The crowds move like tumultuous waves through the cobbled street, swelling and receding with a flurry of motion. The storm in each person’s life driving them forward. Within that tempest I stand static, transfixed before the imposing Adventurer’s Guild Hall. Built of bricks and mortar, its noble grandiosity is especially pronounced wedged between its own crowd of commonplace wooden buildings. Their defining quality being anonymity, indistinguishable from each other within this city. The Guild Hall conversely exudes a unique dignity, a perfect representation of the heroic destiny towards which the currents of my life push.

I swallow hard, forcing the pressure out of my throat. “So, what am I afraid of? This is the beginning of my epic adventure filled life. Only a few more steps and I’ll be fighting dragons and rescuing princesses in a freaking video game world.”

The Guild Hall’s large oak doors swing open before me and a burly man in near full silver plate mail minus a helmet marches out. He stops suddenly and his eyes glance over me from head to toe. I do the same, scary looking big man standing at least a head taller than me. Not a world of little people after all. But that is not all, he has a deep scar visible between his right eye and cheekbone. The only flaw to an otherwise handsome, clean-shaven face. Now that I think about it this is the first scarred person I’ve seen. Perhaps Roy was right, maybe adventuring really is for those with a penchant for violence.

“Move out of the doorway kid, some of us are walking here.” His voice is deep and gravelly. It figures that even his voice sounds violent.

“Sorry.” I move aside hastily and avoid further eye contact. He marches past without another look, lost quickly in the hustle and bustle of the crowd. I turn back towards the Guild Hall, its heavy doors are slowly sliding to a shut. I slip in without a second thought.

“Right. I’m in. The start of my new fantasy life.”

To describe the hall in one word, it’s ostentatious. Filled to the brim with majestic if gaudy décor. The inner brick walls are tall and imposing; lined with a half dozen hanging flags, a huge assortment of weapons and armour, and the bones of colossal beasts. Awe-inspiring, but not what I am here for. My gaze lowers to the other guild patrons; well then, two dozen judging eyes burning right through me. Go on, take a good look. These are premium cotton dinosaur pyjamas. Okay you can stop looking now. Alright Reed, you know the drill, time to picture them naked. Oh god, my eyes. Yep, still anxious. Right, well the floor feels nice, soft like an expensive Persian rug. Hell, even the carpet patterns are showy. Lots of interesting designs. I think it’ll be fine if I admire them for awhile.

“Hello sir, can I welcome you to the Favel Adventurer’s Guild?” A woman’s voice calls out.

I look up, then left, then right before finally catching sight of a woman dressed in a smart business casual attire sitting behind a wooden desk and smiling warmly at me.

“Are you, you’re talking to me?”

“Yes, sir. Now if you could please make your way to the front desk, I would be happy to assist you with whatever has brought you to the Guild this fine day.” The woman waves me over. She has such a kind and welcoming voice and such beautiful pointy ears. Perhaps she is an elf. Better not say anything, in case it’s rude. Counting Roy and the scary knight I’ve definitely offended enough locals for my first day here.

“Umm good afternoon.” I squint down at the nametag pinned to the woman’s plain off-white blazer “Jenae. My name is Reed.”

“A pleasure to meet you Reed. How may I help you today?” Jenae flashes me a pearly white smile.

“Well, I was hoping that I might be able to become an adventurer.”

“Certainly, anyone can become an adventurer. Just sign some paperwork and pay the joining fee of twenty-six silver.”

“Oh,” I sigh, surely after all this my destiny won’t be foiled by an admission fee. “I don’t actually have any money.” I tug the itchy sleeves of my dinosaur pyjama shirt.

“Not to worry sir, you are certainly not the first person to come here without a copper. In cases like yours the Guild can generate a responsible lending and compliance loan program if that is acceptable with you?” Jenae smiles again.

“Right, yeah that sounds fine. I mean, I guess I’ll have to read the terms and conditions or something.”

“Yes, that is an important step in ensuring those who agree to any guild loans do so with informed consent.” She winks at me. Why did she wink at me? What could that wink mean? Huh, she’s pulling out paperwork. No that’s not important, why did she wink at me?

“Right. Umm thank you Jenae.” I reply taking the neatly stacked paper.

“My pleasure Mr. Reed. Take some time to read through everything carefully.” Jenae’s voice is like honey. And she is smiling again. But she seems to be looking past me? Ahh, a line has formed. “Next!”

I scurry to an empty table. The chairs around it are a mismatch of sizes and shapes, glancing at the dents in the carpet below it seems they are moved frequently. Most are human sized or smaller, but a few are huge. Definitely not a little people world. I pick out a chair which looks appropriate for someone my size and sit down ready to read through the paperwork. Okay, loan details and repayment obligations, riveting stuff. Well, at least my Linguistics Correction trait applies to the written language too. Wait this is serious, I can’t get distracted. I am not about to sell my soul for a measly wink from a pointy eared pretty face, no matter how soothing her voice is. What was that wink about anyway? No! focus Reed.

It takes a while to read through everything, the soft chatter of adventurers and the crunching and munching of food does not help. At least the rest of the patrons have stopped staring at me, not that I’ve checked. The paperwork looks fine, the loan is interest free, instead forty percent of my loot taken from the dungeon will be confiscated and used as payment until the debt is fully repaid. If I give up on dungeon delving before fully repaying the loan, then I need to return the locket so the guild can recoup their losses. It all sounds reasonable; I’ll take the loan. I stand up once more ready to face my destiny and reenter the waiting line. Plenty of time to appreciate the carpet.

What feels like ten minutes must have passed before I am again face to face with Jenae. She looks at me expectantly.

“Since this is what it takes to become an adventurer, then I’ll accept the loan.”

“Fantastic sir! Please sign here for the loan.” I do so. “Interesting script, one I’ve never seen before, yet you speak perfect Lavraelian?” She looks at me with interest, but I just shrug. What am I supposed to say, I’m from an alien planet and this is an alien language? “Okay, please sign once again here for guild membership. Wonderful. Alright, legal formalities out of the way let us set you up with your adventurer’s locket. Please place your thumb on the silver clasp outside. And hold for a few seconds. A bit longer now and… done! You can take your thumb off now. Congratulations, you are now a certified member of the Favel branch of the Lavrael Adventurer’s Guild.” Again, Jenae smiles warmly at me.

“Thank you, Jenae.” I return a warm smile back.

“Okay, here is your adventurer’s locket. Within it you will notice it displays your rank as an F rank adventurer. Please do not be offended. Regardless of your current level, abilities, or stats, all new guild members are granted F rank membership initially. More information regarding rank advancement can be found in the free brochures in the pamphlet stand. The Favel dungeon is a short distance north of the city, just look for the fort on the hill. You must display your membership locket to the guards before entering the dungeon or you will be denied entry. Don’t lose the locket or you will be required to pay another twelve-silver replacement fee to grant you a new one.”

I open the locket and am surprised to see one half entails a photo quality image of my dirt covered face, the edges of my dinosaur pyjamas, and most awkward of all a finger sized leaf loosely lodged between a few tufts of my curly brown hair. I fish the leaf out before stuffing it into my pocket and consider the other side of the locket. There a prominent letter F is inscribed clearly displaying my beginner rank, as promised, and under it my outstanding twelve silver debt to the guild. There’s nothing else too it. No name, no age. I guess that is just how things work in this world. I close the locket and pull the attached chain necklace over my head.

“Will that be all for today Mr. Reed?”

“I think so, yes.” I tug the locket gently ensuring it is sturdy before sliding it beneath my clothes.

“Then I wish you an enjoyable rest of the day and good luck delving. We at the Favel branch of the Adventurer’s Guild eagerly await your next visit.”

“Thanks Jenae! The best for you too.” What a helpful clerk.

Outside the Guild Hall the warm midday sun radiates strength through my skin into my bones. I stand a little straighter and pull the locket out to inspect it once more. The conversation with Jenae flashes through my mind. She wishes me an enjoyable rest of the day? Hilarious. I’m about to go grind experience points. What could be more enjoyable than that? Next step, the dungeon!

“Hey kid, I thought I told you to stop standing in doorways!”

“Right! Sorry!”

The distance from the guild to dungeon looked short, but the time I spent walking through the cramped and confusing city was agonizingly long. It certainly did not help that I had been on my feet nonstop since waking up in the forest. Perhaps I should have waited till tomorrow to begin my life of adventure. But let’s face it, I’m homeless and broke, wasting working hours isn’t a luxury I can currently afford. Besides, I can’t say I’m not a little excited to try my hand at leveling!

Anyway, the walk was tough. First a scramble through the confusing city and then all uphill from the city gates. My stats didn’t seem to make any difference, I suspect the values were quantified from my fitness on Earth. Bit of a shame if that’s the case, I can’t say I was much of a fan of exercise. Might have spent a little more time working out and a little less time watching anime had I known one day I would be fighting monsters for a living. Or at the very least a little more time working out while watching anime.

Speaking of stats, I still haven’t figured out what they do. I have my suspicions of course, I mean it seems reasonable to think that health and mana form ten to one ratios with constitution and wisdom. Then again, I have no clue if that’s true. I’d love to ask someone, but I’m afraid I’ll get the same looks Roy gave me and then it’ll bring forth a host of questions I can’t answer. I’m already an alien, it wouldn’t be good to mark myself as an illegal one too.

Okay breaks over, time to get up, I’d rather not have to find my way back to the city in the dark of night. I walk towards the dungeon entrance, a large cave guarded by a 20-foot-tall stone fort and open portcullis gate. Outside the gate a couple of lightly armoured men talk casually mostly ignoring my presence.

“Hey, are you the guild’s dungeon guards? I’m looking to enter the dungeon.” I pull off my locket unclasping it as I do so. It opens clearly displaying my current visage, plus a leaf.

The closer guard, a short man with kind eyes replies. “We are. You sure you’ve got enough equipment to be going inside?” Then he leans over and takes my locket into his hand.

“Yeah, your armour looks a tad bit flimsy.” The other guard, a stereotypically tall, dark, and handsome man adds with a hint of sarcasm.

“Unfortunately, this is all I have. If you’ve got some weapons or armour you’d be willing to lend me I’d be happy to take it.” I reply hopefully as my locket is inspected.

The short guard looks up at me. “Afraid not. F Rank, and took the starter loan.” I nod and he frowns. “No repayments. This will be your first time inside?”

“Yeah, first time.”

The guard looks at his colleague before turning back to me. “Right. Well then, a couple of things you need to be aware of. First timers are required to stick to the first floor where it’s safer, preferably as close to us at the gate as you can. If you call out for help and we can’t hear you, well I am sure you can figure it out. Second, the only monster you should find on the first floor of this dungeon are goblins, if you see anything else run back here like your life depends on it. After you kill any goblins bring back their ears, each one is worth a little.”

“Are they a delicacy?”

The handsome guard howls with laughter. “You hear that Braed? Are goblin ears a delicacy?”

The man referred to as Braed does not laugh, but as he hands back my locket there is a stupid grin plastered across his face. “Of every part of a Goblin, the ears taste the least like sewage. The hounds seem to like the taste though, so we keep them for that purpose.”

“I see.”

I start moving towards the dungeon entrance, but Braed stops me. “Wait. You aren’t going in alone, are you? Where are your adventuring companions?”

“Don’t tell me I need companions before I can enter the dungeon?”

Their faces twist with concern. Don’t look at me like that. Surely it is not that stupid a question.

Braed speaks up. “You don’t need companions, but you are already going in underequipped. What happens if you get hurt? What will you do?”

“How likely am I to get hurt?”

“Fighting goblins near the dungeon entrance? Not very unless you get very unlucky and a dungeon wave hits, but that’s practically impossible given the dungeon is currently being cleared. Still, there’s always a risk and-. Wait.” Braed cuts himself off then his expression brightens. He nods repeatedly seeming very pleased with himself. “Just a few minutes ago there was a group of Adventurers that passed through here. Yes that will do. So long as you can catch up to them and stay close by their group you’ll be safe.”

“Alright. That sounds fine.” Honestly, having someone nearby in case of an emergency can only be a good thing.

The other guard slaps me on the back. “You keep safe in there kid, and if you decide to try eating any goblin ears be sure to let me watch.” He snickers again and Braed it seems can no longer control himself as he too bursts out laughing. Alright guys, very funny. I get it, don’t eat goblin bits.

Walking through the gates leads me to the edge of a cave. I don’t know what I expected, but it looks natural, like it could have just as easily been a monster free cave found on Earth. By natural I of course mean dark and dank and vile, not like some picturesque cave at some tropical beach holiday destination.

I step inside and my locket begins faintly glowing. Dimly lighting up my body and the area before me. That will be helpful. I take the locket off my neck and hold it in my hand like a lantern. It works well enough allowing me to see a good five or six metres ahead of me without trouble. I wrap the chain around my wrist, it would be terrible to lose the locket down here in the dark, especially since losing it means doubling my loan for another. I continue walking into the dungeon slowly, doing my best to make sure I stay near to the entrance and out of danger as the guards had warned. I should not have bothered. I’ve walked quite far through these tunnels now and still haven’t heard a single, well I’m not sure what noise the goblins here make, let’s say a squeak.

-1 Health Points: Bludgeoning damage.

Ouch! Stubbed my toe on a damned rock. Damn it, it’s bleeding. And what’s with this random dialogue screen appearing in my vision? Is this going to happen every time I get hurt? Or should it be take damage since that's what the weird video game box calls it?

Hold on, did I just hear something up ahead? It’s indistinct but certainly not squeaks. Scuttling perhaps? Maybe, I should take this a little more seriously. I mean I’m about to go kill or be killed. I didn’t even bring a weapon. I reach down and pick up the heavy, fist-sized rock stained with my toe blood.

Experience here I come!