A bright morning

The morning comes on quicker than I had wished. Sleep took me quickly the night prior. Though I had spent lifetimes asleep my body still felt heavy. As if I wasn't truly awake yet. As if I wasn't truly in my own skin. The closest thing I could describe it as is as if my body was asleep, while my mind ran things.

As the sun cut into the room I rolled off the bed. Looking myself over once again. More muscle than I had prior. Leaner but definitely more fit. Without all the scratches and scrapes it was easier to tell all the changes. My body really was changed. I couldn't feel the difference, not as if I was suddenly much stronger. It simply felt different. Something I would have to get used to over time. Rising to my feet I threw on the tattered shirt, the only shirt I really had.

I made my way down stairs after a few minutes. Seeing the tavern nearly empty was interesting. After such a busy evening, to see it all but closed was a bit of a mental shift. Only a few people sat around the tables eating or drinking. The thing that caught my attention however was the bartender waiting against the bar. She wore a dark blue tunic and dark pants. Her bright golden hair in a loose braid hanging off of her left shoulder.

"Good morning." I said as I walked up to her. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Took my a bit to get my bearings." As I finished I raised my hand and ordered a drink. A brief back and forth later and I had asked for a simple cider, non-alcoholic. Just something to wake up with. I drank the glass quietly as Yura continued her conversation. Finally, around fifteen minutes later I had finished my drink and was ready to move. Though some food would have been nice, having something in my stomach felt good regardless.

"Ready to move?" Yura asked me as I handed my drink over. Turning back to the active bartender, "Thank you for everything, Mark. It'll be a while before I'm back. We'll have to see if our little human comes too. Either way, he paid for a few days, so it'll be alright."

"Yeah, let's go." I nodded to the man behind the counter as we left. Another bout of following someone else. Our walk didn't take long before we started to see other people going in the same direction. The village was small, I could tell that from the outer walls. As we walked I started to notice the other people walking more. Though not many, most of them were wearing simple armors and carrying similar weapons. "Yura, I'm gonna guess and say that these are the other adventurers."

"Yeah, they're all on their way to see what jobs have been posted. most of them simply want some quick cash. Your best bet is gonna be to take a simple pest job. If you're lucky, it'll be for a wealthy patron. Someone willing to really pay you." As we walked we finally came into sight of the guild itself. A rather large stone building with several shops built into the structure itself. A smithy, what appeared to be a food vender, someone else selling bottles of something I didn't recognize at first. All that I could think of was potions of some sort. Each of them glistening with a light of some sort. "The guild hires some of the best artisans they can find. Makes life easier for the guild members if they can shop where they work too. You can find even better shops out there, but for most people? Simply seeing the guild shops is enough."

"Gotta love convenience." As we closed the distance it became more apparent just how much of a hub that the guild was. Even with only about half of the people present being adventurer it was still an impressive showing. Most of the people walking about were simply going about their morning shopping. Some were buying tools from the smithy, others food and potions. "I'm gonna take a guess and say that these are the same shops I'll be buying my weapons and some clothes from." Yura didn't bother answering me but I knew the answer.

"First we have to go in and get you registered. It won't take long. They'll just scan you and you'll also receive a reading. They'll explain everything once we're inside." She stepped forward as we reached the building itself. She pushed the door open as if she were some kind of presenter, or perhaps a voucher would be a better way to put it. We walked up to the counter and she spoke up to the woman behind it. A rather short woman with equally short brown hair. An adorable pixie cut, if I ever saw one. "Good morning, my friend here needs a registration, reading, and maybe a job recommendation."

"Does this friend have a name?" The woman behind the counter asked. She wore a badge on her breast that took a brief moment of concentration to read. The words forming in my mind.

"He does, Brie. My name is Leo." Holding my hand out she took it after a brief laugh to herself. Shaking it firmly.

"So, Leo, friend of Yura, you need to sign up? Give me your other hand. This will only take a moment." I followed her instruction. Holding out my palm as she pulled out a different rock than I had begun to grow used to. This one a deep purple crystal. I could only guess that it simply read my information at a deeper level. For a moment I grew worried but remembering Rhyas' explanation calmed me. After a short moment the mark on my hand and the crystal began to glow. "Leo Kross, swordsman, mage, and artificer? That's a new one to me. Twenty-five years old, intelligence of eight, speed is a solid seven, strength is at an impressive eight as well. Your senses are at a... undecided. That's... different."

I listened to her list out what appeared to be my stats. As if I was in a game of some kind. After we reached the senses I was utterly confused. "Wait... wait... someone help out the human here."

"Ah, I forget that your people aren't used to this, are they?" The comment annoyed me a bit but I held back any responses. "I'm not sure what the artificer class is but the others are rather basic. As you grow you'll eventually be able to evolve your class, or classes in your case, to higher versions. Over all your stats are rather impressive. I'd almost recommend you join a traveling band, if you had any experience. Potential means nothing without skill to match. As for said potential, if it makes sense, most people sit in the low single digits. For example, I'm only at an average of three. Yours is eight and a half. That's rather impressive for even experienced adventurers."

"As for your classes, I've only seen a few people with more than one. I've never seen someone with three, so that's interesting. I also don't know what your third class is, I've never seen artificer before. Your other classes are the bare minimum. It'll take time and future trials to show what sort of warrior you'll be. I also can't tell you anything about your magic levels. They're there. Something is there. I just don't see what." Her words hung in the air for a few moments. I didn't know how to react, or what to think. Everything she had said sounded like something out of a game.

"Well, that sets up you registration and reading." Putting the crystal away she reached under her counter and pulled out a small medallion. On it sat a small carving. A hawk carved, or stamped, into the metal itself. "This will act as your adventurer's badge. It'll be used to show customers where you came from, and what your status is within the guild. Each hall has their own medallion. If you visit other halls you may be asked to carry theirs as well. Some people have a dozen or more. Usually they work for bands that have traveled well. Use this rather than giving everyone your mark information. Not everyone will be able to read it, and not everyone should have your information."

"Well, you have your registration, your reading, your medallion... silver rank, by the way, and now the only thing left is your first job. We have several still up for grabs this morning. You missed out on the larger sum. However, since you're new, it would be better to actually work below your skill level. Bronze or maybe Iron rank would be better." Just like a game, I thought to myself as she explained. As she continued she began to read out some of the simple jobs that had been brought up. Mostly fetch quests, or people who lost their pet. One that caught my attention though was and Iron rank.

"Wait, the last one? It said some ruins were found a few days from here? So they need to what? Have someone explore them a bit? Maybe deal with some pests along the way?" I asked holding out my hand. She passed the paper over as I read it over. From what it said a farmer's son had fallen into a cave near by. That he had broken his leg and the farmer had to go down and get him himself. While down there he had found what appeared to be some ancient city. There wasn't much more information about the place itself, but there weren't many structures from my time that could have fit the bill. "I'll take this one."