- - - (Niall's POV) - - -
A sharp beam of sunlight flashed through my eyes, jolting me awake. "Ugh, I hate the sunlight..." I murmured, my voice still heavy with sleep.
Back on Earth, I suffered from something called photophobia—a condition where your eyes are severely sensitive to sunlight, just like in my case. It was bad enough that I had to wear sunglasses whenever I went outside, even if the sun wasn't shining brightly.
As a child, I didn't have that problem, but later on, during a period of being a shut-in, I unfortunately developed the syndrome. I guess it probably happened because of a lack of sunlight exposure, which made my eyes sensitive.
Luckily for me, my new body and the falna gave me enough protection from such things, even basic sicknesses like colds, etc
Being able to look around openly without glasses, in the sunlight, was mind-blowing for me. Standing up, I quickly got ready and made my way down to the main area of the tavern. It looked like any other tavern from a fantasy franchise.
The wooden stairs shrieked as I added pressure onto them. Upon reaching the bottom, I noticed a few looks directed at me. One hooded, mysterious guy—whom I swear I had seen last night—was sitting in the same spot with the same drink on the table.
Others in the inn were a bunch of dwarves and beast folk. The dwarves were cheerily drinking and chatting with the beast folk, while the tavern owner polished the tables.
"Heya, good morning kiddo! I already made you food and placed a drink on the table there," Gob pointed me to the table, which was right next to the hooded man.
"And how much would that cost me?" I asked calmly as I checked my backpack, which I carried on my back. Gob stopped for a moment and shooed me away with his hand. "It's on the house, you don't need to pay for anything here."
I nodded and made my way back to the table with my food and drink, pulling up a chair. I sat down comfortably and began eating. On the table, I found a good chunk of chicken with some salad and a couple of bread slices.
The drink placed next to me was a beer. "Serving beer to minors?" I muttered quietly so nobody could hear me.
But then I remembered that in this world, the laws of my previous one don't apply. Here, fourteen-year-olds are considered mature enough to drink and even engage in other adult activities, which was kind of unsettling for me.
But when you look on the other side of it, the adventurer life is known to be short and much more dangerous. Having such a perilous way of living only means that whoever follows it is mature enough for that kind of stuff.
Being able to kill and witness blood and gore in the dungeon is hardcore enough to make even someone who is fourteen or younger mature.
While I was happily enjoying my nice food and drink, a mysterious hooded man sat at the table with me. For the moment, I couldn't see his face. I turned my eyes to Gob for a second and saw that he was watching me with anticipation.
"Hello, young adventurer, mind if I take a seat?" The voice, which I immediately recognized, spoke from beneath the dark-cloaked robe.
"No problem at all, want some?" Deciding to play along, I offered the man a piece of chicken, which seemed to surprise him for a moment.
"Very kind of you, but no thanks, ahem..." The next moment, he took down his hood, revealing his divine face. It was Hermes, a blonde-haired, young-looking god who liked to make mischief and poke his nose where it didn't belong.
"Well, I should introduce myself then. My name is Hermes! As you may or may not know, I'm one of the gods who descended upon the mortal realm!" He waved his hands in the air, presenting himself as some sort of noble.
"Well, nice to meet you, god Hermes. I am Niall. Just call me Niall since I don't have a last name," I introduced myself to the curious god, which made his eyes sparkle.
"Then tell me, young Niall... I've heard that you aspire to become an adventurer, don't you? Also, the amazing thing you did against the bandits sure isn't unheard of!" He laughed in his usual way, but I could read him perfectly.
"...You've heard of my endeavors against the bandit camp?" I asked him, feigning surprise as much as I could.
"Mhm, such a heroic deed is sure to be heard in the region! The majestic news of wiping out the bandits that plagued the region for years is sure to inspire any folk out there who had trouble with those bandits before."
"I see, yeah, I did wipe them out pretty easily, I could say... And what do you want from me then? You surely wouldn't approach me without some interest in your mind, would you?"
My question surprised Hermes, and his eyes widened. I grinned inside, knowing that he couldn't read me like he could with any other mortal. My blessing of Azathoth even allowed me to bypass the deities' senses, meaning they couldn't see through me or sense my lies.
"Ah, well, let's get to business then! I want to learn more about the aspiring adventurer who will one day come to Orario itself. Would you mind if we had a little walk around the town?" He asked me with a more serious tone than before.
"I wouldn't mind... but only after I finish my food here." I blinked and returned my attention to my food, which seemed even more delicious now that Hermes was keeping my hungry stomach at bay.
"Ahaha, sorry about that. I'll be waiting for you outside by the door!" He patted me on the shoulder and made his way out of the inn, leaving me alone at the table.
I continued eating the delicious food, occasionally overhearing gossip from the dwarves and beastkin behind me.
"How could that kid kill all those bandits? Is Marcus telling the truth?"
"Bastard, of course, he's telling the truth. That kid even got the attention of a god himself!"
"He's most likely an adventurer. That could explain his strength..."
I ignored all of them and finished eating my plate, leaving the beer cup empty as well. As I grabbed the plate and cup to return them, Gob's voice stopped me.
"Hey, no need for that! I'll take care of it. You go and use your situation to get to Orario along with that god himself. Connections are important to have in such a large city as Orario, you know!"
I waved and nodded, making my way outside where I was greeted by both Hermes and the sunlight again.
"Ready to go now?" He paused for a moment before continuing, "You see, there's a nice blacksmith shop in town... I bought a couple of things from there a while ago, and I'd like you to get a weapon of your own. You'll need it in Orario."
He directed me through the town with his hand on my shoulder. "What kind of weapon do you prefer?" He turned his head back to me, curiosity filling his eyes in anticipation of my answer.
"I don't use any weapons, though. I rely on my ranged powers to fight and defend myself. Carrying and maintaining a weapon sounds like too much of a hassle to me..."
Hermes was taken aback by my answer for a moment. "Oh... well, it's still a good idea to have some weapon with you. Even a basic dagger could be very helpful in desperate situations. You must never get too comfortable with your abilities, or else you could end up in a fatal position, like many mages who become overconfident."
His advice was well-intentioned, but little did he know that I didn't have magic or mana. I could use my ability as much as I wanted without negative effects. I couldn't have asked for a better power. It reminded me of a character from Re:Zero called Hector, who could send similar-looking waves at his enemies, just like I did with those bandits' baboons.
I didn't want to reveal anything yet to Hermes, so I just nodded and kept following him through the town. The people around us watched us with awe and curiosity. It seemed that the news of me wiping out the bandits had made an impact in the region.
I mean, not every day could you hear news of a sixteen-year-old boy wiping out an entire bandit camp without getting a scratch on his face.
"Here we are!" Hermes happily announced, and I found myself standing right in front of the entrance to a medium-sized blacksmith shop. The building looked like any other in town, a fantasy wooden medieval house, but what made it unique was a family emblem on it.
"Is that the symbol of Svarog?" I asked upon seeing the very familiar symbol from my past life on Earth.