On the outskirts of Dekkalo after he got off the trade caravan and said his goodbyes to the trader, he made a mental note to himself that this will be the last time he uses his parents gold to get what he wants, especially since they are not his parents anymore.
In this world there are 2 types of talents, one being natural talents beings get from birth, and the other being talents they get from hard work and dedication. Even the lowest of the low lives have talents whether it be one or the other, he needs talents.
Where most people who didn't have natural talents would start, is with their affinity, affinities make it easier to gain talents related to that affinity. Although Alex does not have any affinity, he knows that he can get talents that have nothing to do with his affinity, this is the way the world has been for hundreds of years now.
Thoughts pop into Alex's mind like, "How should I make gold?" and "Where am I going to sleep tonight?" Thoughts keep popping in his head like this and he takes a minute to calm down to reassess his situation. He knows he's never really been out on his own before but no one else knows that. He needs to at least look like he knows what he's doing so as not to attract a mugging.
Alex knows a room in Dekkalo is far too expensive and thinks to himself, "Too expensive, I never thought I would ever say that to myself." For Alex, the best way he knows to make money, in his current state, is to do ruin runs. It's when a person activates a ruin and either fights or sneaks through to the treasure room located in the far points of the ruin. A ruin can have multiple treasure rooms.
Whenever someone enters a ruin, they go from the realm to the ruin's world. Once they enter, they will be put into a safe zone and can explore freely but to go back they need to find a ruin crystal that is guaranteed to spawn in treasure rooms and boss rooms.
Boss rooms are rooms that instead of having multiple enemies have just 1 or 2 tough enemies, these are almost guaranteed to drop items, items can be equipment or potions each with their own unique features and abilities. Treasure rooms don't have gold but they do have 1 or 2 items.
Many beings consider the ruins as a door to the ruin's world, each ruin is different and has a different world. Many beings to this day consider these ruins to be a strange anomaly, yet still embrace them as a way to either get items they need or just for fun.
Alex decides that his best bet is to get some sleep as it's already evening. He heads into the forest to sleep as the nearby ruins scare off animals so he doesn't have to worry about being eaten.
Today for the first time ever Alex went to bed hungry and uncomfortable on the ground of the forest floor. Although he moved the stones and twigs and such out of the way, it was still uncomfortable especially for him since he's used to lying down and waking up on a bed most people dream they could afford.
He stuffed his empty backpack full of leaves and he took the gold and put it in his pocket. His sword sat next to him and on the other side of him was his shield and next to his shield was his axe. On a low hanging branch, about a meter away, was his armor. His vision faded to dark, and what felt like moments to him, were hours.
He woke in a daze, part of him hoping it was all just a dream. When he woke up, he was a little weary and slightly groggy, he put on his armor and put his axe in the empty backpack. His sword was on his hip in its sheath and had his shield strapped to his shoulder. He started off to Dekkalo early that morning to get some food, water, and extra provisions.
When he arrived, the gate guards let him in since they have very loose rules when it comes to who can enter. The people of Dekkalo are known for being welcoming to almost everyone, mostly because they want to sell their very expensive items. Once inside, he was greeted by a bustling city at least 2 times the size of Hamellio. Alex was taken off guard by this as he has never seen a city so active so early.
The first place he stopped by was a 7 way crossing because he saw a map and he wanted to go to a tavern or inn that was further away from the gate to get the best deals on overpriced food. Alex was born rich but he was also born noble; his parents and teachers made sure he had a good understanding of how money and price works.
He saw what seemed to be a nice place called the "Hunter's Tavern."