First thing Noah noticed when he woke up was the cool sheets on his bare skin. He couldn't remember how he ended up half naked under them. He just knew that sinking into the comfortable bed was all he wanted to do. The aches of Noah's struggle with Utuk and the other monsters were all gone. He ran his hand down to his stomach. As far as he could tell, there was not a trace of the hole that Utuk put in him. Those Vials worked wonders.
While he continued to slowly awaken, Noah took some time to look around the room he was in. It was a simple bedroom, large enough to have a little space between the bed and the dresser to walk a bit in, but nothing too overly grand. Light was trying to creep in through the brown curtains above Noah's bed, so it was probably morning or early daytime. The clothes he had been wearing earlier had been draped over a chair in the corner. They looked even worse now, especially with the large hole in the middle of his shirt. Next to his bed was a nightstand with an extinguished lantern, a bowl of cool water, and a rag soaking in it.
The urge to yawn could no longer be resisted, so yawn loudly Noah did as he sat up and stretched his arms. The room was a bit chilly, though maybe it was the fact that beneath his covers Noah was wearing nothing but a dirty pair of gray briefs. He wasn't too worried compared to the last time he had awoken in a room and not remembered anything that had happened to him. This place was a lot more comfortable. And there weren't any loud voices shouting at him from nowhere.
"Good morning adventurer!"
Speaking of strange happenings, Noah was a little surprised by the golden text. He had brushed off the sudden appearance of it before, mainly due to the thrill of battle. It was a very odd thing, this mysterious golden text. Noah wouldn't question it as long as it continued to aid him.
"Here's your progress so far."
And at that, the gold writing started listing the following information:
"Name: Noah
Race: Fae
Class: Slate
Dungeons Cleared: 1
Friends: 0
Level: 1
Progress to next level: 83%"
Well, Noah already knew his name. But now he knew a bit more about who he was than before. At least, being whatever a Fae was would explain his pointy ears and silver blood. His class was Slate. He wasn't too sure what that meant, but that probably wouldn't be too hard for him to figure out. That progress to next level message was the strangest one out of all. He may have lost most memories of who he was, but Noah had maintained at least some base level of knowledge. He knew that he was close to whatever the next level was.
Unfortunately, that same basic knowledge caused a little pang in Noah's chest. That line that told him he had zero friends really got to the poor boy. He hoped that hadn't always been true. Surely he must have had some comrades before. Noah gave himself a few assurances to stop himself from getting too down. Maybe as he explored more of Tera de Fantastique he would find people who recognized him.
There was a series of soft knocks on the bedroom door. The gold text dissipated and Noah pulled the covers up to his chin. "Come in," he called out to whomever knocked on the door, then feeling awkward at the thought of inviting someone into a room that wasn't his.
"Oh good," a voice replied as the door opened up. It was Raelynn, carrying in a tray with some breakfast and a glass of milk. "I'm happy to see you're awake."
Raelynn carried the tray over to Noah's bed, placing it down at his feet. She reached over the boy, who was holding the covers a bit tighter to his chest now that she was there, and pulled open the curtains. The early day sun flooded the small room. Noah squinted as he peaked out the window to view the yard. There was a small garden, filled with vegetables and flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Beyond the garden was a green picket fence, and beyond the fence was a building tall enough that Noah couldn't see the top of it from his vantage point.
"You should eat before it gets too cool," Raelynn said, quickly turning around and walking over to the chair where Noah's clothes were. He looked down to his plate. A slice of toast, a thin piece of ham, and some scrambled eggs. Hardly a king's banquet, but to Noah (who was suddenly overcome with a ravenous hunger) it was a feast to fight for. He took large, loud bites of his food, loading bits of egg into his mouth with the toast. He nearly choked on a bite of ham before greedily gulping down half the glass of milk.
A small giggle interrupted Noah's war with his food. He looked up to see a smiling Raelynn before she turned around again, putting his old tattered clothes into a basket she had left by the door. Noah blushed as he started eating his food much slower and quieter.
"I'm glad to see your appetite is in order," Raelynn said before sitting down in the now empty chair. Noah finally took the time to really get a good look at her, something he had managed to forget doing before. He noticed the basic features, sure. She was maybe a head shorter than him and had longer brown hair. He had missed some of the finer details though. Like how the healthy shape of her body was little mystery under her fitting green dress. Or how her hair was braided on only the left side. Her ears, unlike Noah's, were rounded on the top and bottom. Raelynn's were the hardest thing to look away from. A pair of sapphire blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.
"Umm-," Noah stammered out as he finished ogling the young lady with him. He tried to move nonchalantly as he could, pushing the now empty breakfast dishes towards the end of his bed. "Thank you very much for the food."
"No problem, Noah," Raelynn replied. She took the tray and put it next to the basket outside. She then moved her chair closer, now sitting right beside Noah.
"What happened to me?" Noah asked, still not entirely comfortable with a young lady so close to his near nakedness.
"Well-." Raelynn held up her hand and started counting off events on her fingers. "-I was running from goblins and a kobold. You saved me. You collapsed after telling me your name. I brought you here and started treating your fever. And just now I brought you breakfast in bed."
"So the reason my clothes are gone is because you had to treat my fever?"
It was Raelynn's turn to grow red in the face and reply quietly, muttering something about a "Madame" that Noah couldn't quite make out.
"So where is here?" Noah asked. "Is this your home?"
"Sort of," Raelynn answered, waving her hand in the air a bit. "These are the servants' quarters for the tavern there." She pointed out the window at the building that Noah had noticed earlier. "I live here with the other workers. You're actually in my bed right now." She cracked a wide grin. "But if you tell anyone we shared a bed last night, ill beat ya."
Raelynn laughed heartily at her own jest, while Noah was left laughing a little nervously. How serious is that threat, he wondered.
There was one matter on Noah's mind. Something that he obviously wasn't terribly concerned with, but curiosity was sneaking up on him. He felt compelled to ask about his other effects.
"Where's the sword and other stuff I had?"
Raelynn looked at Noah quizzically, and he really hoped he hadn't asked some really stupid question.
"Those weren't permanent gifts, Noah," Raelynn explained. "The divines just want to make sure you can get to this town. Surely all adventurers know that much."
"Probably," Noah grumbled. Of course it would be some common knowledge thing. "Figures as much. I didn't even sign up for this whole 'adventurer' thing, anyway."
"What do you mean?" Raelynn asked. It wasn't the stupefied look she had given Noah a moment earlier. Rather it was one of genuine curiosity.
So Noah recounted how he had arrived in a stone building with no memories of anything before. He watched Raelynn's surprised reactions as he explained how two voices told him he was adventurer and he should explore the world. The voices then gave him a sword and some jewelry and kicked him out into the ruins where he found her.
"That speech sounds like what most other adventurers get," Raelynn explained. Noah opened his mouth to ask a question, but she read his mind before he could speak. "I'm no adventurer. But tons of them come through the tavern. And a lot of them never shut up.
"Ever hear one of them say they had no memories?" Noah asked.
"Not quite." She took a moment and scratched her chin. Suddenly, she let out a little gasp and smiled big. "There were some people who came in like that a few weeks ago. Groggy and wondering where they were. Never saw people like that, before." She looked right at Noah. "Until you. But you're way worse off than them. Last night a few of them got trashed and sang til the morning."
"I should go talk to them," Noah said. Their memories had apparently recovered. Would his only just take some time as well? The least he could do is get a few answers from them. Though if they were the type to drink and sing until morning, Noah wasn't sure how much use they would be to him so early.
"Not like that you're not," Raelynn said, gesturing to his now visible bare chest. She opened up the dresser behind her, leaving Noah's embarrassment out of sight. She pulled out a shirt and pants and tossed them haphazardlyon top of him.
"Thank you," Noah said, a tad muffled by the pants leg over his mouth.
"No problem," Raelynn replied as she started to leave the room. "I have to get ready for work. I might see you later on at the tavern if you come by." And with that, she left and shut the door behind her. With his own busy day awaiting him, Noah got up to put on his new clothes, ready to start off the day.
Handmade shirt (Black) equipped.
Handmade pants (Gray) equipped.
---
"Check out the Journeyman's stall!"
That was the message in exciting gold text greeting Noah as he left the servants' quarters. It left as quickly as it came, and Noah was upset it didn't even point him in the right direction.
Oh well, Noah thought as he walked down the stone steps of the building. Nothing wrong with a little bit of aimless wandering I suppose.
So wander Noah did. He wasn't alone on the streets of Remnant as he heard the local passerby call it. There were people that seemed to come from all over to this place. Hard to believe the arid ruins he had arrived in only a day ago were located within walking distance of such a lush, green locale. (Actually the Dusk Ruins were some distance away from Remnant, but Noah would come to understand Gates and Doors soon enough.) Noah would see men, women, and children dressed in homemade clothes that looked like they had been born and raised in Remnant. Others he would see wearing fine robes that they held up a bit so they wouldn't drag them along the grass. They weren't nearly as fascinating as the warrior looking men and women, wearing armor made from all sorts of metals and leathers that Noah was scared he'd never be able to obtain. Noah assumed (correctly) that those were other adventurers. Some clearly had more experience than him, while others in less fine armaments were likely in a similar situation him.
Just starting out and wondering what to do next.
Noah had walked for a while. Thankfully, he didn't need to worry about having a hard time making it back to the tavern. Remnant seemed to be entirely on one road. Out the corner of his eyes he noticed a few buildings located behind the ones alongside the road. Judging by the people leaving the road and going to them, Noah imagined those were the homes of the local residents. Remnant was a nice, organized little town. He guessed that even if he had memories, he would still hold a soft spot for any place like Remnant.
"Oi!"
The cry popped Noah out of his light daydream. There were plenty of people roaming the street where he was. The shout could've been meant for any of them. So why did it draw his attention that much?
"You! You in the Black!"
This time Noah could track the voice. It was a tiny man. A portly tiny man in green clothes standing against an open wagon cart. Noah had to wonder how a little man like him could ever manage to mount the towering horse that seemed to pull his cart.
"Not you two dolts. I already talked to ye."
The tiny man shooed away two tall figures covered entirely in their black cloaks. The two of them walked away as Noah slowly approached the man and his cart.
"Now, now," the man said, continuing to wave Noah closer. "Hurry up, dere. I don't have all day for ye."
"Are you-"
"Aye aye. I'm the Journeyman."
Well, Noah didn't know what exactly to expect. So he was hardly surprised to find a little fellow in green was exactly who he needed to chat with.
"Now," the Journeyman said as he waddled over to the cart. "You'll need one of these." He reached in and quickly tossed something behind him. Noah scrambled to catch before it got too low. It was a little paperback book. On the front in small print was written Adventurer's Starting Guide.
"Annnnddddd," the little guy mumbled as he continued to dig around in the cart. "Aha! Got it!" He turned around and shoved something into Noah's unoccupied hand. It was a little copper bracelet with some thin iron chain to wrap around the arm.
"Well go ahead, put it on. Put it on."
Noah listened to the urgent pleas of the Journeyman. He slipped the bracelet around his arm and clasped the iron chain together. He felt a soft breeze blow over him, and then he looked down at the Journeyman.
"Congratulations to ye and so on. Ye're an official adventurer!"
Starting Bracer equipped. All STATS +1.
Item Box added.
Detect Foe skill added.
"You've met the Journeyman. Continue exploring what Remnant has to offer."
So far the golden text had not led Noah wrong. He waved goodbye to the Journeyman, who responded with some half hearted grumble of "good luck" as he left.
--
Noah was sure that he had explored most of the major facilities that Remnant had to offer. The sun was setting as he walked slowly back to the tavern. There had been way too much back and forth across the long town road for one day. Especially since it took more than half the day before he got some shoes on his feet.
The first thing Noah had done after getting his bracelet and book was check out his item box. It was a simple enough task. He just knew that you had to think about your item box and voila! It was just conjured up into existence floating in front of you.
He was met with a pleasant surprise in the form of a bag filled up with gold coins. While he was sure some of them had been the spoils for defeating Utuk, it took Noah a moment to realize where the rest of the coin came from. The golden text reminded him just as he thought of it.
"Here's the bonus reward for defeating Utuk and saving the girl. Enjoy the fruits of your hard labor."
Noah smirked before he tossed the Adventurer's Starting Guide into the item box with his coins. He promised himself that he would at least read some before he went to sleep that night. He was just far too delighted and distracted by what he thought was a nice chunk of money to really worry about the old guidebook.
The first shopping stop was the blacksmith. In the brief time he had it, Noah had come to enjoy wielding his sword. However, since this was his new life and everything (and he wasn't sure when he was going to be going into battle again) Noah decided to broaden his horizons some. Instead of just getting the same old short sword he had before, Noah picked a weapon out with a blade at least twice the length. This one's blade was at least the length of his arm. He gave the sword a few practice swings, drawing an "Oohh" from a passing child before his mother dragged him away. It was still easy to swing as the short sword, and Noah's logic told him more range couldn't hurt. So he spent the low price of ten gold coins on the sword.
The next shop was the jeweler. At first, Noah thought the old woman covered in red and pink silk and scarves had scammed him. She told him that every adventurer tried out her new product. Only fifty coins. But when Noah took a look at what he had bought, he was not impressed. It was a tiny ring, made for a person's pinky, made of what looked to be brass. The boy almost ran back into the odd lady's tent to yell at her, but the moment he put on the ring just to test it out Noah changed his mind.
The following stop was the tailor's home. If Noah had bothered to read his guidebook, he would've seen the early notes that said to avoid this place. The moment he saw the price tags he could easily see why. A shirt of similar quality to the one he already wore cost twice the amount of coins he had started with. Not that he really wanted new clothes already. That would seem horribly ungrateful to Raelynn. No, the literally poor boy was simply curious. Instead he got a cheap pair of leather sandals for sixteen coins. At least he finally had shoes.
The final shopping stop he had on his list was the alchemy shack. Located at almost the opposite end of town from the tailor, the shack was operated by a girl who couldn't have been more than ten years old. But this little green haired lady knew more than anyone else in the town about potions. From her, Noah bought the exact same set up he had been gifted before. The belt, the three bottles of red liquid, and the one bottle of blue stuff cost him twenty coins.
Longsword equipped. STR +4
Leather Belt equipped. DEF +1
The Lady's Brass Ring equipped. MAG +7, DEF+2, RES+2.
Ice Thorn skill added.
Double Stroke skill added.
2 Empty Slots added.
3 HP Vials added.
1 MP Vial added.
Noah's long day ended right as the sun was setting. He had ended up back in front of the tavern, the building more formally known as The Risen Moon. The first floor alone of the massive building could've fit at least three of the servants' quarters, and there were four floors on the place. The lights in the place were on, and Noah could hear the faint sounds of music and good times. This was the task he had been dreading the most throughout the day, and for whatever reason he had chosen to save it until he was worn and weary. But as he climbed up the creaking steps of the tavern's front porch, Noah knew that it must be done.
This place held just some of the answers he sought.