The first thing I needed to do was find a public library or the equivalent in this world. It wasn't very hard to find, since the Guild had one of its own for contractors to use right next door.
The library was made of the same material as the Guild; it looked more like an extension of the main building than a separate building itself. Walking through the entrance, the interior was vast, with numerous shelves filled with thousands of books, but what caught my attention the most was that it had several floors with different colors, colors that I recognized.
A brief conversation with the librarian on the floor I was on confirmed my suspicions. The library was divided by rankings, totaling seven floors.
The floor I was on was the truly public floor, the one that anyone could use, even non-contracted Guild members, the copper floor. The next floor was bronze, then silver, and so on, until the top floor, where only a few could enter, such as royalty, the highest-ranking Guild members, and the highest-ranking contractors.
Anyway, the information I wanted was public, for everyone to see. Well, at least most of the information I wanted. So, the separation by floors didn't affect me for now. It wasn't hard to find what I was looking for: a bestiary and an herbal. Interestingly, I couldn't find the third book I was looking for, a history book.
Both books were large and thick, probably with three hundred or more pages each. I doubted I could read and remember everything in a week, let alone today. Going to the librarian, I had another disappointment. Books in the Middle Ages were ridiculously expensive, and it was the same here.
To buy a copy of each book would cost a gold coin each, or four thousand meals for an ordinary person! I was poor. I admit it would be nice to have a physical copy of the books, but since it wasn't possible, I would go with my plan B.
There were private rooms in case someone wanted to read in silence. They were free for contractors ranked steel and above. In my case, I would have to rent one for a silver per hour. I paid three silvers for three hours.
The private room was nothing fancy, a well-lit room with a stone in the ceiling, a table, and a chair. The chair was comfortable. I placed the two books on the table and took out my cell phone from my inventory. Since I couldn't buy the books, I would steal, or in this case, take a picture of each page.
I even had hope that my cell phone would unlock a magical scanning feature to instantly make a copy of the book in a virtual library. It didn't happen; I had to take picture by picture.
It was tedious, but at least whatever the stream did to my phone left the camera resolution extremely good, so I didn't have to worry too much about not being able to read it later.
It took me about an hour and forty minutes to take all the photos, and I spent the rest of the time getting familiar with it, reading the two books to understand what I was getting into. Another thing, I couldn't find anything related to corruption or crimson, but I already expected that these two wouldn't be on the lower floors.
With about ten minutes left of the time I paid for, I put the books back on the table as I rubbed my eyes and retrieved my phone from my inventory.
"I still need to see what that notification was."
Opening the app wasn't difficult to find what had changed; there was a new icon that said (Missions). Reading it was basically what it said. Stream members, or in this case, people who became members, could send missions.
To send a mission, first, the person needed to be a member. To become a member of the stream, they would need to pay in SP, or in this case, convert their world's money into SP. I suppose the price would vary from world to world.
After that, they could send 'missions,' or basically suggestions with incentives. If someone wanted to see me fight a dragon, they could send a mission:
(Objective: Kill a dragon - Reward: A rice cake - Time limit: 2 days).
In this case, I would obviously refuse, aside from the fact that I would turn into dust before seeing the dragon, the reward wasn't worth the effort. And even if I accepted, I wasn't obligated to complete the mission; it meant that if at any point during those two days I killed a dragon, I would receive a rice cake.
And if I accepted and didn't complete the mission, there would be no punishment; the rice cake would simply return to the member who sent the mission, and nothing would happen. However, the moment I completed the mission, the reward would automatically be mine. No way to trick me, then.
Overall, it's a useful feature, not that it will make a difference now. Leaving the room and returning the books to the librarian, I went to my second destination, Emily's shop, or at least the shop where she worked.
Upon arriving, contrary to what I expected, it wasn't Emily at the counter, but a tall man, approximately six feet three inches. He was bald, clean-shaven, and had tan skin. His arms were muscular, likely from time spent at the forge, as he wore the same blacksmith's apron that Emily used.
I approached him, "Good afternoon, I need some armor, nothing too expensive or extravagant, just for protection."
He looked at me and nodded, "New Guild contractor, I suppose? What's your budget?"
Well, I still had about forty-six silvers with some coppers. I didn't need a weapon; for now, my copper short sword would do. And I would like to have some reserve money in case something happens, so spending thirty silvers here wasn't too bad.
"About thirty silvers, maybe thirty-five, depending on what you have for me, something that won't hinder my mobility but still provides protection."
The man paused for a few seconds, thinking, and then went to the back of the shop without saying anything. Shrugging, I just leaned on the counter and waited. It didn't take long, just a minute or two before he returned.
He came back and placed a wooden box on the counter and began taking items out of it. The first item he pulled out was a chainmail shirt, followed by a breastplate, vambraces, greaves, and leather boots.
"My personal recommendation, light and flexible enough not to hinder mobility but still provides adequate protection." He finished placing everything on the counter and continued, "In total, everything would come to thirty-two silvers and twenty coppers, but since it's your first purchase and you're a new Guild contractor, thirty silvers will suffice."
I nodded and thanked the man. Same as with Geralt, I won't refuse goodwill, and saving a few silvers would be good.
"Thank you for this, sorry for the late introduction, I'm Devas, a new Guild contractor and a new resident of Terraria." Not just the realm, but he didn't need to know that.
"Markus, blacksmith. Need help putting on the armor? Many people tend to get confused when they put it on for the first time."
I nodded in confirmation; I didn't want to put the armor on incorrectly only for it to come loose in the middle of combat. It wasn't difficult; he simply guided me on how to put the right parts on and make sure they were securely fastened. After that, I paid the kind man and left the shop.
Walking back to the inn, I could see the sky starting to turn orange. It was getting late; I'll have something to eat and then go to sleep. I need to start the day early tomorrow.
Upon arriving at the inn, I exchanged a few words with Geralt, grabbed my plate and glass, and went to my room to eat in silence. Placing my plate on the table along with my glass of juice, I sat down and took out my cell phone.
[Live Map LV1: 100 SP]
[VoidBag LV1: 100 SP]
(SP: 1513)
I had a decent amount of SP thanks to the achievements; let's check the live map first. Placing the map on the table, I clicked the update button and observed to see what would happen. The map trembled and crumpled into a ball as if it were alive, then opened again without any folds.
Looking at the map more closely, the first thing that was noticeable was that it seemed cleaner. Its edges were dark blue, giving it a futuristic look, and the drawings on the map that used to be childish and picturesque were now well done, with clean lines.
But I noticed its main change only when I picked it up in my hands. The moment I touched the map, I could see that it was possible to move the location it displayed on it. Like a cell phone or tablet screen.
It was essentially a mini-map of a game; the areas I had already 'explored' were visible, and those I hadn't visited yet were black, like an unlit screen.
It was basically by accident; I was playing with the map and ended up returning to the place where I had come to this world from. The clearing was the only open spot within the forest that I knew, but the most curious thing was that there was something written.
They were two simple words, but they couldn't be more explanatory for any player. (Dungeon - Slime). This changes things; it looks like I won't be going to the Guild today. I restrained my curiosity and set the map aside; I still had to update my inventory.
Taking my inventory, I emptied everything out of it and placed it next to the bed. Something might happen when I updated it; I didn't want to take any risks.
[Live Map LV2: 1000 SP]
[VoidBag LV1: 100 SP]
(SP: 1413)
The cost to upgrade the map to level three had been multiplied by ten; it would be challenging to upgrade the higher levels if it continued like this. After finishing emptying all my items from the inventory, I placed the VoidBag on the table and upgraded it.
It was different from the map; instead of writhing and moving like a living being, the dirty brown bag simply seemed to burn with white light and then updated. Its exterior, which had previously looked dirty and worn, like it had seen years of use, was now clean, appearing to have changed to well-maintained dark brown leather.
When I began to put the items back into the inventory, I noticed the change quickly. At first, I thought I wouldn't need to know the location of the items anymore and could simply request them with my mind or by speaking their names, but that was too much to expect from the first upgrade; the map had already surprised me, and the inventory's upgrade was more subtle.
It wasn't as great, but it was a useful feature. The VoidBag now had multiple compartments inside for liquids, and its organization seemed to have improved. Before, it was like a shelf where I needed to place the items, and only then were they organized. Now, I just had to put the items inside the inventory, and they would automatically arrange themselves.
With everything finished, I took off my chainmail and leather armor and went to take a shower. The bathroom wasn't like what I was used to, but I couldn't complain. It was simple, with a toilet, a sink, and a shower stall. Interestingly, this town had plumbing.
After a quick shower, I put my clothes back on and went to sleep. Another thing, I would need to buy at least one more change of clothes since I would need to wash this one soon.
Placing my inventory under my pillow and my cell phone next to it with my alarm set for tomorrow, I lay down and stayed awake for a while, but soon drifted off, embraced by sweet sleep.
The next day, I woke up at six in the morning to the soft sound of my alarm in my ear. I had set the alarm to a minimum volume to avoid waking the other people in the inn, and I didn't want anyone coming to investigate the source of the sound.
Yawning, I got up and went to the bathroom to wash my face. While I washed my face, still sleepy, my thoughts wandered. I would need to see if they sold toothbrushes; if not, I would have to improvise one.
Finishing my morning routine, I put on my armor and went downstairs to the main hall. To my surprise, Geralt was already awake, cleaning the tables to start the day. Approaching him, I asked, "Good morning, my friend, do you need any help?"
He seemed surprised by my voice, as if he didn't expect anyone to be awake at this hour, and he turned to me. When he saw me, he nodded and denied with his characteristic smile.
"Don't worry, partner, just sit down, would you like something to eat?"
I nodded in agreement.
"I'd love it if it's not too much trouble; I didn't expect to see you awake at this hour; I intended to go out to buy something to eat."
He just laughed and wiped his hands, heading for the kitchen. "I wake up at this hour every day for over thirty years, young man, but I'm glad to know I have a morning companion." He stopped and noticed what I was wearing and continued.
"It looks like you've really joined the Guild; are you going on your first mission today? Be careful, you're one of my most polite guests; I'd hate to lose you because you were eaten by some monster."
I just laughed at that and nodded without confirming or denying. I really would have gone to the Guild if I hadn't updated the map. After chatting with Geralt for a while and eating my breakfast, I went back to my room with the excuse that I had forgotten something and picked up my cell phone.
"Well, here we go again." Taking the cell phone and opening the app, I went live once again for anyone lucky enough to find my stream.
The stream icons appeared on my vision once again. But before I could check if anything had changed, I received not one, but two messages in the (CHAT). One from my first viewer, Red, but the other one wasn't.
[RedHuntressLive]: Devas! Are you okay! I got worried when you didn't log in yesterday!!! Did something happen, did you get hurt??
[GeniusBillionairePlayboy]: Hey! How did you manage to get into my computer! It's not even connected to the internet!! How did you bypass my defenses?!?!
I chuckled as I read the second message. I think I know who that is.