Chapter 9: 1-9 To be an adventurer

“Right now?” Lyra asked with an arduous face.

“Yes,” Erin answered with a gleam in her eyes but she quickly realized the change in Lyra’s expression. “Why you ask? Is it too late?”

“It is kinda late but it’s not exactly a matter of late…” Lyra was dragging her sentence, unsure of how to put her words.

“Is the registration going to take long?” Erin asked back.

Before Lyra could reply, the receptionist, Sam responded in her stead. “It’ll only take a minute, Miss Erin.”

“Then let’s—”

“However, it’s the test that’s the problem. You see, each applicant is required to take a test to prove that they have at least the minimum amount of capability to be an adventurer.”

Erin shrugged. “I’m capable enough.”

More than that, actually. I’m the Sword Saint, damn it. If I still have skills, I would— Okay, okay. Calm down, it’s just a test.

“I can attest to that,” Lyra spoke up. “She won a duel against Kane.”

The receptionist’s eyes widened. “Kane? Truly?”

Lyra nodded with a straight face.

Sam stared intensely at Erin. “If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your level?”

“Four,” she answered without a pause.

Sam dropped her jaws.

Lyra snapped her surprised gaze at her. “Are you being serious?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” Erin couldn’t understand their amazement. She could understand Sam’s surprise but not Lyra’s. She was there to witness the whole thing.

“Well… not really.” Lyra’s eyes went swimming. “I did see you in action after all.”

“What do you mean not really?” Sam raised her voice. ”A level four won against an opponent with a gap of more than five levels. You have to be incredibly skilled to be able to do that.”

I am the Sword Saint— well, was the Sword Saint.

“Hey, um… Erin?” Lyra whispered. “Maybe you should let her see your true identity. Show her your ears, I mean.”

Seeing no harm in showing the receptionist her true race, Erin uncloaked her head of the hood. There was no one else here but The Guild’s staffs, so Erin wasn’t too worried about being seen or stared at.

Sam gasped in astonishment. “A Fox-kin?” Her voice was loud enough to reel in the attention of the other staffs. Since they were still technically working, they didn’t gather around Erin and swamp her with questions like they eagerly wished to.

“I do not like to be stared at,” Erin said with a firm tone when she noticed Sam’s gaze was frozen on her.

“Of course. Sorry about that.” Apologizing so, Sam brought out some sort of a Magic tool from underneath the counter. It was a sky blue hemispherical crystal with a palm width, embedded on a small pedestal. On the side of the pedestal was a similar tag slot like the desk. Sam took out a brass tag from a drawer nearby and inserted it into the slot. The hemispherical crystal lit up with a blue glow.

Erin didn’t know what the tool was for or doing but she was already impress by the design and the aesthetics.

“Now, put your hand on the crystal, please. Either side will do.”

Erin did as she was requested. The crystal turned green after a while.

“Okay, good.” Sam nodded and gestured for Erin to let go. “No red records.”

“What’s a red record?” Erin asked.

“History of violation, criminal records, those kind of things,” Sam answered. “The Guild has a reputation to maintain. We can’t just accept every applicants blindly.”

“Oh, I see.” Erin was now even more impressed. There were no such Magic tools in the Evaren he knew. This sort of tool was only mere design and ideas on pieces of papers. The scholars had deemed such concept “too advance” to be realized.

Is this perhaps the future?

Sam then did the same thing she did for Lyra. She inserted the tag into the desk’s slot and began scribbling on the paper that were fill with words made from the tag’s lights.

“You’re really level four but your skills…”

Oh fuck! I forgot about my skills, that one fucking skill. Fucking Lust Deviant!

All colors was drain from Erin as she prepared herself for the imminent predicament.

“You have Spirit Magic and Sword Art, a level five at that. You must be extremely skilled with a sword to have a level five Sword Art at only level four. Forest-kin really are an amazing bunch.”

Hmm? Something’s wrong? Why is she not reacting to Lust Deviant?

Feeling something amiss, Erin focus her gaze at the paper. Near the bottom where it said, Innate Skills, she scanned that row of words.

Eh? There’s no Lust Deviant?

When she looked at her own stats screen, the innate skill Lust Deviant was clearly listed there but for some reasons, it didn’t appear on the paper. Although she didn’t know why, she was just glad she dodged a chance at being lynched. Speaking of chance, she conveniently saw her own other information on the paper.

I’m two hundred thirty-six years old?? Damn, I’m old— no wait. I’m a Fox-kin, a Forest-kin. If I remember correctly, Forest-kin are known to have a long life in comparison to humans. Maybe I’m not that old in terms of a Forest-kin’s age?

“And you also have Toxin Resistance!” Lyra shouted with excitement as she peered over the counter. “Huh? A Forest-kin? Aren’t you a Beast-kin? I’m pretty sure you’re not an Elf, Druid, or a Spriggan.”

Only then, it hit Erin.

Come to think of it, Demi-humans with animal traits were call Beast-kin in my previous life. Am I not a Beast-kin?

“The ancestors of the Fox-kin were tired with the Beast-kin’s nomadic and barbaric ways of living. They joined the Forest-kin in hopes of a more suitable life for their mild nature,” Sam explained. “Since then, they have been known as Forest-kin and they also gained the natural talent for Spirit Magic, this is a prominent factor as it stands to show that they have been acknowledged by the Forest Spirits.”

Lyra made a pondering face with pursed lips. “I didn’t know that.”

Sam shot Lyra a glance. “You should have. Being an adventurer isn’t all just about brawn. And Miss Lyra, lest you forgot, it’s rude to peek at other people’s stats.” Sam reprimanded her.

“It’s fine, right Erin?” She directed a smile at the fox-kin.

“No.” Erin didn’t want to hurt her feelings but a line needs to be drawn. She learned this too well in her previous life, some words just need to be said no matter how much it would hurt the other party.

Lyra cast her gaze down as her eyes darkened. “I-I see. Sorry about that. That was… inconsiderate of me.”

Sam sighed as she was use to Lyra’s antics. She scribbled something onto the paper and finished the process with that. However, instead of the tag, Sam handed Erin a piece of paper.

Reading Erin’s confused expression, Sam explained with all the patience in the world. “You’ll have your Adventurer’s Tag after you complete the test. For now, this will serve as a substitute adventurer license.”

Receiving the paper, Erin examined the contents. It looked like a watered down design of her stat screen. At the bottom of the paper, there was a set of instructions. It read; “Eliminate 5 Kobolds and bring their Cores as proof. Time limit of three days.“

Kobolds were humanoid monsters that resembled a mix of lizard and rat. They weren’t as smart as Demi-humans but they were known for their use of simple tools. There were even known cases of Kobolds using stone swords. It was the best monster available in Green Scar to test a adventurer’s skill with a sword.

Perhaps sensing the eagerness in Erin’s eyes, Sam began another chain of lectures. “While The Guild can’t tell you what to do, you are advised to stay inside the boundaries of the town at night. And should you wander off into the night and get hurt, The Guild will take no responsibility for it. Any questions?”

Looking at Lyra, Erin was reminded of one question she had been itching to ask. “What’s a starless adventurer?”

Sam frowned while Lyra threw her face into her palm.

“Was it rude to ask?”

Sam stared vacantly at Erin before switching her glance to Lyra.

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Even without words, Lyra understood Sam’s inquiry. “It’s a long story. Just treat her like she know nothing.”

Erin really did know nothing about this Evaren, so she wasn’t irk about being labeled as such.

“Very well.” Sam cleared her throat. “A star is given to an adventurer for each distinguished deed they have committed. The amount of stars an adventurer has dictates the type of privilege an adventurer is eligible for.”

“You mentioned distinguish deeds. Such as?”

“Depends. For example, subjugating the Razor Grizzly alone at a level below twenty. However, it won’t be seen as a distinguish deed if it’s subjugated by a high level or a group. And I must warned you, don’t go risking your life for a star. Many have tried and many have died trying, this is especially true for young people.”

“I understand,” Erin said. She tried to not show it on her face that Sam just hit the nail of her intentions.

“Good.” Sam handed Erin a small book. “This is the Adventurer’s Handbook. It contains the rules and ethics an adventurer should uphold and a few advice.”

Oh wow, this is neat. The Evaren I know wasn’t this… orderly.

“Would that be all?” Sam asked.

“Yes, for now.” Erin thanked the receptionist and left The Guild while being pulled by Lyra who was grumbling about her empty stomach.

But Lyra’s true intentions were plain to Sam’s eyes. “Ah, youth.”

****

They had a light dinner at a small stall by the roadside just a few blocks away from The Guild. The dishes were all familiar to Erin, so she didn’t have much question regarding the cuisine. Over their meal, Lyra had told Erin everything she knew about being an adventurer and also the currency which greatly astounded Lyra that Erin didn’t even know about the currency.

After Lyra was finish with her main course, she began to explain. “There’s small copper, copper, silver, gold, and gold plates. Ten small copper is one copper. Ten copper is one silver. Ten silver is one gold. Ten gold is one gold plate. It’s easy. And mind this, try to get your money in the form of coppers and silvers. You only use gold in the big cities. Small towns like this one don’t use gold. You can still pay with a gold coin but don’t go expecting change from it.”

After the brief and concise lesson of currencies, Erin asked another question that had been itching her since she received her adventurer application test.

“What happens if I cheat on the test?” Erin asked. “What if I get someone else to do them for me?”

To that question, Lyra laughed. “Don’t. The Guild will know, always and somehow. You can’t cheat or lie to them. Don’t even dare to think about it.”

After another strings of inquiries from Erin, it was time for Lyra’s own story. It seemed like she had been waiting to tell her tale.

Lyra was currently only twenty years of age. Her family was poor and it was her village’s tradition for the chosen children to live a independent live starting from their eighteenth birthday. She and her childhood friend went off to the next town and bounced between odd jobs for a few years until her friend became a prominent smuggler in the town thanks to his natural talent. Disappointed, Lyra left that town and came to Green Scar where she became an adventurer. It had been two weeks since then. She had a rough start like all young and new adventurers but she was one of the few who made it thought the rough patch.

When Lyra finished her backstory, her sullen face turned into a devious grin. “Your turn. What’s your story?”

“M-mine?”

“Well, it’s only fair that you told me yours after I told you mine.” It had been her plan to get to know Erin’s story. She knew people always spill their own stories after one spilled their own.

“Um… I don’t know…”

“You can’t remember?” Lyra’s expression turned grim.

“It’s complicated.” Erin laughed nervously. “I don’t even know how I got here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was in some place else entirely when suddenly, I was somehow… here.” Erin wasn’t lying. She was at some place else upon her death but after the blinding lights swallowed her, she found herself in Green Scar, in a new body and a different gender.

“Must be somewhere pretty far away if you weren’t in the know of so much of these common knowledge.”

“Yeah, it must have been somewhere far away,” Erin agreed gloomily. For all she knew, she could be in a parallel world, a world with the same foundation but different courses of history. Or, it could be the future, many years in, judging by the advancement of the Magic tools she saw.

“Well, putting that aside, where do you learn how to fight like that?” Lyra leaned forward.

“Self-taught. Nothing else I can say.”

Lyra gleamed. Her evaluation of Erin was just getting higher and higher. “How long have you wield a sword?”

“Forty years, give or take.” Again, it wasn’t a lie. Erin’s first time wielding a sword in her previous life was when she was only six.

“So you’re saying that you overwhelmed an opponent who’s more than five levels ahead of you by using a good forty years of experience with a sword?”

Erin shrugged without looking at Lyra’s way. She was just wanted to finish her meal. “I guess so.”

“Don’t undersell yourself now, Erin” Lyra pulled herself closer to Erin. “You were magnificent in that duel. I dare say not even Nivia’s movements were as fluid as yours.”

“Nivia?”

“Oh right, you wouldn’t know her. She’s the Elf I mentioned earlier. She’s the highest level adventurer in this town at level sixteen.”

At first, Erin wanted to meet the Elf due to the renown beauty of Elves but now, she wanted to meet her for other reasons. She could beat a man that was seven levels apart from her. She was curious on how far her former status as the Sword Saint could bring her. Nivia sounded like the perfect candidate to test her current abilities.

“Do you perhaps know where this Nivia is now?” Erin asked, hesitantly. She knew it was weird to ask such a question out of nowhere.

Per her expectations, Lyra’s expression darkened and threw Erin a narrow gaze. “Oh my, Erin. Are you perhaps interested in her?” Lyra put her face directly beside Erin’s ears while her left hand slowly brushed across Erin’s thigh.

“Meep~!!” Erin cried at the sudden intimacy. She was aware of Lyra’s orientation but this was beyond what Erin expected. Lyra was aggressive. Erin had hated this kind of people— had hated, that is. Now, she found herself burning up from Lyra’s aggressive advances.

The heat and tingling sensation from this afternoon were coming back to her.

“Am I not enough, you tantalizing vixen?” Lyra breathed and moaned into her ears. “Or is a human not up to your standards?”

“T-there’s no such thing, M-Miss Lyra!” Erin squeaked. “I-I’m just excited at the prospect of meeting another F-Forest-kin, that’s all.”

“Miss?” Lyra raised an eyebrow. “My, it seems that you are still not comfortable with me.” Saying so, her hand crept towards the inner parts between Erin’s thighs.

“L-Lyra, we’re still in public!” Erin managed to squeeze out her words in the midst of her bated breaths.

“So you’re saying it’s okay if we’re alone and in private?” Lyra teased. Her grin reached her ears.

From Erin’s angle, she was offer a glimpse of Lyra’s slight valley. If she wasn’t wearing a leather vest, Erin was sure she could have peeked at her bosom. She cursed inwardly at Lyra’ vest.

And then, something snapped within her.

[Warning: User has entered Carnal Starvation. Lust Deviant activated.]

[Provisional Increment - Might: 16 | Arcane: 15 | Finesse: 15]

The itch returned to her honeypot and it was wetting before she knew it.

Not good… I must not…

As if every ounce of shyness she had towards female were all thrown out of the window, Erin inched herself close to Lyra, surprising the human girl. “Yes, I won’t mind if we’re alone and in private.” She told Lyra, in a brazen suggestive tone and stared at her with a fervent gaze.

Lyra’s grin fell off. She stood up silently in a sudden. “Keep the change,” she called out to the stall’s cook cum waiter as she threw a silver to the table. She grabbed Erin by the wrist without a word and pulled her out of the stall.

Erin was just letting herself be dragged off by the solemn Lyra.

Together, they swiftly strode back to Lyra’s lodging with the both of them in silent and great anticipation along the short walk.

 

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