Lorian walked down the streets as he slowly headed over to the market. The city of Meryl has shaped into a circle-like shape. Mortals were on the periphery, while the Path Masters were closer inside.
The higher your Rank, the further inside you could go within the city. Lorian was heading to the market for the mortals, his goal to buy some basic needs to sustain his life.
Lorian lacked the funds that other Path Masters had. He had no other option but to buy his supplies from the mortal market.
The city seemed pretty on the surface; after all, they couldn't let the people traveling here see what was going on within the depths of the city.
Once in a while, Lorian would look carefully in the depths of some alleys and could make out some people in them. Meryl was truly a corrupt city, but it was one of the biggest cities for trading in the area.
Lorian slowly walked towards the market; he could finally make out the distant figures of the market. The market was held in an empty area in the mortal area of the city; stands, wagons, and people stood around this area selling supplies.
Most unlike the other markets for Path Masters, mortals did not fight or bargain often. They held an entirely warm attitude towards each other. After all, most mortals believed in being righteous and upholding their values.
Lorian walked around the market, checking for prices and finding the best deals on whatever was needed for him. In the end, he settled on a waster flask and a small bag to use.
Lorian had spent 20 copper coins for these supplies; compared to the other supplies that were being sold, it was on the more expensive side, but he needed the bigger backpack for what he was going to do.
Lorian took another look around the market; after finding nothing else that he didn't need, he decided to take his leave and walk away.
He walked around the city until he got to his destination, a rundown inn without many people in it. The prices per night were only 2 copper coins, 3 if you wanted food along with your stay.
Lorian walked in, the old wooden door creaking open as he pushed it open. The inn was warm but had a rusty smell lingering in the air.
"Welcome in! How many can I help you today?"
An middle-aged man spoke to Lorian at a desk at the front of the inn.
Lorian grabbed his pouch and took out six Cooper coins to give to the receptionists. The man took it as he gave Lorian a key to his room.
"Here's your key; it's room 13 on the second floor. If you ever get hungry and want some food, just bring that key downstairs and show the person serving food. Food times are from dawn to sundown, with noon closed for around an hour."
"Enjoy your stay, sir."
Lorian gave a nod of thanks before taking the key and heading up to his room. He took a look around the small room; the bed was just big enough for one person and had a small stand next to it with a candle and some matches.
A window was handed on the wall above the stand; aside from that, there wasn't much else. The rest of the room had small spaces for people to store their stuff.
Lorian was quite satisfied with this; he didn't need much space for much sense; he didn't have anything. The costs were cheap and came with food; it was also not too far from nearby stores.
Lorian looked around the room as he checked for anything suspicious. Even though it was unlikely, he still had the habit of checking.
After a couple of minutes had passed, Lorian decided to head downstairs to get his meal.
After showing his keycard, he got a big bowl of soup filled with mysterious vegetables. It was also served along with a side of toast that was hard and overbaked. The meal did not taste the best, but it was better than what Lorian was eating before.
As he finished his meal, he walked upstairs before going to the baths on the first floor. The baths were extremely small and only had cold water.
Lorian didn't mind it as he washed himself up before changing into the clothes he had gotten from Harlan the merchant.
After washing up, he finally decided to head to sleep, wake up early tomorrow, and apply for the viscount's recruitment event.
Lorian climbed into the bed; the mattress was a hundred times softer than the cave's floor. Lying on the soft mattress only moments passed before Lorian started to drift away into a deep sleep.
.
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[Attempt 2/100]
"Wha-what just happened?"
I found myself staring at a wooden celling. I was lying something soft which really threw me off
I vaguely remember heading out of the city into the forest and eventually finding a huge lake. After drinking some of the water from the take, I suddenly passed out, but I didn't remember anything about this.
"So, you finally woke up. It took you long enough; I took you here after you passed out. But just how much of that accursed lake's water did you touch?"
A deep voice next to me suddenly spoke, jolting me, as I looked over there in surprise.
I took a deep breath before glancing up at him; my voice was shaky as I replied to him.
"Just a couple gulps of water; I didn't even touch it for that long."
The man suddenly looked at me with wide eyes, eyes and mouths open in disbelief.
"..."
An awkward silence filled the air before the man closed his mouth and said another sentence.
"Are you stupid?"
I looked at him with a look of surprise on my face as well. Why on Earth would he think I was stupid?
He stared back at me before sighing to himself.
"Kids these days barely know anything, this generation is getting dumber and dumber."
He spoke in a quiet voice, as if talking to himself, but I could still hear it, feeling a sense of shame.
He glanced up at me before replying to me, giving me what seemed to be like common knowledge from him.
"This lake is called the River of Sorrow; the water within this lake's countian's water runs that brings out the most sorrowful emotions from you. The ice castle that you see in the middle of the lake is called the Castle of Detachment."
The man spoke in a plain tone, as if he assumed everyone knew this information.
But I listened in shock; I couldn't make out what he meant by special properties. What are runes? Why did this lake make you feel sorrow?
The man looked at me as I stood there, clueless and even more confused.
I looked up as I slowly asked a question.
"So... What are runes?"
The man looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.
"Just how stupid are you?"
Minutes passed as he explained everything to me from the beginning—Runes, Mana, even the system that I saw earlier.
All I could do was listen in shock. This world was like a story straight out of a movie; everything seemed so magical and impossible to believe.
The sun began to lower as the temperature outside began to drop.
The man looked at me before he started to sigh; afterwards, he looked at me before talking.
"You're another one of those orphans, aren't you? Since you're already over here, you might as well stay."
"Since you have nowhere else to go, how about staying here and getting work around the shed here done? I can give you a place for you to sleep and food to eat, as long as you help me out."
I was completely in shock; not only did I get offered a place where I could live but also got information that completely changed my views on the world.
I quickly agreed; even though I haven't been in this world for a long time, I saw just how ruthless people could be.
This was a great opportunity to figure out what is going on. As for the system messages I got, I'll leave that to a future me.
I got some bread and water for dinner, and he showed me a small room for me to sleep in. A small room but still better than the streets.
The next day we got up bright and early as he gave me some new clothes and guided me outside.
The chores he got me to do were very simple, like moving things around or helping him farm. Life was honestly good during this time.
After days and days passed, eventually I started to call him Old Man Riven, and he called me by my name.
He taught me so much. Like what plants in this area, I could eat or how to safely find water.
Life in this small shed was enjoyable. Life was peaceful; every day felt calm. Even though I couldn't seem to get myself to accept this realty.
Even though this was enjoyable I still wanted to go back to Earth, I just missed my old life.
A couple weeks later, as I was packed up for the night and was getting ready to sleep, I looked out the dimly lit window.
The beautiful snow blew around us, dying the landscape into a flawless white.
Everything felt way too peaceful, there was this feeling that I couldn't explain. Like something is going to happen.
I quickly discarded those thoughts; I mean, there wasn't much that could go wrong.
After reassuring myself, I relaxed my body as I closed my eyes, before slowly falling asleep.