It didn't take long for Finn to notice the looks as they walked through town. More specifically, Naofumi was getting from the people of Melromarc. A look of hatred that he was walking free and that he had the audacity to show his face in public.
"Didn't take long for it to spread did it." Naofumi muttered to himself, the anger in his voice rising again.
"Pretty much." Finn agreed.
"Ugh, what the hell is this? This is not how it goes in the light novels at all." Naofumi grumbled to himself. "Man, I just want to go home."
"What's a light novel?" Finn asked.
Naofumi just sighed.
It took some time to find a place to eat. As every time Naofumi approached a person they got this real disgusted look in their face. So, Finn had to get the food by himself. After buying two sandwiches Finn made his way back to find to Naofumi changing in the alleyway.
"Where did you find those clothes?" Finn asked.
Naofumi was in the middle of throwing a simple green cloak over a basic pair of pants and shirt. At the sound of Finn's voice, he nearly tripped and fell over.
"Me." A familiar voice said from behind Naofumi. The shiny, scared and, bearded head of Erhard the owner of the blacksmith shop stepped out of the shadows. The man had a grin on his face as he stepped towards Finn. It disappeared though as he saw the condition of Finn's gambeson. "If you had actual armor that wouldn't have happened."
"Meh." Finn brushed off the critique. He turned to Naofumi. "You know each other."
"The Bitch took me to his shop." Naofumi explained.
"Bitch?" Erhard asked Naofumi, but when he didn't answer the Blacksmith turned to Finn.
"He's talking about the Princess." Finn explained.
"Princess?" Erhard looked even more confused, then his eyes widened in recognition. He looked back to Naofumi. "That was the Princess! How are you not dead yet after what you did to her?"
"I didn't do anything!" Naofumi snapped.
"Right, I know what you said. You also don't seem the type." Erhard tapped his chin and laughed nervously. "Although with some people, you never know."
"Right." Finn genuinely laughed.
"This isn't funny." Naofumi glare at Finn was enough to have him back down.
"Ah, right. Sorry about that." Finn apologized.
Naofumi just grunted at Finn as he turned his attention to Erhard. "How much?"
"Three copper." Erhard said without hesitation.
"Hm." Naofumi reached behind his shield and withdrew a bag of coin. Without opening it Naofumi tossed the entire thing to Erhard. "Keep the change."
Erhard tossed the bag softly in his hand. He then opened it and quietly counted the amount held within. His eyes widened as he took a step back. "There's 30 silver pieces in here!"
Erhard then placed it in the pockets in his apron without any hesitation.
Didn't even offer to give it back or anything. Finn thought amazed.
"You said you looking for a place to eat, right." Erhard said as he scratched the side of his beard. "Come back to my shop. I have some food stored in the back that I could offer you."
"You sure? Don't want to put you out or anything." Finn asked.
"It's fine." Erhard brushed Finn's concerns aside with a laugh. "I just came into some money and can afford to spurge a little."
"If you insist then lead the way." Naofumi said with a vein sticking out on his forehead.
Erhard just laughed as he walked away with Naofumi and Finn following. on the way there Finn ate the two burgers, not wanting them to go to waste.
Finn and Naofumi found themselves sitting next to a fire pit with a large bowl resting within it. The delightful smell of stew filling their nose and a variety of meat and vegetables filling their bellies.
"This is so good." Finn cheered already going back for his sixth bowl.
"Eh, it's kind of plain." Naofumi was still on his first bowl. He looked up from his bowl at Finn.
When they entered the shop Erhard had asked for Finn's gambeson to repair. When Finn gave it to him, Finn had also taken off the bloody undershirt as well. Revealing to Naofumi just how the prosthetic replaced Finn's entire right arm, and also the extensive amount of scars covering his frame. Looking closely Naofumi could even spot a faint scar underneath Finn's eye.
"So." Naofumi asked awkwardly as he pointed to the prosthetic. "How did that happen? You know if you want to tell me.
"My dad did it." Finn answered without looking up from his bowl. "Well, I did it to myself trying to stop him. Also, he was my biological dad, not the dad who raised me. That's an important distinction."
"Your dad?" Naofumi said in shock. "How did that happen."
"Well, that's a bit of a story." So, Finn told Naofumi. About being found by Joshua and Margaret. To finding out his actual dad was alive. How he and his brother Jake broke into an inter-dimensional prison and accidentally broke out a bunch of criminals. One of which was his dad. Then how in Finn's desires for the truth of who he was tried to stop his dad from leaving and lost his arm as a price for his failure.
Naofumi open and shut his mouth a few times as he processed Finn's tale. "You seem fine considering what happened at least."
"Ha-ha! Nope, I was a wreck after that." Finn admitted. "I was angry at everyone and when I wasn't mad it was because I was too depressed to even leave my room."
Just remembering those months Finn spent in a complete daze was enough to send him to a dark mood.
"But you got over it, how?" The was something desperate in Naofumi's voice that Finn could understand.
"I haven't gotten over it completely. There are times I see myself in the mirror and just get this urge to break stuff. But time dose dull the pain, having people around helps too. My friends, they wouldn't stand for me to be a sad sack around them and did everything in their power to cheer my up." Finn smiled at the memories. From Bubblegum arranging adventures for him to go on. Band practice with Marceline. Walks with Jake. Even, Lsp offering her… lumps for Finn to cry into. That memory still terrified him.
"Friends, huh. Well, guess I'm out of luck there." Naofumi sighed.
"What are you talking about?" Finn placed his hand on Naofumi's shoulder. "You got me."
Naofumi looked at Finn in shock. He tried to say something but instead his eyes just watered. He rubbed away the tears with a whispered. "Thank you."
"You ever need anyone to talk to just find me and… wait I have something for you." Finn grabbed his bag as he rummaged through it looking for… and he found it!
Unknown to the two of the as they were distracted their weapons gave of a faint glow as a new form was unlocked through their shared bond.
"Here." Finn cheered as he took out what looked like an eight-sided die the size of his palm and colored pink. Finn tugged on it until it separated and handed one half to Naofumi.
"What is this supposed to do?" Naofumi held it up to his eyes.
"Watch." Finn said as he tapped on his half. Light rose from it a few inches off as a screen was formed. Finn heard Naofumi's yelp the same happened to his. The screen clear and Naofumi's surprised face appeared in it. "Cool right."
"Very." Naofumi smiled trailed off to a confused frown. "It's like a cellphone, wish I had mine on me when I was brought here. How does it work?"
"Don't know. Bonnie said something once about quantum entanglement, but I have no idea what that means." Finn said as confused now as he was the day, he was given the gem.
"Huh? Wait a second." Naofumi lifted his shield as it glowed with the same pink light as the communication gem. As they neared each other the gem was absorbed within the shield. As the glow faded Naofumi's shield had changed. It now looked like a giant rotary dial. "The hell? Communication Shield what is that supposed to mean."
"Ah man, I only had one of those things. Well, if you didn't it." Finn complained as he too placed his gem piece on his sword. Once his glow had faded Finn's sword had changed too. The blade was square and matched the width of the guard, it was also made out of glass as he could see through it. Words flashed in front of him again.
Catalyst accepted, Communication Sword unlocked.
Incoming call from Shield Hero, Naofumi
Do you accept.
Yes/No.
"Yes." Finn replied. Instantly the word were replaced with the image of Naofumi face infront of him. Finn screamed as he fell flat on his back. He heard a thump as the same thing happened to Naofumi.
Finn stared quietly at the face of Naofumi, who just as quietly stared back, and they started to laugh. Their laughter continued on for a few minutes.
"So, you were raised by dogs?" Naofumi asked in wonderment.
"Magical talking dogs, who ran a detective agency. That is an important distinction, I think." Finn said seriously.
A beat of silence.
Then they laughed even harder.
"So." Finn asked. "What are you going to do?"
"Hm." Naofumi grunted as he flicked his fingers through the air, eyes scanning something only he could see. But he wasn't paying attention at all to Finn's words.
Finn's eyes glanced towards the door Erhard had left through and still had not returned. With nothing else to do Finn decided to mess with Owl.
Tapping his forearm, a holographic screen popped up with a picture of a cartoon owl, it flapped it wings slightly and Finn heard Owl's voice in his ears.
[Greetings, Finn. Do you require assistance?]
"No." Finn said shaking his head. "Been wondering awhile, what can you actually do?"
…
Owl said nothing but the screen changed, and two orbs appeared. A screen was attached to both of them with both showing a percentage bar that was only 1% filled.
"What's this?" Finn asked.
[One of my functions is to scan any unknown that you encounter and send the information back to Princess Bubblegum and Minerva. Unfortunately, I have no connection to either of them, so I am forced to use my onboard computer to analyze the cores of the Cardinal Weapons.]
"How long will that take?" Finn asked.
[Current projections state around a hundred years.]
"Hundred!?" Finn sputtered.
At his shout Naofumi's head jerked up and looked at him. Naofumi's eyes widened as he saw the lights of the screen atop of Finn's arm. Getting up from his seat Naofumi made his way over to Finn to stare at the screen. "Is that English?" He asked. "What does it say?"
"It's a bunch of gibberish to me." Fin admitted, he then added. "You would need a lot of smarts to understand even a bit of it."
"Really?" Naofumi leaned closer to look at the words and numbers dancing along the screen. As he did Finn's arm jerked up and gripped the gem nestled in the center of his shield.
Finn snatched his arm away in shock.
Naofumi did the same with his shield, he looked at Finn suspiciously. "What was that for?"
On the holographic screen a third orb appeared as the voice of Owl echoed in Finn's ear. [New sample acquired.]
"Will you stop doing that?" Finn growled at Owl.
"Who are you talking to Finn?" Naofumi asked again concern lacing his voice.
"My arm." Finn answered Naofumi, then turning to Owl he asked. "Do you have like an external speaker installed, or something?"
[Yes, I can use that if you prefer.] This time when Owl spoke Finn felt his arm vibrate softly at her words.
Naofumi jerked back and stared at Finn's arm in alarm. "It really can talk." He said amazed. "But how were you talking with it before?"
Finn explained to Naofumi about the chip. Which led to an impromptu course about the nature of Founder's Island. Finn didn't mention the nature of his mother to the man. Somethings were better left unshared.
Naofumi let out a sharp whistle as he processed what Finn had told him. "The only reason I believe a single word out of your mouth is because I'm already living in a fantasy land. So, go ahead and toss some post-apocalyptic sci-fi world on top of it."
The door opened before anyone could say anything else as Erhard walked through, with Finn's gambeson tucked underneath one muscled arm. "Fixed your coat Finn." As he spoke Erhard toss the coat to Finn.
Finn caught the gambeson and put it on as he did, he asked the question that was burning through his mind. "So, what do we do next."
"What can we do?" Naofumi scowled, his eyes glittered furiously. "With that Trash of a king and that bitch running their mouths about me there is no one in this shitty country we can count on."
Erhard let out a cough.
"Present company excluded!" Naofumi snapped at the blacksmith.
"You want my advice." Erhard spoke up. "Keep your heads down until the Queen gets back and make your appeals to her."
"There's a queen?" Naofumi asked.
"Where is she?" Finn added.
"Yes, her name is Mirellia Q Melromarc. Right now, she in in a conference with the leaders of the other nations about the Waves of Calamities." Erhard explained.
"Could she help Naofumi?" Finn asked.
"The queen is the one who actually rules the land, Aultcray is only acting a regent until she gets back. So yes, she could counteract the king's degree. If she would though be another question entirely." Erhard said with laughter in his voice.
Naofumi rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out an exacerbated sigh. "Why?"
"You've been accused of raping her daughter. That tends to make a person angry." The Blacksmith explained.
"I didn't… daughter?" Naofumi shot up at the mention of a queen's daughter, a princess.
"Myne is King Aultcray's daughter. They said as much themselves in the throne room." Finn said as he finished off the last of the stew. "Were you not paying attention or something."
Naofumi vibrated in slightly rage, head hunched over muttering to himself. When he looked up and saw the concerned looks of Finn and Erhard the Shield Hero took a sharp breath and forced himself to calm down. As his rage subsided, he went back to questioning the Blacksmith.
"You knew who she was the entire time." Naofumi accused Erhard with narrowed eyes. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"I knew she was a high ranking noble, not that she was the dammed princess. Nobles playing at Adventures is something the bluebloods do all the time." Erhard explained not intimidated at all by Naofumi. He began taking the empty bowls and pot to his sink for cleaning.
"You also know a lot about what's going on." Finn noted.
"Old pals from my adventurer days still keep me in the loop." Erhard said as he washed the dishes.
"You used to be an adventurer?" Finn asked excited, his eyes sparkling.
"Aye, becoming an adventurer is the easiest way to make money and earn status in this world." Erhard said stopping his cleaning for a moment. "It's also the quickest way to die as well."
"Got any stories?" Finn asked.
Erhard froze mid scrub as he tensed up as if he had just been struck after a second, he kept cleaning as if nothing happened. "Shouldn't you meet back up with your party." The Blacksmith said instead of answering.
Finn paused at that and tilted his head to one side confused. "Party? What party?"
Erhard stopped washing to look at Finn equally confused as him. "Your Party Finn."
Finn's confused expression remained. "Did someone throw me a party somewhere and not mention it?"
"A party…" Naofumi said slowly as id explaining something simple to a very slow child. "… is the group of people you adventure with."
Finn was still confused. "Is being in a party important?"
"In games they are. With a party you can communicate without anyone listening in, take one monsters that you couldn't off by yourself, even share Exp and loot between yourselves." Naofumi explained.
That got Finn's interest. "How do you join a party?"
Naofumi rolled his eyes exasperated. "Their usually some option in the menu but this…"
"Found it!" Finn called out cheerfully.
"… isn't a game." Naofumi trailed off staring at Finn surprised. "Really?"
As Naofumi explained what was needed Finn opened up his menu and scrolled through the options. His eyes widened as he saw a new option, Party Management. "Weird that it wasn't there before." Finn mused as he pressed it. When he did a list of names appeared. Finn recognized them as the names of the three his was with yesterday. When he scrolled by them there was then an option to accept their invitation. Which he did.
A notification had appeared saying that I had joined Tersia, Farrie, and Welt party.
"Party members also share Exp. between themselves." Erhard explained. "it's the main reason people do so as it allows those of lower levels raise up by partnering up with someone with a higher level. It also cuts down on adventurers attacking each other over trying to get the final hit on a monster."
"You can share Exp. that way?" Naofumi asked, his voice desperate as he turned to Erhard.
"Uh, yeah… did she not tell you?" Erhard said looking confused at the Shield Hero.
"No." Naofumi seethed, he gave Erhard an imploring look. "Do you think you can give us tips about being adventurers."
Erhard finished the dishes and dried his hands, he turned then to Naofumi and then Finn. One eyebrow was in a silent question.
"I'm willing to learn." Finn agreed.
"Fine." Erhard took a seat on a crate and let out a groan, he gestured to the others for Finn and Naofumi to use. "Take a seat, this is going to take a while."
And so, Finn and Naofumi were introduced to the basics of the Adventurers life. From things like what monsters that always had merchants willing to buy parts from them. The merchants that will give a fair price to the two of them if they mention they knew Erhard. The local Adventurers guild location, though he mentioned that Naofumi wouldn't be able to join because of the King's decree. Other tips and tricks Erhard picked up other the years.
"Oh, right one more thing." Finn said as he turned to Naofumi.
"What do you want?" Naofumi groused, he had procured some paper and a quill and was in the middle of taking notes from Erhard.
"Tell me what you know about games?" Finn asked, the thought if one thing Naofumi said about games were true than others might. The only knowledge Finn had about games came from the ones that BMO, a super advance robot, made up one day and then deleted when he thought up a new one.
"I don't have a game like this one in my world like the other two." Naofumi pointed out his face darkening at the thought of the other two heroes.
"But you know games." Finn countered certain. "If the party thing works, then there must be others that do as well. All the games in any world can't be that different from each other, there have to be some similarities between them, right."
Naofumi looked at him blankly then his eyes widen, and he hit himself with the palm of his hand. "Stupid fucking idiot! Why didn't I think of that!" Naofumi stood up and place his hand against the crate, he closed his eyes in concentration.
A moment passed and the crate vanished in a small pop. Erhard stood in shock, Finn looked interested.
Naofumi let out a bark of laughter and gestured at the empty air and the crate reappeared and fell on the floor. Naofumi looked at it and laughed again hands thrown in the air. "I have an Inventory!"
"Inventory?" Finn asked.
"It's this thing in games that lets you carry a building full of stuff around with you at all times. It's basically inside you and doesn't weigh a thing and you can put anything in it." Naofumi explained a genuine smile on his face.
"Cool." Finn looked and just like before the option of Inventory appeared among the options that weren't there before. For a moment Finn wondered why it showed up when Naofumi said it was there, when even Naofumi didn't know it was possible until a moment ago. How did these things work was a mystery that Finn was not smart enough to figure out, lucky for him he knew people smart enough to answer any question. He would just have to find a way to reach them.
Finn yawned as he stretched his arms to the sun flying high up in the sky. He left Naofumi behind as the man started to experiment with his shield. Finn from long experience with Princess Bubblegum knew that kind of things could take hours and there was still some much time left in the day to worry about that.
"I just talk to him later to see what he figured out." Finn said to himself he had other plans right now. "Where is the Guild building, and where are the rest of those guys?"
Finn looked upward at the left corner of his field of vison and saw his name displayed with three bars sticking out from it. A red one on top, followed by a blue one in the middle, and a yellow one on the bottom. They represented Finn's Heath, Mana, and Sp., they were a part of Finn's H.U.D. a heads-up display, Naofumi had called it the most basic of basic in any game. Beneath that were the three names of his party with only their health bar showing. Finn focused on Welt's name and a slew of options appeared. He selected the on that said message and a cone with three half circles showed up next to Welt's name and static emanated in Finn's left ear.
The static cleared and a voice could be heard by Finn. "What in the hells was that?"
"Welt!" Finn said cheerfully that it actually worked. "Are you done selling the pelts? Where are you?"
"Wha… Finn… how are you in my head?" Welt voice was both confused and slightly terrified.
It was the work of the Communication Sword. It didn't just let Finn talk to Naofumi, but to anyone who was in Finn's party regardless of how far they were. It even had a list of contacts it could store of different individuals that Finn could contact like a cellphone.
Finn didn't say all this because he didn't really understand any of it, so he went with something simpler.
"Hero power." Finn replied.
"Finn… is this really you?" Welt asked still unconvinced.
"Give me a second and you'll believe me." Finn with back to the options around Welt's name and switch the message from audio to visual. A screen appeared to the lower right of Finn's vision and Welt's confused face appeared within. "Better?"
"Amazing." Welt's eyes were memorized as they look at Finn, then something else overtook them and he looked away from Finn.
Finn frowned at that. "Something wrong?"
Welt still wouldn't look at Finn as he spoke. "What did you do at the castle Finn?"
"Helped out Naofumi. Why?"
"Because." Welt was aggravated. "There are bunch of rumors coming out about what you did, you got in a fight with the other Heroes, you attacked the king and his daughter, that you were working with the Shield hero to assault the princess."
"Wow, that was fast." Finn was impressed at the speed the story was spreading. He also wasn't particularly worried about the part he played in them. Lies always had a way of being revealed in the end.
"This isn't funny." Welt nearly screamed. "We need to talk. Where are you right now?"
Finn stopped walking and looked up, he had arrived at the Adventurer's Guild Hall. A Three-story building made of wood and stone. Wide as it was long the building stood out among the others around it. People were entering and leaving it in a steady stream. Some carried weapons and armor while others had nothing but the clothes on their back.
"Adventurer's guild." Finn answered.
"Good we're close to there. We'll see you in a minute." Welt said and the call was ended.
That can't be good, Finn mused to himself as he entered the hall. Stepping through the door Finn was hit with a wall of sound as he examined the place. The first was cut in half. One area to the left was dedicated to a reception a large counter was placed close to the entrance were a group of secretaries were tending to a line of people. Off onto the wall was a board that was filled with a multitude of papers. The right side of the place was a bar its counter set deeper within the building. A slew of tables was placed throughout with people sitting around eating and drinking, laughing, and singing, everyone sat back and relaxed.
Finn walked to the counter and waited in line till it was his turned to talk. The secretary that met him was a pretty woman, long auburn hair, a pretty face, and dressed in the uniform.
"Reason for coming here?" She asked as she took out some papers.
"I'm here to register as an Adventurer." Finn said.
"Of course." The secretary took out another form and placed it on the counter. "Can you read and write?"
Finn looked at the form and it was written in the same language as everything else here. He couldn't understand any of it. "No, not this stuff anyway."
"Then I will fill it out for you." The secretary took the form and turned it around. "If you are willing to pay the proper fees, we can have someone teach you to read and write. Would that be acceptable to you?"
"Um…"
[Unnecessary.] Owl spoke up in his head. [I can write up a program to help you learn myself.]
"… I'm fine."
"Of course, sir." She took out a quill. "Name?"
"Finn Mertens."
"Age?"
"19."
"Role?"
"Role?" Finn echoed confused.
The secretary sighed. "A role is the part a person will play within a Party. You do know what a Party is sir?"
"I know what a Party is." Finn said even if he only knew what it was an hour ago.
"Some Adventurers form Parties among themselves and keep them, others work alone. Some of the quest we have are too dangerous to be done alone, or people are too worried to try them alone. As such it is our job to find other adventurers in which a temporary Party can be formed for the job. Knowing what role an Adventurer can do lets us find those people quicker. Understand?"
"Yes." Finn nodded. "What are the Roles?"
"Warrior, Tank, Hunter, Rogue, Monk, Wizard, and Supporter." The secretary recited from memory. "Those are the basic ones. Do you need me to explain what each one dose?"
"No, I'm good." Finn ran other the options in his head but only one of them appealed to him. "My role is Warrior."
"Excellent." The secretary said as she filled out the form. She then took out a bronze tag and engraved it with Finn's information. She handed it to him when she was done. "This tag shows that you are a registered Adventurer. Don't use it as it will be needed to identify your body if you die."
"Really?"
"Yes." She nodded seriously, she then smiled at Finn. "Also, if you come across any dead Adventurers during your travels be sure to retrieve their tag and bring them to the nearest guild hall. You'll be rewarded for your troubles I assure you."
"That's morbid, but I understand."
Great." She smiled again as she waved her hand towards the wall of papers. "Over to your left is our Bounty Board. It is filled with the quest, bounties, and request that were filed with us. Grab one and bring it to me I fill out a form that says you're on the quest once you completed it and returned, we will pay you the agreed-upon sum. Have a nice day! Next!"
Finn blinked as the person behind him shoved him aside to talk to the secretary. Finn turned to the board as Welt and the other two came through the door.
Welt eyes scanned the room locked on to Finn and walked towards him. Finn stared at Welt's face confused.
"We should sit down." Welt said as he gestured towards an empty table. Finn went along with the suggestion and sat down on one side Welt on the other. Tersia and Farrie sat a way away on another table.
They sat awkwardly for several minutes before it dawned on Finn what was happening. A smile cracked his lips and he leaned forward and asked. "Are you breaking up with me?"
Welt lurched back face pale. "It's not you or anything… um it's just that… well…"
"It's fine. This is about that church thing, right?" Finn waved over a waitress and ordered some drinks.
"You're not mad." Welt still looked ready to bolt.
"I've only known you for about a day. I don't expect you to stick around forever." Finn waved Welt's concerns away. "I'm not going to make you do something you don't want to do."
Welt watched Finn actively looking for any sign of a lie or trick. When he found none, he let out a sigh and stood up. Welt gave Finn a deep bow. "I'm sorry."
"I've already gotten past my abandonment issues a while ago." A waitress placed a mug down infront of Finn and he took a sip from it. His brow furrowed at the bitter taste of it. He gave Welt a look. "If you guys are in trouble or need something you can ask for help."
Welt straightened and smiled sadly at Finn. "You're a good man Finn, I hope that doesn't come back to haunt you."
Welt and the others then turned and left the building. When they were gone Finn sighed and looked to his left. There were no longer any names under his. Finn lifted his mug and downed the bitter fluid, he then down the others. He stood and dropped a few coins on the table and staggered his way over to the Bounty Board. He looked over the papers that he couldn't read, in a world he didn't understand and tapping the hilt of a sword he couldn't comprehend musing to himself.
"What do I do now?"
No one answered.
