It had already been several hours since dawn had arrived. I had finally entered the Central Region by making my way through the split in the Ganhurs Mountains. Without any further issues or hostile confrontations as well. Looking off into the distance, I could make out what seemed like a rather lackluster gate into a nearby town.

“That has to be Druhwood over there. At least, I really hope so...”

I sighed a breath of relief knowing that I’d finally be able to have a place to actually rest properly. It seems that my [Necklace of the Ardent Prayer] lacked the ability to fully recover my Divination uses in a single night whenever I rested outside rather than under proper accommodations. I didn’t have to worry too much about that in the Central Region—in regard to standard monsters—but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Not only that, I had come across a rather peculiar encounter a bit earlier too.

Several groups of non-hostile treants were seemingly migrating toward the mountain split—the direction I came from—from the large forest to the west of the road going north. They hadn’t ever been particularly strong, but there was no telling what difference they could bring outside of MO. Normally, they would immediately attack anyone who entered their fields, but here, they instead simply walked past me with almost nothing more than just a slight glance in my direction. I had a spriggan even nod toward me in passing.

I still can’t get over that! They seemed rather too familiar with humans by the look of it. I wonder if the Druhwood of this world has something to do with it? That has to be the case, right? But...

In MO, Druhwood was one of the main distribution sites for exotic materials like treant wood and spriggan ashes that were held in esteem by the nobility spread throughout the Central Region of Cretho. Thus, the nearby forest, Enheim, and Druhwood had always been at odds with each other. In MO’s lore, even the royalty of Nefra was stated to have a direct supply chain set up with Druhwood’s woodworkers for their interior furnishings.

“Guess I’ll have to do a little digging around once I arrive.”

Finally, as I made it to the southern entrance of Druhwood, I could see a young man on standby who was in the middle of nodding off ever so slightly. He had yet to notice me entirely as his eyes were amidst a battle of focus between the floor and the back of his eyelids.

I wonder...would I be able to just walk right by him without him even noticing? Only one way to find out.

As I continued walking, the young man didn’t even make a slight twitch. Too preoccupied in his war against drifting toward a standing slumber, he inadvertently ignored the sound of my movement—my rather exaggerated and loud steps. Passing him, he remained the same.

What an aspiring guard we have here in the town of Druhwood. I really shouldn’t just sneak in like this though. But...at the same time, I’d much rather my first face-to-face with a human of this world be memorable, you know? Who wants to remember talking to some half-asleep guard as their first encounter in a new world?!

Feeling a tad bit disappointed, I gave in and decided to break him out of his battle for consciousness.

“Excuse me?”

“Hwuaaaaaah!?”

The young man exclaimed in tandem with his body and mind, seemingly convulsing back into the world of Aerith as he then tripped on his own leg and landed face first into the dirt underneath him. I could only wince in response, feeling as if I had pushed him into the ground myself.

“Um. You are okay there...?”

“Pthu! Cough! Y-yes! I’m perfectly fine, sorry about that!”

“No, no, no. You have no reason to apologize to me. I shouldn’t have randomly called out to you, that was my mistake.”

As he lifted himself from the ground and dusted the dirt off his face, he looked around and then toward me in puzzlement. Cocking his head sideways, he began to rapidly question me.

“Huh...? W-who are you?! And where did you come from?! Those black robes...? Are you with those cloaked men from the mountains?! Are you a humanoid m-monster?! A-are you...going to k-kill me...?!”

With seemingly no trigger discipline, he fired a barrage of stuttered words at me. He was shivering now as he held his trembling hand on the hilt of his still sheathed sword. He took his position quite seriously as a guard apparently, but his equipment was of severely low quality. To the point where his armor and weapon looked even cheaper than what the skeletons from yesterday were wearing.

I didn’t think I was coming off as intimidating even in the slightest...or at least, that was never my intention. Besides, who looks at a man in priest-like robes and assumes he’s going to be killed by him anyways?! You must know some terrifying clergymen!

I began focusing on attempting to calm the young man down, explaining to him the reason on why I was there in the first place. The young man, who gave his name as Palvo, quickly released most—if not all—of the tension from his body the moment I did. Telling him I was a traveler just passing through from the far south, which wasn’t exactly a lie. Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to entirely buy it all right away.

“S-so, you’re saying you came from the...Outer Region...of all places?”

For whatever reason, he had whispered the location.

“Mm, well, pretty much something like that. But I don’t mean any harm! As the last of my family who lived isolated on the southern shorelines of the Outer Region, I decided to set off and become a traveler instead of remaining there alone.”

I shoveled out a lie—one tied to a false background I created along the way. Marna’s advice was, if I had the intention on traveling, that I should hide my true status, Class and create an alternate identity. It made sense, since I wanted to also refrain from attracting too much attention. Thus, I was now traveling as a Level 32 Conjurer with no family or home. Even while saying all this, Palvo remained a bit skeptical still.

“...You say that, but that would mean you traversed the Outer Region to get here, right? You said you were a Conjurer...?”

“Ah. I specialize in summoning magic—spectral beings. It was a rather tough trip to make, but using my summons as bait, I was able to ward off the attention of most monsters. I’m sure luck played a significant part in why I was able to get here safely.”

In a stunned expression, Palvo eyes were wide open in apparent disbelief.

“H-hold on... You can use magic?! And you’re Level 32?! You’re about the same Level as the middle class for Adventurers, you know?! How cool!”

“Adventurers?”

Marna hadn’t said anything about Adventurers, and there hadn’t been any equivalent to that in Dormou either.

Hm. So, that sort of profession exists in this world, huh? Pretty interesting, though, I don’t have any intention or desire on becoming one.

In MO, there was quest boards and such, but they were just placed inside towns with no detailed rhyme or reason. You could find special quests attached to certain NPCs as well, but unless you were after something specific besides coin—it made more sense to head for the quest boards instead for quicker cash.

With that being said, Palvo practically brightened at the talk of Adventurers. Maybe I can use this in order to calm him down a bit more?

“Sorry, do you mind explaining their role to me? I’m not too keen on the inner workings of the Central Region yet.”

“I see, you must have truly been isolated from the world, eh? But sure thing!”

Similar to how players sought quests via the boards—Adventurers in this world had now established an entire headquarters and network. Taking jobs from a guild-like association that was referred to as the “Old Palisade”, located in the Crethian capital, Nefra. Palvo explained that the elders—or the leaders in charge—in each village, town, and city would send requests to the capital through carriers. The Old Palisade’s clerks then dispatched an appropriately leveled Adventurer depending on the task.

“I actually wanted to become an Adventurer once too, but it’s harder than it looks. Ahaha!”

It was definitely news to me. A whole guild-like association existed now that hadn’t before in MO. Yet, it still made sense. Quest boards existed in MO as a means of employment—a stable way to obtain coin—for players. Grab a quest, finish the quest and then submit the quest for payment. Simple and easy. In the real world of Aerith, that quest board simply became a larger entity that stretched all across Cretho, and was now referred to as the Old Palisade.

People like Lorcan exist in this world, so I shouldn’t be surprised if there were even more people like him in the upper echelons of the Old Palisade. Well. Maybe not exactly like him. At least, I hope not! Even a handful of people like him seems terrifying to think about...

According to Palvo, the Old Palisade even had level brackets that heavily separated the Adventurers.

“Most Adventurers tend to be in between Level 20-30. The experienced class tend to be in the mid-30s. Veterans, though, are often said to be in the low to mid-40s. The peak tier of the Old Palisade is rumored to be in the 50s! Insane, isn’t it?! And what’s even crazier is that apparently a very small few have even reached Level 60! Hard for a country bumpkin like me to match that—let alone the lowest tier...”

He scratched his head in slight frustration as he reached the precipice of his enthusiastic ramblings. He had confirmed my prior concerns though. Palvo’s comment on the Level 60 Adventurers could mean two different things. The first being that people like Lorcan could possibly be more frequent than I had previously thought. Second, he could potentially be referring to a few of the Effigies—heroes—that decided to become Adventurers in this world.

Sounds like a place I should avoid, honestly.

“That was pretty helpful, Palvo. Thanks for taking the time to explain that to me.”

“Ahaha, no problem! And sorry for being so hostile earlier. Druhwood is a welcoming and peaceful town. So, be at ease and take a well-needed break here! There’s an inn down the road, on the second left. I highly recommend it, since the food is second to none there!”

"Oh? I’m looking forward to it then. I’ll head there right away. I’ll be staying here for the next few days, so I’ll see you around. Don’t sleep on the job too much now.”

“I wasn’t sleeping!? I was...meditating! Y-yeah!”

With a slight chuckle, I waved him off and continued down the main road. The town was in hard-working motions. It had still been early noon, and the sound of grinding saws, trees slamming onto the ground, and grunts from the workers filled the area as I tried to find my way to the inn.

“Pretty sure he said the second left, right? So, it should be this way.”

I could see what appeared to be the inn and as I arrived before it, an enchanting and familiar aroma was oozing from the main entrance—seemingly drawing me in.

“Is that...?!”

I immediately rushed in and my eyes surveyed the inside, in desperate search toward what I assumed it could be. My eyes then settled upon that exact marvel. On the counter across the room, a dark liquid rested in all its glory on top of a pouring apparatus. From the aroma, to its appearance—it truly seemed to be that.

“It really is...coffee?!”

In the Elven city of Dormou, I had been subjected to a variety of different teas and nectars. As delicious as they were, the early-to-late night salaryman in me had a deep-seeding desire to experience that invigorating brew once more. That rejuvenating elixir that greeted you wholeheartedly whether it was at dawn, or at dusk as you continuously stared into the work screen—deep into the night. That comrade-in-arms, one you knew you could rely on to push you forward without a word for—or against—your self-destructive actions. Just a semblance of neutral assistance as it fueled your day—your entire spirit.

I see. So, this is it, huh? My reward for enduring that week of tedious travel. Isn’t that right, Goddess? If that’s the case, I’ll happily accept it with open arms! With a readied mug!

Lost in my life-changing discovery, I hadn’t realized someone walking toward me as my eyes remained on the blessed mixture down the room. She then spoke up, in a gentle yet jittery voice, stumbling over her words as she bit her tongue. It was then that she finally caught my attention.

“U-um... H-how can I assith—nng!”

“Hm?”

The young woman at my right had pitch-black hair that slightly curled down her right shoulder, her teary eyes were a grayish-purple as she held her hand over her mouth in slight pain. As my gaze met her person, something felt suddenly off about her. It was the opposite of what I had felt for Lorcan. His presence had simply been natural—just a piece of your surroundings to unintentionally ignore.

The young woman in front of me, though, was vastly different. It was like a flickering and bright flare being sparked within a dark void. On and off. On and off, sporadically, shouldering no promise to be shown again or even consistently. Something one could only notice if they had opened their eyes at the right time to witness the illuminated pulsation. I activated [Investigate], only to then be left speechless by what appeared.

Name: [Eru]

Rank: [Human, Other]

Level: [21]

Class: [Spellbinder]

Alignment: [Neutral Good]

INFO:

Unique SKILL - [Spatial Rift]

Titles - [Bearer of the 4th Heavenly Virtue],

[Bearer of the 2nd Deadly Sin]