Maybe I should back up a little at this point. I've never made a secret of being foreign, but you may not know that's only part of the truth. I didn't come here because I had a burning desire to defeat the Demon King and braved the icy seas off the Great Waterfall or crossed Elroad's burning sands. I didn't have any idea how I got here at all.
Ever wake up in the morning on a trip and panic when you have no idea where you are for a second? That was basically my first day in Belzerg. That, and doing a happy dance on the roadside once I realized that I was finally going to get to live out my fantasies of adventure, monster slaying, and romancing hot elf chicks.
…Quit laughing, and don't think I don't see you rolling your eyes in the back there, Sagittarius. Everyone starts out young and stupid.
One thing that did carry over perfectly? The guild ID cards are just so cool, pure fantasy. Looking at my freshly minted one still lying on the desk, I realized I could recognize the characters (which was a godsend) showing my name, Subaru Natsuki, my level, some stats, a skill box, and supposedly on the back was a kill listing. I even seemed to have some points to spend… "So, how much does 5000 eris buy me again?" I asked in disbelief, forcefully returning to the actual conversation.
"Registration for your adventurer card, a night in the bunkroom, and dinner in the dining hall just about exactly as long as you go easy on the beer" the, , golden haired and eyed clerk at the front desk replied with a fixed, wooden smile. Buxom doesn't do her justice but moving on…Because I was having a hell of a time keeping my eyes on her face ever since I walked up.
"Huh," I slumped in disappointment. I wasn't expecting a fortune to start with, but that seemed pretty stingy. "Guess I need to get on with the questing then."
"That would be a good plan. To start with, your stats. Somewhat above average physical stats, magic well below, average intelligence and luck. Given that I can't recommend any of the mage or merchant classes, but you'd do well in a frontliner. Given your lack of funds you might consider the Monk class. It's a subset of the Priest branch that has low equipment requirements since they fight without weapons or heavy armor. On balance it does give up the reach advantage of any weapon, of course."
"Since I'm broke beyond compare that sounds great to me! Um, one thing though. You said monk, but even though I've never had a girlfriend I'd really like to one day, so…"
"I don't think that will be a problem for you," she replied brightly, cutting me off. "Here's your card, board is over there. Next please!"
And that's how I found myself a brand new Level 1 monk with a whole 2 skill points to my name.
Two weeks, and a few simple requests later, I found myself at the guild hall as usual. Unusually, someone had invited me over to a table.
"Yeah, I hear what you're sayin'" my new 'friend', called Dust for some reason, agreed after a couple of pints. "But just because you don't have access to any bladework skills doesn't stop you from just carrying something bigger than that glorified letter opener to get stuck in with. You just don't get any extra benefits like we do. You could probably even take a toad out by yourself, the breeding season isn't for weeks yet so they'll be out alone."
I'd been complaining that I wished I could try the giant toad quests on the board since they were usually the best paying and tasting ones for the risk involved, but I couldn't do them with my class' skills. Monks are good evasion tanks, flankers, and even scouts with the right build, but because we rely on our fists and feet rather than something sharp and pointy or glowing and magical we really struggle to drop something as big and well padded as a toad with blunt force.
"Good blades aren't cheap though, and I took monk because I didn't have much cash to spare. Kinda defeats the point if I try and go back on that right?"
He gave me an oily smile, and had I been more sober I'd have put a hand on my money pouch by sheer reflex. "What if I told you I had a line on a discount longknife that might just suit your needs perfectly?" he purred.
I raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with it?"
"That's just cruel! I found it in a dungeon a while back but the pawn shop and blacksmith didn't want it, not much demand for some sort of custom job that's too big for a camp knife but not long enough to be a short sword. They were just going to give me scrap value if you can believe it!"
Still skeptical, I nodded for him to continue.
"So, I'll let you have it, if you give me a cut of the next eight frog quests you take, say two fifths. Deal?"
"Get real! I'm not handing over that much for a weapon that might be a rust ball for all I know!" I made to get up, but he waved his hands placatingly.
"Relax! I've got it in my room. Wait here and I'll bring it by right now. You can see it yourself." He got up, only a tiny bit of sway in his stance. Out of sheer curiosity and lack of anything else to do, I did just that.
"Looks good, right? Not the prettiest blade I've ever seen, but it should do the job for you!" The wooden sheath had definitely seen better days, but the blade itself looked ok. Dust had the sense to clean it up before trying to sell it off, but there were definitely some pits where rust had been.
"Where on earth did you find this?" I muttered in disbelief. I'm no expert, but I did know what a Bowie knife looked like, and none of the other blades I'd seen in town were anything like it. Why in the world some wannabe cowboy actually paid to commission the thing was a mystery for the ages.
"Keele's dungeon, some poor sap didn't need it anymore." Dust said grimly.
Frowning myself, I looked it over. I REALLY didn't want to add 'abetting grave robbing' to my sins at all, but given the total cost would be a fraction of what a new one would run me…
"I'll give you a three tenths cut, but on the next ten frog quests." I counter offered. "I want to get out of that stable if it's the last thing I do."
Which is how I found myself dodging slimy tongues rocketing at me like a fastball pitch from a trio of toads looking for a Subaru snack. 'When I get back I'm gonna get stuck in all right. My fist down his throat down to the elbow for talking me into this' I vowed, dodging another pink blur with Auto Dodge and slashing clumsily at it as it went past. 'Toads don't mate this early my ass!'
I got lucky and nicked it, causing the tongue's owner to snap it back in and keep it there, but two were still plenty. It was definitely past time to get out of there, but I couldn't run in a straight line long enough without getting caught. I'd decided to try my luck with the one I'd nicked earlier when my problems solved themselves like a bolt from the blue.
Very literally, even. One second, toads. A blinding flash later, two heaps of barbeque and a stunned target. Taking that as a sign from above, I jumped the last toad, doing a partial somersault midair (thank you Monk class!) to land on its back knife first, driving it just under the base of the skull to pith it.
That…had been way too close. I looked around to see who I needed to thank for the save. While I don't have Farsight, my eyes are about as good as they are ugly, so I caught a figure about 200m away on a small, bush covered rise with a gold glint on its head before it hurried off at my wave.
I frowned at that, unusual for someone not to come over after going to the trouble to save my butt. Who knows, maybe they'll meet me in town. And if not, I'm nowhere near rich enough to turn down the share of the bounty I'd owe them.
I trekked back and registered my kills' location with the guild, along with the information that toad mating season seemed to be getting off to an early start, and took a look around the common room to see if anyone matched my savior. No luck though. On the plus side, I did see another familiar face, and moved in with a wide smile and his roll of coins hidden in my fist behind my back.
When the ringing in my ears cleared I learned two things. First, that a level 3 Monk had no business trying to practice dentistry on a level 15 Warrior. Second, that doing so actually didn't upset his party all that much.
—
"Feeling better there, champ?" The brunet, irritatingly good looking, crusader judging by the armor, asked casually as I opened my eyes and squinted against the light coming in through the open window. "Got it out of your system, I hope. Taking a swing at Dust is understandable, but if you try it again then on your head be it." He offered me a hand as I tried to sit up, and got me up on a bench.
"Not that I don't approve on general principles, but what exactly was that all about?" the wizardly girl next door type maybe a little younger than me asked with a quizzical head tilt, her brunette ponytail swishing softly over her strangely modern looking green hoodie.
On the other side of the room, Dust was prodding experimentally at a tooth with his tongue not looking all that put out about getting sucker punched.
Wow. I'd had some doubts before about the guy, but damn.
"So how much does he owe you, and for how long?" the crusader asked wearily, causing me to jerk and sway a bit on my seat. "We can add it to his tab, but no guarantees on when you'll get it back" he shrugged, spreading his hands in apology "there's a bit of a line ahead of you, you see."
I shook my head, which turned out to be a big mistake, the whole room swam for several very nauseous seconds until I put my head on the table until it passed. "Ugh. No, the jackass gave me bad info, but I was paying off what I owe him. In both senses."
There was a long pause, and I risked a glance to find the two of them staring in blatant disbelief at me. "Bull." The wizard said flatly. "You," she pointed at me "owe him," she changed targets "actual, legally spendable, not counterfeit in any way, money. Not the other way around? You took a bad hit to the head there, I can see why you might be confused…" she assured me kindly, and I might've laughed if I hadn't still wanted to puke so badly.
"No, it's true. I bought a knife off him the other day for toad hunting and I'm still paying down the installments."
The crusader snorted "Now I've seen everything. I didn't think Dust would ever unload that weird looking thing. Well, in the interest of him having actual income for a while we should probably keep you alive then."
"For novelty's sake if nothing else" the wizard agreed cheerfully, drawing a look from her, I assumed, party leader.
"Right, well then. I'm Taylor, a crusader as you've probably guessed. This is Rin, our wizard in residence, and of course you've met Dust, our other frontliner warrior. We have an archer by the name of Keith but he's not here just yet. If you're ok with doing some odd jobs here and there I don't mind bringing you along on some milk runs until you're square with Dust. After that, we'll see."
"Deal!" I exclaimed, bursting to me feet to take his hand in thanks and immediately swaying dangerously, prompting both of them to make a grab for me.
"Great, fine, glad to have you on board." Taylor grunted, levering me upright again "But for now, Eris love you man, go see a priest!"