We strolled down the huge road in the evening while eating our light snack.
We bought it during the walk, using Klane's money of course. It was meat on a stick, which was rather odd for a meal, but it's surprisingly tasty.
"So tell me, Rize."
Klane suddenly said during our walk, and I turned to her. She was still having the meat stick on her mouth, and she spoke while chewing.
"How is Jrake?"
"... Huh?"
I looked at her confusedly, but she closed her eyes as she explained.
"I mean, how was he? Is he secretly worried about something? Was he not like usual?"
Klane continued with the question, but I became slightly more confused thanks to that.
"I'm… not sure. If you ask me, nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary."
"Is that so…"
She said and continued eating the meat stick.
"Oh, right. He had a test taker today that scared the hell out of him. There was a huge burn mark on the arena caused by that person."
"Oh, that guy. Why would anyone do something that terrible on a Red ranked test? Normally people would just defeat the tester if they are just so powerful. Why the need to bully them?"
"I'm not sure if he is bringing fear, or if he just couldn't control his powers properly. Either way, what happened was stupid."
"Agreed."
We both took another chew at the meat on the stick, and then grinned from the taste.
"Even so, I don't think Jrake would back out from fear either."
I said to her, just in case she was worried about Jrake. But from the looks of it, she agreed with me.
"That's true. He's too much of a rock head."
We both laughed at that at the same time, giggling like two girls talking about boys.
Oh shoot… did I just gossip?
"So how does it feel? Training with him and all."
She suddenly asked, and I lifted my right hand's palm to look at it. It's swollen all over, proving that it is a hand that has trained non stop with the sword.
"It feels… amazing. It's really great training with a great teacher, and I can feel myself healing really fast."
"Hmm... I have been meaning to ask.
How is it that your body barely had any magic points at all? Like, even normal babies have magic points. Or even, if there were cases where babies weren't born with any magic points, they would certainly die without the help of magic items.
Just… what exactly happened to you?"
That… is a good question.
I don't know what happened to me when I arrived here, but one thing is certain. This body that I am using, could be some sort of replicated and modified version of my old body.
A normal body, if they were born in this world, they will certainly have magic points no matter how low they are. Like Klane said, if they don't, they will cease to exist. Which is why the only explanation that I can think of, is that this body is either my old one or it was a replica of my old one.
The only thing that is different was the physical appearance, like the hair color and gender. The age is the same, and it seems like my brain is still intact. Otherwise, I wouldn't be having these memories.
So how do I answer her…
"To be honest… I'm not sure."
I just have to keep on lying, making sure she doesn't get caught up.
"Before I came here, there's nothing wrong with my body. I can move normally and run properly. Ever since coming here, it was like everything changed."
I answered, but Klane looked very confused.
"Could it be… where you came from, was there no magic?"
She guessed correctly.
"It was probably not that there is no magic, but more like magic was never a thing that we had time for. It definitely exists, for sure, but we just don't know about it."
I lied as I breathed, which thankfully worked because Klane then let out a long sigh.
"Fuuh… that's tough."
After walking around the town buying this and that for me, we both felt that the time was quite late and that we should both head back to the Adventurer's Office.
As soon as we arrived, the office was pretty empty, but the receptionist desk was still open and active.
"Okay, one last check, Rize."
Klane said right after we entered the office, and I nodded at her.
It's finally time for a final check, to see whether or not I'm healed. Today, I trained like crazy, so it should at least heal my magic points completely.
I put my hand on the ball as I have done multiple times. The bottom crystal lights up, and prints out the symbols that I just learned yesterday.
I turned to the bottom crystal, and began reading the contents aloud.
"Magic Points... One hundred and thirty four!"
"Haha!!!"
We both cheered quite loudly, which deafened almost everybody at the office.
By the way, the office isn't empty yet. There are still plenty of adventurers outside. They just heard two girls screaming and cheering inside the office's receptionist room.
"Thank you, Klane... I will repay all your help, someday."
I said to Klane, who is putting the device back where it belongs, and she nodded at me from a distance.
"Don't mind it. I'm only doing my job!
So, mission tomorrow?"
She asked me, and I grinned at her.
"Finally."
She let out her right hand, asking for a handshake. I stared at her hand for a few seconds, then I lifted my own hand and grabbed hers.
After that, I bade farewell to Klane and Miss Keila (I had to apologize to Miss Keila for being too loud), and I went back to my bedroom.
Now that I no longer feel tired easily, I can continue with the training and become even stronger. Plus, starting tomorrow, I can start doing missions.
Hmm, should I try to rank up?
Even so… I don't really see the point. Maybe if I get to Purple rank, I'll probably be fine with the payment. Like Klane said, I don't want to attract too much unwanted attention to myself, otherwise, who knows what kind of annoying things will happen to me.
I hope that starting tomorrow, I can start doing adventuring missions. After all, I have to repay the clothes that Klane bought for me.
I also have to repay Jrake for training me. But, how do I do that?
I thought no more about that and started reading a book. And by the time I realized, I slept with the book on top of my face.
.
.
.
"My god, Rize! Why do I always find you in weird positions every time I come to wake you up?"
I picked up the book from my face as I slowly moved my body up.
"I mean... it's comfortable."
I shoved away the sleepiness, and I looked around to find where I am currently at. From how rowdy it sounds outside, it must be way past the first bell, so I guess… 7 AM?
"So, are you going to do it? Your first mission?"
Klane asked me as I got up from the bed, and I turned to her still looking quite tired.
"Yeah… I think so. Sorry, I'm not fully woken up yet."
"It's fine. I just needed your confirmation. Come on down when you are ready, I have something to show you."
She left me alone in the room after saying that, and I turned towards the items that she left on the table.
I didn't notice that she brought these items when she came in. She just left them on the table without telling me about it, but I guess these items are pretty self-explanatory.
These are the clothes that we bought yesterday. She was keeping them inside her magic space ring or whatever the entire time, and she probably forgot to give it to me last night.
I studied the clothes one by one, and one set caught my eyes the most.
Right… I'll be using this one for today, right?
And for the first time in forever, I took a bath. There is a bathroom at the end of the Office's second floor hall. That's basically where I peed the whole time, and it also has a shower for cleaning up.
I took my new set of clothes as well as the towel, and I went to the bathroom to bathe. The water was very cold, it's certainly below 16 degrees celsius or something. I'm shivering to death here.
After bathing, I put on the new set of clothes that we bought last night. I didn't get the chance to wear this one because Klane nagged me to hurry up, so the diner wouldn't be closed when we visited.
Now, I can wear it. The set that I am very excited about almost all night during the walk…
My adventurer's clothes.
After drying out my super long hair which takes fucking forever to dry, I cleaned my room up since the bed was quite messy. Then I went downstairs to the receptionist office room, where Klane told me to go once I'm ready.
The moment I entered the room, Klane looked at me with wide eyes.
"Oh my, gorgeous!! Hello there, adventurer…"
Klane said to me, and I really can't tell if she's overly praising me or it was indeed a fact.
The adventurer set that she bought consisted of two layers. The outer layer is a thick light gray jacket, but only covers my shoulder and upper arm. The layer underneath that is a simple long sleeved gray shirt. But of course, the material to this shirt isn't simple, since it is quite thick.
For my legs, I'm wearing long brown tight leggings, but it's mostly covered by a long gray skirt that goes all the way to my knee. The front side of that skirt was open, making the skirt almost split in half.
This set is definitely very good for adventuring at any condition, but it only has one downside to it.
It shows my curves a little too much…
"I feel like this is too open…"
I said as I studied my body, especially around the chest area. There is no skin being revealed, but the fact that my chest was so out in the open made me feel worried about the eyes that will stare at me. Of course, I'm wearing a bra now, so the 'thing' will not show. But it doesn't change the fact that this attire is really suggestive.
"I think this is great. Most females don't even bother covering their skin anyway, so you should be grateful!"
Klane said while pointing her thumb to the glass of the receptionist office, and from that glass I can see all the adventurers outside the office.
All the female adventurers… are so revealing… and made me the only one with closed attires.
"I feel like wearing a full body armor is so much better than this--"
"Just shut it. Nothing is better than this. Period."
Klane said while stressing over her point, and I couldn't really argue with her since she was the one who got this set for me.
And… it's not that I don't like wearing this. It's actually very comfy, and my only issue was that it's very suggestive.
"Anyway, Rize. Take a look at this."
Klane then handed me a piece of paper. I took it from her, and noticed that it's a mission paper.
The mission requested that I obtain thirty of the same plant called 'The Androsie Flower'. Apparently it's a flower that is highly poisonous, but could be used as a healing item.
"It's perfect for your first mission. The place for gathering also isn't far from here, so you can just walk there pretty easily from the gate. Maybe the prize for solving it is low, but it's perfect for a first."
"I see… it is indeed perfect for a first. Where is the spot, and where can I find it?"
"In the south, there is a forest, right? It's actually everywhere inside the forest. Just the first set of trees that you find once you go south, that is the forest you will need to go. You can find the flower on the bottom of the trees pretty easily."
"That's so close... Okay, I'll take it."
"Great! I'll make the preparations right away. When are you going to do it?"
"Right now."
As she finished her paperwork regarding the mission, she gave me a paper scroll. A proof of mission acceptance.
I have to gather 30 flowers called 'Androsie' within a day, or the mission expires.
I brought along a bag that Klane lent me to put the flowers. She also insisted on me bringing a weapon, and I nodded at her.
So I went to the back arena and grabbed my sword from the weapons rack. The scabbard is placed right behind the weapons rack, on the same rack but placed at the back side.
After grabbing the sword, I returned inside again and bade farewell to Klane at the receptionist room, then I began heading towards the exit.
It's around 8 AM now, and it looks already quite lively on this road.
During my walk, I noticed a few individuals that wore adventurer clothes. Which made sense to find them here, because the Adventurer's Office is the only one in the kingdom, and it is located on this very road. It's not weird to find so many adventurers during the walk.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, I realized that this body of mine doesn't get tired at all. I walked from the Office to the gate with no problem. In fact, I still have the energy to run back all the way without stopping. It feels really amazing being healthy, and I'm thankful for having a healthy body.
I arrived at the South-eastern gate of the kingdom, the very gate where I first came in from. I talked to the knight at the gate, and he allowed me to exit after I showed my adventurer card.
And as I exited the gate, I looked towards the open field that is right in front of me. I searched the horizon, looking for the forest that is on the south. I found the first set of trees in the south, and also noticed that the road in front of me does lead that way. I should just follow the road, and it should lead me to the said forest.
Speaking of the road… this path should lead to that tree as well, right?
I finally began walking outside the castle. It took me a while, but after walking for about forty minutes, my eyes were able to spot a tree that is right above a rather short hill.
That's… the tree.
The place where I first woke up.
I walked up to it, and I studied the area closer. I arrived under the tree, cupped my palms together, and I closed my eyes. In my heart, I begged silently.
Please… Please.
Take me back home.
I begged inside my thoughts, and after about ten seconds, I opened my eyes again. Nothing has happened, and I didn't get teleported anywhere.
Even though I begged with all I got, to the point where I nearly cried. But now that I realize nothing has happened, I felt silly for doing that.
After praying to that place, I continued my walk towards the forest. After twenty more minutes of walking, I finally arrived at the forest.
Only one minute upon entering the forest, I found a weird looking flower. Immediately, I took out a piece of paper in my pocket, that is a hand drawn picture of how the flower looks.
It has a big blue circle in the middle, while the flower petals are white. It has a spiky stem that can hurt when being held. Klane told me that the stem contains poison, so I need to use the gloves she gave me in the bag.
I lowered my body and wore gloves. I tried picking the flower up using the gloves, and it's surprisingly quite easy.
And just like that, I have the first flower. I placed the flower in the bag that Klane gave me, and began looking around the forest some more. The moment my eyes turn to the left, I find that there are even more of them.
"Time to get to work…"
I moved from flower to flower, and picked them up carefully using the gloves.
This is such an easy job. Then again, the payment money is only 20 Jules. It barely fed me for a whole day, so this mission was not actually worth doing.
After gathering for about ten minutes, I was able to pick 35 flowers. I picked an extra five just in case something happens.
After that, I left the forest to return.
.