After accepting Tamara's offer to accompany her party into the city, Vahn boarded the wagon to find three other women: one dressed like an archer, another sitting next to a circular shield and light plate armor, and the third attired in robes, wielding an ornate wooden staff. All had on purple capes, and around their necks were thumb-sized platinum plates resembling dog tags.
Entering the wagon behind Vahn, Tamara took a seat on the end of the two benches lining it and patted the space between her and the auburn-haired woman with the shield, stating, "You can sit here next to me. After that, I'll introduce you to my party."
"Sure," responded Vahn, taking a seat before relaxedly meeting the gazes of Tamara's three companions in turn. The first thing he noticed was that they were much younger than their presumed leader, and while they were far from the standard of the Pavilion, they weren't unattractive.
Resting her arm along the railing behind Vahn's back, Tamara gestured to the blonde-haired, freckle-faced girl tending to an unstrung bow, stating, "The silent little lass here is Freya. Despite her age, she's a talented Scout and a skilled Archer. She doesn't speak much, but that's one of the things that makes her so good at stealth."
"Mn..."
Instead of adding to Tamara's introduction with words, Freya gave Vahn a curt nod and a soft hum before returning her attention to silently polishing her bow.
Raising her right hand, the robe-wearing woman, sporting pale purple hair fastened into a long braid, adopted a polite smile and stated, "My name is Dorothy. As you probably guessed by my attire, I'm our party's Mage and Healer. It's nice to meet you—"
"His name's Vahn," Tamara interjected with a grin, realizing she had yet to provide Vahn's name. The fact that she didn't reveal his last name piqued Vahn's interest, but he elected to save his questions for later.
"Right. It's nice to meet you, Vahn..." appended Dorothy, punctuating her words with a nod and a shy smile.
"The pleasure is mine," responded Vahn, reciprocating with a smile of his own before turning his attention to the auburn-haired woman to his right. Her sharp eyes matched her hair, and in response to his glance, she curtly stated, "Juliette. I'm a Warrior and Rear Vanguard..." while holding his gaze with a vigilant stare.
"And together, the four of us make up the Platinum-Ranked Party, Royal Purple. We're originally from E-Asenaru, but we came down to E-Rantel in preparation for the Baharuth Empire's annual war and because the Slane Theocracy's been testing our borders. How about you...?" asked Tamara, grinning like an old man as she nudged Vahn with her right breast. Due to her armor, all he felt was hardness, but she was clearly trying to unsettle or come onto him.
"I traveled to this land via a one-way teleportation gate, so I have no particular reason for being here," stated Vahn, his tone calm and level as he revealed, "As for where I came from, Termina, it's a nation ruled by a group called the Dragon's Pavilion. I don't know where it lies in relation to the Re-Estize Kingdom, but I know it's very far away."
"Mmn...based on your skin and hair color, I'm guessing it lies somewhere in the east. I once traveled that way when I was younger, and the further I went, the darker people's skin became," Tamara speculated. Then, using her gloved right hand, she roughly tousled Vahn's hair and teased, "You're lucky we picked you up. You stand out like a rose growing in the middle of a highway. And with how on edge people are this time of year, you'd have spent the next few weeks locked up in a dungeon and being interrogated. And that's if you're lucky..."
"And if I were unlucky...?" asked Vahn, curious. He wasn't fond of having his hair tousled, but since Tamara was freely sharing information with him, he endured.
"You have a handsome face and exotic features. Slavery was abolished in the Re-Estize Kingdom a few years back, but it's still practiced in secret among the Nobles. With a face like yours, you're pretty much guaranteed to be sent to market," asserted Tamara, drumming the top of Vahn's head with her fingers.
'I suppose I shouldn't be surprised...' thought Vahn, exhaling faintly from his nose. Slavery was a common trope in fantasy settings, so the fact that it had recently been outlawed, particularly with annual wars, was notable. It suggested that the person in charge might be from another world, or, at the very least, reformative...
...
..
.
With the Platinum Rank being fairly respected among Adventurer Ranks, the only questions Vahn was asked before being permitted entry into the city of E-Rantel were his name, his reason for entering, and the expected duration of his stay. He was also scanned by a crystal orb, which he later learned emitted pure white to crimson light depending on the number of humans a person had killed. When his result came up without so much as a hint of pink, he was naturally permitted entry after paying a provisional fee that could be partially recovered if he left the city without causing any incidents during his stay.
"It's pretty rare for someone your age to get that kind of reaction from the crystal. What are you, some kind of Saint?" questioned Tamara, evidently surprised by the result of Vahn's crystal orb analysis. After clearing the checkpoint, he had decided to accompany them to the nearby Guild Hall to register as an Adventurer, so he was presently walking near the front of the group with the burly vanguard to his right.
"Not that I'm aware of," responded Vahn, maintaining a relaxed demeanor as he casually scanned his surroundings. He didn't gawk like a tourist, but as it was his first time entering the city, he took note of things like the fact that everyone present along the streets was human. Most of the buildings were two to three stories tall, with steepled, brown-tiled roofs and mostly uniform features: off-white facades, brown-framed windows and shutters, and brown or stone trim along the base. As for the people, at least those who weren't dressed like Adventurers, the men mostly wore light-colored tunics, while the women modeled modest, brightly colored, ankle-length dresses with blouses reminiscent of medieval peasant dress—albeit much cleaner.
"Well, if it's true that you've never killed anyone, becoming an Adventurer might not be the best choice for a career," said Tamara, shaking her head before warning, "In this line of work, spilling the blood of your fellow man isn't just an inevitability, it's a requirement. You literally can't rise from the starting rank of Copper without bringing back the head of a known bandit or tens of Goblin ears."
"There is always a path that doesn't require killing..." countered Vahn, the surety in his tone and the confidence of his demeanor leaving Tamara at a brief loss for words. She wanted to argue, but the calm clarity in Vahn's eyes as he fleetingly met her gaze left her slack-jawed and doubting what she knew to be true...
'This is no ordinary man...' thought Tamara, finding herself swallowing to ease the sudden tension in her throat. She knew from the moment she first laid eyes on Vahn that he was exceptional, but now she understood that it wasn't just his appearance that set him apart. He didn't appear all that strong, and his grip when they shook hands had been weak, but he had a certain air about him—the air of someone who could stare certain death in the face and smile...
...
..
.
After parting ways with the Royal Purple party, who needed to drop off their equipment at their inn and change into more comfortable clothing, Vahn, now modeling a copper-colored plate around his neck, meandered about the city of E-Rantel with no specific destination in mind. He wanted to get a feel of its ambiance before deciding whether the heavily fortified city would serve as his provisional base of operations, so he completed a full circuit of its outermost district, home to the vast majority of the city's commoners. The middle district was where merchants and most reputable shops resided, so it was closed off after sunset. As for the inner district, it was, unsurprisingly, home to the city's noble population.
(Based on my calculations, there should be around 50,000 people living in this city, the majority of whom are located in the outer ring) stated Sis, Vahn's constant companion throughout his wandering.
'But of course...' responded Vahn, stopping at the entrance of an area of the outer ring that was cordoned off from the rest of the city, home to an abandoned cathedral and a massive graveyard. It took up nearly a fifth of the outer district, and even without passing through the heavily reinforced gates, he could feel an ominous energy emanating from within.
(Given the description of some of your Class Skills, we can assume that the undead aren't particularly uncommon in this world) reasoned Sis, her voice tinged with curiosity as she questioned (Shall we sneak inside and see to it that they are laid to rest properly?)
'Perhaps another night,' responded Vahn, raising his gaze to the night sky above, which was dominated by a colossal, silvery-white moon. It felt like he could reach out and grab it, and had he still had his Authority, he might have been able to. Instead, he closed his eyes to enjoy a cool breeze. The pungent aroma of death stung his nose, but he could infer from the gates on both sides of the cemetery that the city had its own means for dealing with the undead. He might have proceeded if the area wasn't blocked off, but since it was, entering it would be trespassing. Thus, after a moment of deliberation, Vahn turned and began looking for an Inn. He would convey what he had sensed to the Adventurer's Guild when he reported there the following morning for his first request. If they were wise, they would send someone to investigate the area. If not, then what followed would be the natural consequence of that decision...
...
..
.
After another evening where his focus was primarily split between his other perspectives, Vahn kicked off his third day in the world of OL-2138 by heading to the Adventurer's Guild, situated on the northern side of the middle district. It was a stout building with the same off-white facade as every other building in the area, but it had an ornate, staircased entrance flanked by green banners and two brown shields with crossed swords. As for the interior, it had a blue-hued, highly reflective, stone-tiled floor with rows of green benches for Adventurers awaiting their turn to be called up by a Receptionist. There was a second-floor tavern area, accessible via a wide staircase, but only Adventurers ranked Silver or higher were allowed to drink and converse there.
Ignoring the many gazes that shifted his way, Vahn relaxedly made his way to the information and request board located on the left side of the stairs leading to the upper level. There, requests suitable for Copper to Mithril-Ranked Adventurers were posted with very little information other than a deadline for their completion. For additional information, he would need to supply the attached request number to one of the Receptionists, who, depending on whether they personally believed he was suitable for the request, would either refuse him or send him to a private room where he would be provided the necessary intel.
'Collecting herbs...cleaning latrines...assisting with construction...' Vahn read, his eyes scanning the request available to Copper and Iron-Ranked Adventurers. He was reasonably certain that he could complete requests of any rank, but the Guild prohibited unproven Adventurers from taking on requests more than one Rank higher than their own.
'Oh? This could prove interesting...' Vahn thought, his eyes flashing as he noticed an unranked listing called General Monster Extermination. It had no specific conditions for completion. Rather, as long as he brought back proof that he had slain a particular monster, he would be rewarded based on its classification and danger level.
After noting the reference number, Vahn grabbed a number from a ticket dispenser and took a seat to wait for his turn at the reception desk. Until that point, many pairs of eyes followed his every action. A few men who were envious of his appearance made snide remarks about him being the bastard son of some Noble, but as they ultimately had better things to do than stand around and pick a fight with a rookie, they ultimately let him be without incident...
...
..
.