving along the road, and two cloaked and hooded men walking nearby. At the spot where he had the best view of the clearing, they stopped, and one of the silhouettes headed toward him.

"Yo," Talik raised his hand in a welcoming gesture.

The figure hesitated a little and repeated the gesture.

"Greetings, traveler," the man pulled down his hood, and the handsome face of a young guy came into view. In the light of the fire, it was hard to see the details, except for the short haircut and the slightly slanted eyes. "We noticed the fire. Are you camped out here?"

"If you can call a camp just a campfire without anything, then yes," Talik smiled openly. "I'd be glad to have good neighbors. I'm all alone here."

The guy glanced around subtly.

"Thank you for your hospitality, stranger. I hope we'll get along."

"I'm Taler," Talik said with the first name he could think of.

"I'm Bryce, and these are my comrades, Era, and there, in the wagon, Daimon."

He waved his hand toward the road. A second figure led the horse and wagon into the meadow.

That's what that kid Lias was talking about, isn't it?

Bryce squatted near the fire and held his hands out to the fire. The sight of the outfit evoked a certain nostalgia for my noob past - riveted leather armor, worn and patched several times, fingerless gloves with metal inlays.

"We are adventurers, passing through here. We got into some trouble on the way, headed for E-Rantel. What brings you here, if it's no secret?"

"It's not a secret..." Talik feverishly recalled his legend. "I'm from an expedition to the Azerlissian mountains. We weren't doing so well either, the monsters attacked, and I could barely get away."

"I've never heard of an expedition going there," Bryce said cautiously.

"Well, there are nuances here that I don't really want to share. I hope you understand," Talik said apologetically.

"Ah, forgive me for this intrusion." Bryce waved his hands.

"That's okay."

Meanwhile, the wagon was not far from the fire, and the horse was tethered nearby. The second figure threw back the hood, and Talik stared at it with admiration.

It was a girl, maybe twenty at the most. Bright red hair, gathered in a puffy, high ponytail, framed a straight face with piercing green eyes. Slightly pursed lips, a thin bridge of the nose, a few freckles, a high chiseled neck. She was not so much beautiful, though that too, as she was sweet. Talik had never seen anyone like her before, not even in the movies. There was a subtle feeling about her that he couldn't recognize. It was like a glimmer of sparks that he didn't get to see before they went out.

When Talik stood up, she stepped back tensely. He raised his hands and smiled hesitantly.

"Are you Era? Nice to meet you."

"And I'm glad, Mr. Taler. Sorry for the inconvenience."

She spoke politely, with an apparent reluctance to further familiarity. This slightly offended Talik, who was already used to a very different attitude. He pulled himself together.

"Make yourselves comfortable. I have nothing to offer but this cloak. I have what I have."

"That won't be needed, but thank you," the redhead replied, putting on a polite smile and nodding slightly. "Bryce, help me out here."

Bryce walked quickly to the wagon, and they pulled out a couple of bulky bags and began to set up camp. A few minutes later a small tent was set up, and a pot of water was snugly crackling on the fire. Then, they pulled a rather large and heavy fellow of about the same age out of the wagon and laid him down beside the fire with great care. Two long scars were clearly visible on his face, across his forehead aslant, and from his left cheek to his chin.

"I'm Daimon." he raised his hand. "Pleased to meet you, Mr. Taler."

He had a nice voice. It was low and firm, yet kind and very disposing. The guy, or rather a man, was dressed in a pair of sad-looking pants and a thick shirt. On his feet were a pair of worn boots.

Talik, in some previously unfamiliar sensation, realized that there was something wrong with this man. As he listened to this realization, he inexplicably realized that Daimon had a certain number of serious injuries.

"You don't look good, Daimon."

"It's no big deal, I'll be as good as new in a couple of days."

"Maybe it's none of my business, but you're wrong," Talik replied seriously. "If you leave things as they are for even a week, you'll be in big trouble."

Bryce and Era tensed and glared at him. Daimon, surprisingly serious, asked.

"Why do you think so?"

"I know a thing or two about healing," he almost didn't lie. "You have a lot of ligaments and muscles torn to shreds, below the abdomen."

The redhead pressed her palm to her mouth, fright in her eyes.

"Is it so obvious?" Daimon asked seriously.

"Not really, but... I feel such things. I could try to do something about it, but I won't insist."

"Do you have any healing potions?" Daimon asked hopefully. "We'd be happy to buy them."

"Аhm... No, no potions, but I have..." Talik struggled painfully with himself. He still felt like a chunnybyo. "There are a couple of skills that might help with that."

"Are you a healer, Mr. Taler?" Daimon looked at him with strange surprise. "This is a rare fortune. Do you know [minor healing]?"

"Something like that, yes."

"Please try, we'll pay you well if you succeed!" Era hurriedly intervened in the conversation.

Talik estimated what he could get out of it and how to make a better show. He stood up and stretched his fingers.

"Lie on your back, please. That's it, yes."

He squatted in front of Daimon and placed his hands on his chest and stomach.

Talik concentrated, picking something most appropriate from the arsenal.

[regeneration]

As he found out, spells and skills did not have to be recited aloud. If you repeated a spell several times in a row, it would then respond to a simple mental invocation. He couldn't learn many spells this way, only about twenty, but on the whole it was much more convenient than reciting the often complicated names.

A pleasant tingling sensation flowed from my shoulders to my fingers. Daimon shuddered, but didn't move. After a few seconds, he smiled in spite of the tension.

"It tickles. What did you do?"

"A small secret skill," Talik answered slyly. "In a few minutes, try to get up."

Era and Bryce stared tensely back and forth between Daimon and Talik for exactly two minutes. Then Daimon moved one leg, then the other.

"Ho, I don't know what that was, but you're a lifesaver," he jumped gracefully to his feet, hopping on his toes. "I never felt better in my life. What do we owe you, Mr. Taler?"

Talik was tempted to blurt out 'half a kingdom and a horse,' but he held back - it was too good an opportunity.

"You can do me a favor if you want. I'm on my way to the city of E-Rantel. May I keep you company while you're on your way?"

"That's where we're going. We would be happy to have you as our companion."

"And let me sleep in your tent. I lost mine a while back."

"I would have insisted on it if you hadn't asked," Dimon smiled.

Meanwhile, Era was already cooking something.

***Daimon's group***

During dinner, Daimon tried as tactfully as he could to elicit from Taler some details about where he'd come from. But the unexpected benefactor politely avoid answering, giving only general information. He said some rich man had assembled an expedition to the Azurlysian Mountains to search for some ancient knowledge. After a couple of months of wandering through the mountains, their camp was attacked by mutated beasts, and Taler was cut off from the main group. After that, he got lost and only now came out on this road.

When the new companion took his cloak with some regret and went to his tent, citing fatigue and fell asleep, the adventurers by the fire began to share their impressions. Very quietly, so as not to disturb his sleep.

"It's a strange story," Daimon said. "I have no reason not to believe him, but somehow..."

"I don't trust him," Era said seriously. "He doesn't act like the kind of person that would do something like that. It's more like he's out for a walk in the garden. Bryce, what do you think?"

He hesitated and shook his head.

"This guy is very, very tricky. I don't feel his presence at all. It's like he doesn't exist. If I didn't see him and hear him, I wouldn't know he was even here. Besides... Could you remember his face?"

Era and Daimon froze with surprised faces.

"Neither can I. So it turns out that we accidentally meet a man in a fucking expensive robe in the woods, who uses an unknown skill without activation, with a completely unrecognizable face, and which I can not feel. He doesn't strain at all in the presence of an armed stranger nearby, and not a single fucking mosquito has flown up to him all evening. In short, it's weird."

"Well, never mind," Era shook her head. "Anyway, he's done us a great favor, and we ought to repay him for it. I may not trust him a bit, but we owe it to him."

"You're right." Bryce smiled slyly. "By the way, he's been looking at you all night, haven't you noticed?"

She looked toward the tent and sighed.

"Sure. I'll sleep in the wagon."

***Talik***

It was hard to sleep. Besides the fact that he didn't really want to sleep, the surroundings were completely unfamiliar. He had never slept on the ground with his clothes and shoes on before. Besides, the tent had a peculiar smell of lying clothes, smoke and some kind of spices. So for the first time he just lay still with his eyes closed. The adventurers outside were talking quietly about something. He could hear nothing.

It doesn't matter. Spy will let him know later.

Talik couldn't stop thinking about that redheaded Era. No matter how hard he tried to think about something else, his thoughts kept returning to her. Her voice, the way she moved. It was unexpectedly offensive the way she shunned him. Politely, but adamantly. And she wasn't sleeping in the tent, of course.

When Talik felt himself finally falling asleep, he was roused unceremoniously by the leg sticking out of the tent. Talik was about to be indignant, but when he climbed out, the sun hit his eyes. It was far from early morning. Everything but the tent was packed and packed, and the fire pit was covered. Bryce, who was pulling on his leg, said in an apologetic tone.

"I'm sorry, Taler-san, but it's a long way to E-Rantel, so we should hurry."

Talik shook his head.

"Oh, I'm sorry, you should have woken me up earlier, I don't want to slow anybody down."

And so they set off.

The journey took another six days, and was just as boring. At the next stop, Talik left the camp, and Spy recounted to him what the adventurers had talked about yesterday. It was a damn shame, but he decided to do nothing. After all, they were totally right, and his whole story was a mess. It was just a shame that Era clearly wasn't going to thaw out to him. Talik was anxious to find a way to melt the ice, but he had no ideas.

How about asking her out on a date in the city? It always works in movies.

Common sense told him that in reality it was unlikely to work. Still, the thought gave him some hope. It was almost physically painful to see such alienation from this girl.

Conversation with the others didn't work out very well either. From the second day onward, the journey passed in almost total silence. Talik decided not to impose and just took it as it came, occasionally glancing at the redhead when she looked the other way. Beneath the baggy hiking clothes was an excellent figure.

Each evening and each morning he 'meditated'. His motionless sitting in the lotus posture for half an hour was accepted as quite normal oddity and was not disturbed. During this time, he was communicating via [message]. Dawn City did not seem to lose anything from his absence. Illadria seemed able to find common ground with the Warboss, which was very good. Marius went headlong into his experiments on the unfortunate bandits. Regarding Lias was encouraging - 'there's definitely potential here'. Draga got to E-Pespel (and when did she do that?) and had already joined the guild. From what she could tell, everything went more or less according to plan. At least there had been no horrible deaths or destruction from the start. So far, she'd been in the lowest rank, genociding the local monsters. She complained that there weren't enough of them to even warm up. The rest of the 'adventurers' were on their way for now.

They passed villages along the way, but the adventurers did not stay there long. In principle, Talik didn't particularly regret it - there wasn't much to see or do in the villages. On the fifth day, the wagon left the countryside for a more or less decent (by local standards) paved road.

Finally, by the end of the sixth day of the journey, the city walls appeared ahead. Talik had never seen anything like this up close before, and he looked around with interest.

From what he heard, E-Rantel used to be a frontier fortress, and that had stamped all the architecture. But it was one thing to hear and another to see three rows of majestic stone walling encircling the city. Around the entrance gate were powerful towers with a garrison. Outside the gate, outside the city walls, stretched rows of neat wooden buildings - stables, warehouses, and inns for those who, for whatever reason, did not make it into the city. It was nowhere near the carefully rendered Dawn City. But in E-Rantel, for all its relative unsightliness, there was a sense of strength and solidity that had been established for centuries.

The companions clearly cheered up, began to recall jokes and share plans for the next couple of days.

"We'll sell the goods and I'll go on a binge for a couple of days," said Bryce dreamily.

Daimon gave an approving chuckle.

"I might join you for company."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Era, where can we not find you?"

The redhead thought.

"Just the usual. I'll get a good night's sleep."

"Taler-san, do you have plans yet?" Bryce asked, looking back at Talik.

He did not immediately understand what he was being asked.

"Ah, the plans. I don't know. I want to walk around the city, look at it, and buy some souvenirs."

Then he remembered something important.

"By the way, I have a minor problem. Do you know where I could sell gold around here?"

Daimon and Bryce stared at him in surprise.

"Gold? Why?"

" Well..." Talik was embarrassed. "I don't have any money, but I have some gold in bars. Just now I thought that might be a problem."

"Hmm," Bryce thought about it. "I have a couple of ideas on how to pull this off, but it's going to take some time. I can take care of it if you want. Let's get to the guild, and I'll set it up."

"I will rely on you."

In front of the city gate, they had to wait in line. In front of their wagon were several others laden with barrels, baskets, sacks, and who knows what else. When it was finally their turn, a bugle sounded from the walls.

"Barely made it," Daimon said.

"What's the problem?" Talik asked.

"Do you hear the horn? That's the end of the day's pass. Everyone behind us will be waiting either for the morning or for special permission."

The conversation was interrupted by a scowling guard, a bearded man wearing armor and with a halberd.

"Who are you, what are you bringing?"

Bryce showed a silver badge on a chain.

"The adventurers from the mission. No cargo, nothing to declare."

The guard grunted understandingly, waved his hand to let them go on, and headed for the next wagon. Talik looked after him. The guard approached the cartman and gestured unequivocally for him to turn around. The charioteer tried to be indignant, but the guard intercepted his staff meaningfully, and there was no quarrel.

Daimon's wagon drove through the gate, past the rank and file guards, and a disheveled fat man in an unkempt robe came running out of the guardhouse to the side.

"Halt!"

The guards around us reacted immediately. The wagon was surrounded on all sides. Daimon stared in surprise at the fat man trying to catch his breath.

"What's up?"

"You... the amulet detected you have strong magical objects... Haaaa... Who are you and what are you bringing into town?"

Talik was very unpleasantly surprised. If there are any detectors or anything like that around here, it's going to create a huge pile of problems. Meanwhile, Daimon jumped down onto the paving stones with a weary face, causing the guards to nervously shift their weapons.

"Hey, guys, what's the matter? We are adventurers, silver ranked, of course, we have magic items. Here are our badges."

The fat man, meanwhile, had calmed his breathing.

"I don't know what kind of adventurers you are, but the amulet detector burst, out of order. This is unprecedented and indicates artifacts of completely unknown power. I demand that you submit your belongings for inspection."

Daimon was clearly getting angry.

I don't know what broke there, but you didn't even introduce yourself. You can go to the Guild with any queries or complaints. And if you still insist on an inspection, please provide your full-service details to have someone complain about arbitrariness.

"You imagine too much about yourself, adventurer."

"You think too much of yourself, unidentified official. Are you going to let us pass quietly, or are we going to find out who's going to cause more trouble for whom?"

The fat man looked angrily at Daimon. He looked down at him calmly; he was a head and a half taller than Daimon. Finally, the official hissed.

"Let me copy your badge. I have enough witnesses."

"As you wish."

Daimon let him rewrite all the data from the badge. The fat man's hands shook nervously with anger.

"You can go."

"Bye."

As they were moving away from the gate, Talik asked.

"What was it about? What was his amulet that broke?"

All three of them looked at him in surprise. Talik was embarrassed.

"Did I say something stupid?"

"No, it's just that you seem to be from very far away lands, Taler-san," Bryce replied. "Major cities have special services at the gates to monitor the entry of artifacts of great power or powerful magical beings. For security. Something seems to have gone wrong this time since they've cracked the amulet they use for it. We have magical items, but not that powerful."

"Аh..." Talik hesitated. "I don't have anything special, either."

"So there must be some mistake," Daimon stated. "Well, or maybe something we got on the camping trip might be more valuable than we thought."

Bryce smirked rather smugly.

"So we'll be slightly richer than expected."

During the rest of the journey, Talik gazed at the city with all his eyes. It was an amazing sight. The Dawn City was created with the established image of 'medievalism,' as it was understood by the designers and artists of the 23rd century. It had little in common with a real fantasy city.

There were no carefully aligned street lines, but narrow, winding alleys branching off from the main street. The main street, too, was only conventionally straight, curving like a snake. Houses here were not built according to one harmonious project, but spontaneously, as the city expanded. Often, a room was added to a house, and then another one, and then another. Often the second and third stories protruded over the first, supported by wooden beams. Almost all the houses had tile roofs, though they varied greatly in form. High and low, lancet and pyramidal - there were practically no identical roofs.

The city of E-Rantel was located on the hills, and the streets often had different levels, transitioning from cobblestones to steps. The cobblestones themselves were mostly on the main street, while the smaller streets were often covered with loose logs, or even just trampled earth. Often there were strings of laundry strung between the windows of opposite houses. Noisily, children scurried about, their ragged cats peering down at them from the safe eaves. On the main street there was almost no room by the houses-where there were no storefronts, there were awnings of vendors selling fruit, crockery, cloth, gardening tools, and all sorts of necessities.

And there was a smell everywhere. It was rather unpleasant, he must say. It was a mixture of a stale stench of filth mixed with baked goods, laundry, oven fumes, and God knows what else. As they drove past the market, it even intensified, and the putrid notes of spoiled meat and fruit and fried food of all kinds were added. Though the sight of a real medieval marketplace diverted attention from the stench that was already tedious.

This was something Talik had never even imagined before.

In the meantime, the wagon had reached the middle part of town. Here the buildings seemed to be more or less as designed, more or less the same type of house. The adventurers entered a small, sparsely populated square and stopped in front of a large, handsome building with wide windows. Above the open door hung a sign with some scrawl.

"Here we are, Taler-san." Bryce jumped off the wagon. "Daimon, I'm going to find out what it is we brought with us and see if I can sell our transport."

"Go ahead, we'll just finish the assignment and see what's new here."

"Just don't take the job until I get back. I know you, we won't have time to wash up before we start a new quest."

"Oh, don't whine, okay."

"All right, right. Taler-san, what about your gold."

Talik pretended to search behind the lapel of his robe and pulled out two gold bars of two hundred grams each from his inventory. Bryce's eyes bulged incredulously.

"I won't ask you anything, Taler-san."

Talik silently put both bars in his hand.

"I hope for you, Bryce-san."

Meanwhile, Era had already entered the building, and Daimon was waiting at the entrance, holding the door. Talik hurried inside.

The hall he entered was quite in harmony with the appearance of the building. At first one would have thought it was some kind of restaurant. The huge room had a second floor, which was accessed by a wide staircase. There were sturdy, wide tables on both floors, and the resemblance to a restaurant ended there.

There were about forty armed men. Almost everyone present had a sword or something similar to it, often not in a single sample. Most of the people wore armor, from leather to plate armor. Many had a variety of shields. Everyone present also wore a rectangular badge, like the ones Talik had seen on Daimon and the others.

'Just like a cosplay party.'

Daimon, meanwhile, led Talik to a distant part of the room, where there were some nice-looking windows behind which stood nice-looking ladies in matching shirtsleeves. There was a large blackboard on the wall, with a pile of unreadable scribbles on it.

Daimon went to one of the windows and handed the girl a crumpled sheet of paper, like the ones on the blackboard, and a notebook of some kind.

"Job done, here is the report."

"Excellent, Daimon-san," answered the young lady. "By tomorrow, I think the report will be approved and you can get your reward. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"No, Dariya-san, that's all we need for now. If there is anything that needs to be clarified, Era will be where she usually is."

They bowed politely to each other, and Daimon stepped aside. Talik, meanwhile, was trying to get the hang of the bulletin board. This was clearly the one. There was no way to read anything, and that was strange because he could understand the local language just fine by ear.

"Hmm, how about this'

He touched one sheet with his hand and used [small identification] of the object as discreetly as possible. Of course, he could also try [great identification], but that would be too extreme. It was a bit mana-intensive and took a long time to cast, and without the usual equip, the cost and speed of casting spells was an issue.

Rank: Mithril

Search and Destroy

From the west of the Katze Plains (an abandoned outpost) there were reports of ghouls. Requires you to refute or confirm the information and destroy the dangerous undead. 15 gold coins per kill. Requires confirmation.

'This is what it looks like. Not as crazy as I thought it would be. Well, what else is there.'

Rank: Iron

Escort and protection.

The client wants to hire guards for the time of gathering valuable herbs. The vicinity of E-Rantel. Estimated time 5-8 days. 3 gold coins.

"Interested in the work of an adventurer, Taler-san? Daimon asked.

"Yeah. I don't know how long I'm stuck here, I have to live on something. I don't have any more gold, so..."

"It appears that you are not registered? If so, you need to fill that gap, or you won't get the job."

"Makes sense. How do I register here?"

"Let me show you."

He led Talik to one of the windows, clarifying on the way.

"Do you have a specialty, Taler-san? Military or something else."

"It's hard to say. I... a scientist, sort of."

"And yet so young, so respectable. We didn't talk much on the way, and I don't know much about you. But your ability to heal such dangerous wounds makes you quite a good healer. And you're good on the road; you'd make an excellent companion."

"I'm flattered by your appreciation. Perhaps this role is really just for me."

'Well, who the hell else am I? Do I have to swing a steel weapon? Thank you, no.'

Daimon led Talik to the window with another pretty girl.

"Mory, I brought a newbie, will you register him?"

"Newbies are always a good thing. What's your name?" She asked Talik.

"Taler. Without a second name."

"Very well, what is your specialty?"

"Hm... healer."

Excellent specialty very much in demand. You will need to be certified before I can confirm this in your profile.

"Oh, no need, Mory, I guarantee it," Daimon interjected.

"I'm sorry, Daimon-san, but rules are rules. Taler-san, when would it be convenient for you to complete the tests?"

'Tests... Fuck... Although it's a sign of competence'.

"Any time, in fact..."

"Wonderful. Daimon-san, would you be willing to participate in your comrade's certification? It would speed up the procedure."

"Of course, Mory."

The young lady stepped out of the window and gestured for them to follow her. After passing through several unimpressive doors, they found themselves in a relatively small room. Paper dome lights shone evenly in the corners, and there were several tatami boards on the flat wooden floor. Mory went to the cabinet in the far corner and took out two small crystals, then walked over to them.

Daimon rolled up his sleeve and drew a dangerous-looking knife from his boot. Talik realized what was about to happen.

"Daimon-san, I appreciate your trust, but aren't there other ways?"

"Taler-san, otherwise it could take a shitload of time. And you might end up being sent to a hospital or something. Are you ready? Mory, are you?"

Both nodded. Daimon hissed in pain and ripped his arm almost to the bone. Blood ran cheerfully. Talik touched his shoulder and cast [regeneration]. The stream of blood became much smaller a moment later and then stopped.

"Oh, it itches."

With these words, Daimon began to scrub the blood from his hand. There was clean skin without the slightest sighn of trauma.

"Wow..." Maury stared at the crystal in confusion. "I hadn't heard of such a spell. Level 3? That's pretty good."

Actually the seventh thought Talik.

"Daimon-san, if your experimental spirit hasn't faded yet, try cutting again."

Daimon hummed and pierced his other arm. Contrary to expectation, there was almost no blood - the wound healed almost immediately. Mory's eyebrows rose to the middle of her forehead.

"It's a time-based spell that lasts a few minutes. It's quite costly to me, so I usually use [minor healing] and a couple of others," Talik clarified. "Did I pass my certification, or is there anything else you need?"

"N-no, I think that's all right," the girl replied thoughtfully, glancing at the crystals in her hand. "Come, let's finish the questionnaire, and I'll give you a badge."