In the morning after, I get woken up by the sound of arguing.
Annoyed, I lift my heavy body, that aches all over, leaving my head brimming in pain. Are these the side effects of travelling worlds?
The sunbathed room leaves a regretful feeling in my mind… Will I ever get to see my family again? My home?
Mumbling outside, I hear Tanaka and Kuroda half speaking, half shouting at each other.
I hadn't realised, that their rooms were so close to mine. Still, I should go out to check.
As the door creaks open, both of their attentions shift toward me.
Kuroda runs up to me and desperately pleas, "Yukiko! Please, help me! This guy has gone mad!"
Tanaka quickly grabs his shoulder and pushes him away from me, spewing in a disgusted tone, "Takamura, don't let this filth lie to you, like he did to me."
Kuroda throws a surprised expression, but eventually stops himself and looks at me with a pitiful look.
Feeling my headache getting worse by the second, I quickly weigh the options.
"What happened, Tanaka? And where are your guides, they should be here to mediate the dispute."
Tanaka doesn't lose his serious expression and calmly explains, "Yesterday, this guy sneaked out of his room to steal from the king. See, I wasn't that mad about it at first, but when he grew defensive of it, I knew there had to be something more to the situation."
"We can't let someone like this become a hero! What else would he do, that could potentially hurt civilians!", Tanaka continued.
Shooting out like a bullet, Kuroda refutes his claims, "That's wrong! It was that crossbow girl! She stole, not me!"
Yikes, I think they're talking about me going out to 'borrow' some of the weapons yesterday. Maybe I should refrain from anyone seeing my different halberd forms for now, just to be safe.
But… why are they accusing each other instead of me, who was actually the one to do it?
Trying to calm the situation for the moment, I speak up, "Come on, Tanaka, arguing with a school kid is unbefitting of you. And Kuroda, you shouldn't just accuse Sakamoto without reason."
"Where did you even get this information from, Tanaka? Were you there to see it?", I ask.
Shortly showing a flustered expression, Tanaka hesitantly answers, "You're right, maybe it was just the confusion from yesterday growing to my head… For where I got the information from, my guide told me."
"Well, your guide is spouting bullshit. My guide said it was Shiori Sakamoto, that's the name of the other girl, isn't it?"
While the two continue their rambling, Puddles carefully approaches me and wishes me a good morning.
"Lady Halberd, are you ready to leave? I would suggest you refrain from involving yourself in such childish disputes.", he says. And thank god, that they didn't hear what he just said.
"Yes, let us go. Also, did the king leave anything for us to use on our adventures? Like money or maybe some rations?", I say, practicing my shamelessness.
"Get your things and we'll go, the others shouldn't hear."
'Getting my things' ended up in me just grabbing a few of the clothes, that were left in the rooms for us. After that, Puddles escorted me to the exit.
"Regarding the loot, that was provided by the king for the heroes, we came to the conclusion that you wouldn't need it, seeing as you already took everything you needed yourself."
Ha~ I guess they found out after all. But then why did Tanakas and Kurodas Guides misinform them?
"So, miss Halberd, what is your first course of action?", he continued.
"Where can I find the most amount of mobs that I can manage with my current level? I need to get a feel for how to fight, while earning enough money to survive. Quests and making a name for myself can wait."
Eventually, I will also have to seek out a master to teach me how to wield the halberd.
For now, I will have to make use of the gilded Halberds skill to make some money. I need to find some easy mobs to kill while I'm still inexperienced and an easy target.
"If that is your wish, then I'd suggest leaving the holy city first. At first, I'd advice you to go balloon hunting, as it's common for beginners such as yourself."
Putting on a more serious face, he adds, "Also, I'd suggest openly wearing your Cardinal weapon. The people usually treat the heroes better and criminals would be discouraged from attacking you."
Though it seemed like he was hiding something, I decided to comply, enlargening the Halberd to its original size.
Though it was still pretty early in the morning, the presence of the halberd hero made the few people on the streets direct their full attention to me. It reminded me of when I first picked up the flyer.
„Don't be discouraged, they're looking at you out of respect and pride.", Puddles reassured me.
But he was wrong. These expectations are exactly what would end up crushing me if I took the job of a hero lightly.
So, intimidated, I retreat to the wide open fields, occupied by a humble amount of small monsters.
„Before we begin, it would be wise to accept me into your party.", to which I did as I was told.
Now, this was finally it… Seeing the Halberd transform into its gilded form, my anxiety piqued. I had never held a weapon, nor fought before.
The heavy sensation on my palms weighed on me like a truck until I finally stepped in front of the orange balloon, that was supposed to be the weakest monster in the area.
As the creature rammed toward me, I held my weapon up and finally slashed down, leaving a light cut on the monsters rubber skin, leaving behind its drops.
*Sigh* That wasn't bad, at least.
The next few attempts went way smoother until I finally started incorporating the 'Greed slash' skill, earning about 2 copper coins per kill, that Puddles later confirmed to be currency, though only a small amount.
After slaying a handful of monsters, I finally found out what it meant to level up. The sensation was incredible, rejuvenating me and leaving my body refreshed and revitalised, as if I just woke up from a long nap. All while I noticed a considerable boost in my fighting power, allowing me to continue hunting, even though I was already exhausted at that point.
Spending almost the whole day swinging the large pole, I'd expect to tire out eventually, though after reaching level 3, I had already grown much stronger than what I was used to, allowing me to endure much longer than I was used to.
I also felt my proficiency with the Halberd actively rising, leaving a familiar feeling by the end of the day.
.
"You've done a great job, Miss Halberd. In regards of your safety, I would advise you to retreat from the battle grounds now.", Puddles said, putting his hand on my shoulder.
Engrossed in hunting, I hadn't realised the hunger I had built up.
'Let's go and see what the money I made up until now can get me, shall we?'
Finally calming down, I let the halberd absorb the drops of the ballon monsters, resulting in a 'orange balloon halberd', that I was sure to never use again.
Additionally, as a result of levelling up, I had received some general combat skills, that I hadn't tried yet.
- Charge attack -
{Initiates a short dash in the pointed direction, stabbing enemies in its path}
- Cleave -
{Swings the Halberd horizontally, slashing enemies in its path}
Also, I didn't see the other heroes at any point during the day, so I was left wondering where they had gone all this time.
Oh well, now I just had to find some companions to clear missions with.