"Thank you, Geralt. The food was amazing."
Waving to the bartender, whom I discovered was also the owner of this inn, I leaned back in my chair. The quiet night had allowed me to sleep without difficulty; it seemed I was more tired than I had expected.
It was almost noon, if what my phone says is true. I woke up early but took my time getting out of bed; I was studying everything I could on the app, and the summary I can give is:
I'm an idiot, and I'm probably screwed.
Let's start from the beginning, the first point. For this, I blame stress and my years on the internet. I confused Red with a guy, even though her nickname literally had 'Huntress' in it, but as I said, I blame the internet; everyone is a guy until proven otherwise.
Second point: After thinking for a bit, I think I know who Red is. If I put together everything I know about her, she's a teenage girl, maybe a student. She has a weapon that's a scythe/rifle, and judging by her nickname, she likes red.
Rose, or Ruby something, I can't remember, I didn't watch the series, but I have a friend who talked about it enough for the character's description to stick in my head. A little girl with a giant scythe who kills dark things, if my memory serves me right.
Sighing, I take a sip of my drink, alcohol, I think I'm going to need it.
Third point: When they said 'Countless realities,' I thought they could be parallel worlds, aliens, not literally worlds I considered fictional. TV series, anime, games, books, anyone could enter my stream and see me screwing up. No pressure.
This brings me to the fourth point: If there are infinite worlds, countless realities, why the hell did I have only one viewer in eight hours? I checked, no one watched me sleep; I have a video of the live stream saved in the app, which is good; I can review it and see if I missed anything.
But moving on, there were supposed to be many people, even if they weren't interested in 'infinite worlds,' theoretically there would be 'infinite people.' Well... no, and I found out why.
It was in the beginner's guide; I had read it hastily last time. I blame those damn eyes; I just wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. But after reading it more carefully, I found this part.
[The streamer, (Me) needs to achieve fame in his current world, the more famous the streamer is, the live stream will appear in more worlds for a longer time.]
What I took from this was that my stream was like a fly; sometimes it landed here, sometimes there, but it didn't stay in one place for long, and since it was just ONE fly, it didn't appear in more than one world at a time.
Sucks if you ask me. Anyway, there's another part; it's not all bad news. Fifth point.
[The streamer's followers, (In this case, only Red) can access the live stream at any time when it's online.]
And the part that gave me some relief was this.
[The streamer's followers can send a unique invitation to someone else and invite them to watch the stream.]
In other words, at least when I open the stream, Red will receive a notification and can join without relying on luck again. She could even invite someone else to the live; she mentioned having a sister, Yang, if I recall correctly. I'll see if I can get Red to invite her; two heads are better than one.
And moving on to the bad news! Well, sixth point: expenses. The store was incredibly expensive, seriously, everything cost in the thousands.
[ Camera models:
First-person camera: 10,000 SP.
Long-distance camera: 7,000 SP.
Angle camera: 4,000 SP.
Omnidirectional camera: 30,000 SP ]
And so on, everything was damn expensive, chat enhancements? Bam! Five thousand SP, unlock the donate button? Bam! Ten thousand SP, and so forth. Finishing my glass, I waved to the only waitress in the tavern. It seems she gets busy only at night; it's less crowded in the morning and afternoon.
"Could you bring me another beer, please, actually, make it two, I need to drink." She just nodded and went to the counter to talk to Geralt. At least I had a drink.
Considering that a three-hour stream with Red earned me thirteen SP, the future looked bleak...
Seventh, better, and final point: I had privileges, or rather, some of my items did. The map and the inventory, or as it's actually called, the VoidBag.
[Living Map LV1: 100 SP]
[VoidBag LV1: 100 SP]
The tools, sword, pickaxe, and axe didn't have upgrades, so I'll need others in the future, the same goes for potions. And no, there are no potions for sale in the store, I checked.
Taking the two glasses of drink from the waitress, I thanked her and continued to drink. I also talked to Geralt, seeking information; I made up a story that I was from a distant village and didn't know the 'big city.' I didn't need to lie; I really didn't know anything.
He explained the basics and the main reason I was drinking. I knew the name of the kingdom I was in. Not that I had visited or heard of anyone, but because I had played it. Terraria, the kingdom was called Terraria!
I really hoped it wasn't the game world, but with my shitty luck, it would be, and my friends, it wasn't a very nice place to live.
On one hand, I had the possibility to become strong, to enhance myself with godlike equipment. Of course, if I were a game character, which I wasn't.
A giant microbe that infects and corrupts everything. A massive flesh blob that devours and causes symbiosis with everything it touches. Ancient gods, beings from other dimensions.
That was Terraria, a place that, if you were immortal and had infinite lives, was a paradise, but for ordinary people? I'd rather go to Red's world. Now I understood why the city had those massive walls.
And I really don't want to even think that the name of the app has something to do with this world; that would just increase my headache. I'll leave that for future Devas to figure out.
Finishing my drinks, I got up and paid the bill to Geralt. "Friend, can you point me the way to the Guild?"
He took the coins I placed on the counter.
"Just take the main road and keep going straight; you can't miss it, trust me."
Waving, I bid farewell. I already had everything with me. Heading to the street, I was still amazed by the scenery. For them, it might be just a city, but for me, it was a medieval fantasy world; it felt like I was in one of the games I used to play. This both fascinated and scared me because I knew how dangerous these places could be.
I walked until I found the main street; it was the best-made road, wide enough for several carriages to pass, paved with asphalt, and the gray stone bricks had a unique pattern.
Following the roadside, I walked for a few minutes, and indeed, there was no way to miss it. The Guild building was massive; it looked more like a mansion than a regular building.
"Magic, for sure." I couldn't help but comment to myself.
The walls were white with huge pillars all around. Each pillar, each wall had small black symbols carved into them, making the place even more exotic. The roof was a dark blue that seemed to be made of scales; the scales also bore the same symbols, but these were silver.
Walking into the Guild hall and entering, the place seemed larger on the inside. The pillars that existed outside were also present in here. Massive white pillars supported the ceiling. Around, on the floor. And in the middle of the hall, a giant board with numerous papers stuck to it. A mission board.
Looking around the hall, there were countless people chatting at the tables scattered throughout. Each one different from the other but with a pattern I recognized well.
Some wore full suits of iron, steel, what I imagined to be silver, even gold! Others wore long robes and held staffs with gems at the tips. There were also those with more agile, short attire and bows on their backs. Classes, people seemed to have classes.
It looked like the center of an MMORPG. It wasn't just the few classes from Terraria. I could think of some that didn't exist, aside from the usual warrior, archer, mage. Those with daggers and cloaks might be rogues or thieves, perhaps.
There were a few who were mounted on animals with small creatures following them. Summoners. There were some with white robes and golden engravings; if I were to follow stereotypes, these would be white mages, or in this case, healers and support.
Not to mention the weapons, short swords, long swords, halberds, tridents, thick and short bows. Red would have an orgasm just stepping in here, ignoring the fact that some of them literally gleamed, while others even emitted sparks, both fire and electricity.
Holding back from smiling and looking weird, I walked up to one of the reception desks. Seriously, this world made me feel both amazed and stressed at the same time.
Approaching one of the vacant receptions, a woman with dark skin caught my eye. She seemed to be a bit older, in her twenties or late twenties, with black hair and eyes. What caught my attention most about her weren't the melons she carried on her chest; they were nice, but the two black cat ears on top of her head were more exotic, at least to me.
She smiled and greeted me with a nod.
"Good afternoon, how can I assist you?"
She looked me up and down, judging me; she didn't seem to like what she saw, but she remained courteous. I couldn't blame her; I was dressed simply and not equipped to the teeth like literally everyone else here.
"I'm new in town, came from afar; I'd like to join the guild, how much would it be?" I already knew how much it would be; Geralt told me it was one silver coin. Kind of expensive, if you ask me, but who was I but a stranger in this city?
"It's one silver, sir, but in case you don't have that money on hand, you can take a provisional license and pay us as you complete missions."
I nodded and took out some copper coins. Another thing I had learned. Coins were counted in four types, three denominations, and one hundred for one. One silver was worth one hundred coppers, one gold was worth one hundred silvers.
There were copper, silver, gold, and platinum coins. And the denominations were:
Small Coins: The smallest type of coin. Small coins were worth only one piece of their type; a small copper coin was worth only one copper. It was also the most common type of coin.
Large Coins: The type most used by Guild contractors, they didn't have a name; some called them adventurers, others contractors. It was worth ten pieces of their type. A large copper coin was worth ten coppers.
And the 'rarer' type. Royal Coins: As the name suggested, they were only used by really wealthy people. Large merchants, nobility, and especially royalty. It was worth one hundred pieces of their type, but unlike the others, there were only royal coins in gold and platinum.
I handed the woman eight large copper coins and twenty small copper coins. I didn't want to draw attention by using a silver coin; I looked like a peasant, having large coins was already strange.
"Here, I'll pay now, what do I need to do?"
She seemed surprised but hid it well; her gaze changed slightly, now she seemed to take me more seriously. She took something from under the counter and placed it on the divider between us.
It was some papers, what appeared to be a black badge. It had a pentagonal shape with a tree carved in the center. And finally, a quill and a small knife.
"I need you to sign here and drop a drop of your blood on your badge."
I just nodded, as if I were going to do this shit without reading.
"Could I read the papers before?" If she denied, I would just leave. I'm not signing anything without reading, especially something that could involve magic.
She seemed surprised by this and nodded, perhaps expecting that I couldn't read? Just another thing I needed to check, like the level of education in this world.
"Of course, you can, my apologies for that, here you go."
I took the papers from the table and began reading them carefully. I wasn't a lawyer, but as a programmer, I needed to pay attention to details; a misplaced comma could mess me up, so I knew how to pay attention to details.
After a few minutes of reading, I didn't find anything suspicious. It was just a standard contract. It wasn't the best, it had only one clause I didn't like, but it was fair.
If I signed the contract, I would officially become a member of the Guild and could take missions based on my badge level. In my case, it was the lowest possible. They even had a small summary, I guess to encourage people.
In order from lowest to highest:
Copper: This was the level for people who had just joined the Guild; most people would move out of this level in one or two weeks.
Bronze: This was the level where you were considered for 'party' or group invitations.
Silver: The level of most contractors, the most common, and also the level of most of the city's militia.
Steel: This level was a division; here began the Guild's 'Elite,' people who were called for important missions, noble escorts, defense, and monster eliminations, etc.
Gold: The level or equivalent to what the gate guards had. Here you could already be considered a minor noble without titles. The respect of a noble but without everything else.
Platinum: The level or equivalent of the army generals. Here you could be considered someone of respect, already with some power.
And the last one: it was confusing, but in essence, it was 'Gem': Here were truly the strongest that the kingdom and the Guild had to offer. I say confusing because the chosen gem varied from person to person, depending on their class and specialization.
Returning to the contract, as I said, it was common, even advantageous. The Guild would take ten percent of the profit from each mission I completed up to the steel level; then, it would drop to five percent, and at the gold level, I would get all the money.
But the part that made me hesitate was:
(In the event of a threat to the kingdom, all contractors must serve in the army until the threat is eliminated; in case of non-compliance, the contract becomes null, and you will be expelled from the Guild and placed on the blacklist forever).
Cool, everyone coming together to defend the kingdom and all that, but there was a catch. I wasn't from this kingdom, I couldn't care less if this place blew up or turned to ashes, besides the fact that I would need to find another place to earn money and sleep.
But as people say: beggars can't be choosers. If something happened, I'd just grab my stuff and leave.
After rereading the contract to make sure I hadn't missed anything, I signed it. The contract itself didn't seem to be magical, but the next part was.
"Do I just drop a drop of blood here?"
"Yes, that's all, quite simple."
Indeed, it was simple. I pricked my finger with the knife and let a drop of blood drip onto the medallion. Immediately, nothing happened, then the medallion shimmered a bit and began to transform; the color changed to something metallic. Copper. Then the tree in the center seemed to pulsate, and small grooves appeared just below the root.
(Devas Asura: Copper Rank.)
Explanatory and simple. My name and my rank. This was also explained in the contract. The medallion was linked to your blood, so it was like a fingerprint; each one had a different one, some with more tree roots, others with more leaves, some with animals or weapons. Mine?
"Different, never seen one like this before," the receptionist said.
Mine had what looked like a cellphone on the tree trunk, and in the middle of the cellphone, a button. And if what I was seeing wasn't hallucination, my system connected to it.
(Connection with Guild Medallion found: Achievement unlocked - Beginner Adventurer, the beginning of your story: 1000 SP).
(Connection with Guild Medallion found: Resource unlocked - Member Missions).
I was happy to get the free SP, but I'd look into it more later. I waved to the receptionist.
"Do you keep the contract, or can I have a copy?" It's better to be safe.
She seemed excited about something. "Here, I'll get another copy; by the way, my name is Nyssa, nice to meet you, Mr. Devas."
She turned and went to get something from the shelf behind her, leaning over and giving me a view of her plump behind and a black cat tail swaying. I couldn't complain; it was a great view.
But I would be an idiot not to notice the difference in treatment. Mr.? Maybe she thought I was some nobleman's disguised son or something? Shrugging, I enjoyed the view, as I said, I wouldn't complain.
She seemed to smile at that and swayed her hips a bit, then turned and grinned.
"Here, for you, do you need anything else?" She winked seductively and ran her fingers over my hand as I took the extra contract.
I smiled back and put the contract in my inventory while shaking my head in denial. This cat's luck was that I had a lot to do, a lot to think about. Work before pleasure, as my late grandfather used to say.
She seemed a little sad at the refusal, if the ears flattened on top of her head were anything to go by, but she smiled anyway.
"I understand, good luck then; if you want to pick up a mission or have any questions, come to me, I'll personally assist you," she winked and blew a kiss in my direction.
I waved and turned to leave. I had no intention of picking up a mission, at least not today; I needed equipment, at least a leather armor. I need to see if there's some kind of monster encyclopedia too. I was a Terraria fan, but I'd be crazy not to expect things to be different from the game.
Here we go, I had plans to make.