Enter Lumiara – a wonderful world brimming with riches and state-of-the-art architecture.
The most populated area was the main city, Afflu. Known as a hub of celebration, the cobblestone streets bathed in the warm glow of lanterns as children's laughter echoed while chasing one another around fountains carved from stone. On the corner of these streets, merchants eagerly called out to passersby, attracting civilians and adventurers with their bargains.
Within the city, taverns were always lit. Male adventurers would flood in flocks boastfully, ready for their usual orders. Other than bantering with each other, most of the time they attempted to charm the waitresses. Clearly, their egos after a successful mission were inflated to the moon.
One instance was a sturdy built adventurer grabbing on the tray of a waitress. She was aiming to leave after delivering his fifth order.
"H-hey pretty lady *hic* why don't you ditch the tavern and come with me after." The man clearly drunk out of his mind bothered the waitress.
Her lips curled up awkwardly, hiding her uncomfortableness, "Sorry sir, I still have a job to finish." She gently tugged the tray towards her direction, freeing it from the adventurer.
As she walked away only one thought ran through her mind, Drop dead, bastard. That was the normal reaction for these waitresses, but who could blame them? Majority of adventurers had a permanent stench of booze. The scent of roasted meat did its best in filling the air, masking the lingering smell of alcohol.
Outside of the taverns, the prosperity and blessings from the Goddess allowed homes to tower above the city. Their vibrant colors glow warmly whenever the sun began to settle.
In the heart of the grand temple located in the middle of the city, nested a shrine made to worship and receive blessings from the Goddess of this world. Sacred imagery and depictions of her covered the smooth walls. A joke in the city was to always bring protective eye wear whenever visiting the shrine as the holiness radiating could blind someone.
Outside of Afflu lay vast fields of green that sparkled whenever the sun was out. Clear flowing rivers that reflected the sky and the lasting effects of magic that permeated the air. A world full of blessings indeed, where fortune smiled on those who called it home.
Well… that was until the incident happened. The con of the Goddess's curiosity laid waste to Lumiara. The other deities combined a fraction of their powers into delivering a blinding like holy shower that eradicated what Lumiara was known for. The humans living weren't able to process what happened. As soon as a speck of light was visible, the damage was done.
Buildings that once towered twenty feet high now lay in ruins, some cleaved in half, others reduced to mere rubbles. Lanterns shattered, casting darkness over the city. The once beloved temple and shrine that stood tall could not handle the attack either.
The temple that acted like a barrier protecting the shrine immediately turned to debris. The imagery was all but burnt to a crisp. Not only that, the main attraction, the statue was tarnished. The materials used to make the statue were able to withstand some of the attack. Cracks formed all over the statue but the worst of it was the disabled head. The statue's head was cleanly sliced from the neck, rolling on the carpet ground before stopping right next to the body. The sight of the statue truly dishonored the Goddess.
The one place that for some reason wasn't affected was the guild hall. The guild dominated in stature compared to the rest of the city. This was the area to go for an adventurer wanting to get their foot in the door. They sign up by going to the receptionist and are shown the abilities and stats they start out with. At least adventurers can still do their jobs, some things don't change.
Much can't be said for the non-adventurers, a lot of crops and materials have been destroyed. Even worse, many were struck by personal tragedies. The aftermath from the debris of the damaged buildings fell upon them and not even children were spared from the casualties. Merchants and blacksmiths scrambled, gathering what little they got to sell. Waitresses were left with no choice but to wait for the taverns to be rebuilt before they could resume work. Either they must wait for the adventurers to farm materials from missions or consider becoming adventurers themselves.
Back to present times, the Goddess continues her deep slumber. The man who took her in, still sitting across from her. After some unknown time, the Goddess slowly opens her eye lids as her vision goes from blurry to clear.
"AH!" The Goddess eyes locked on to the man as she panics, dropping the warm towel that was on her forehead. Seeing a stranger first thing waking up in unfamiliar territory can get that reaction out of somebody.
The Goddess looked around wondering where she was and how she got here. She curled her body like a fetus position, a way to defend her vulnerability. The man quickly tried to reassure her to calm her down. Seeing how distressed she looked, he softened his tone and began to explain.
"Please calm down… Earlier I saw you in pain as you were walking…. Then you collapsed in front of my door." His voice got softer as he kept going, "I couldn't just leave you on the cold ground."
The Goddess took some time to process what happened. Maybe he's okay to trust? She thought to herself. Staring at the man, there was no sign of ill intentions behind those eyes or words. "I see.." The Goddess looked down as she finally responded, easing her body back to a normal position.
"If you don't mind me asking… What is your name?" The man realized they haven't had the chance to introduce themselves to each other.
"My name? Well, it's Astraea." Astraea took a deep breath, "What is yours?"
"My name is Kael." Kael smiled cheerfully at Astraea, then continued "Would you like to stay here?"
To Kael, seeing how battered Astraea was in the beginning and everything else that happened, the only logical conclusion to come to was that she had no home.
"Wha-" A puzzled expression appeared on Astraea's face, "Why would you do that?"
"If that's too much to ask, you don't have to…. It's just…" Kael faced down, weakening his voice. He couldn't bring up how hurt Astraea was, even though it's obvious to him that she already knows.
"It's okay… I know…" It was as if Astraea responded to Kael's thoughts. She flipped a switch trying to showcase a soft but cheerful tone not wanting to burden Kael after the state he saw her in. She tightened her hands on her robe and expressed, "That's fine by me! I will be your roommate for now on."
Kael had a satisfied look as he walked towards a room, placing his hand out, "Here's my room, it's not the biggest or best quality but sleeping on it should suffice."
Astraea frowned, "What about you?"
"Oh me?" Kael pointed at himself, "I'll just sleep on the couch that you're laying on."
"Why?!" Astraea clutched the towel given to her, "Shouldn't you sleep in the bed?! It's your home!"
Kael chuckled, "It's fine, it's fine." He walked back to where Astraea was, "As for food, I am almost running out of them. But there should be some left if you look hard enough."
Look hard enough? That's a strange way of saying things. Astraea was at a loss for words.
Kael sat down across from Astraea until he realized something important, "I didn't ask if you wanted tea? Where's my etiquette?" He frantically got up.
"Huh? Oh, sure that would be nice." The soft tone still present when Astraea responded.
As Kael walked away to the stove, he muttered to himself, "How could I forget something as basic as that?" Before stumbling his feet on air.
Kael turned on the stove as he poured water into a kettle. While waiting for the water to boil, he placed the best tea leaves he had into two cups. Astraea watched behind him, analyzing Kael.
He doesn't seem anything special now. He must be a beginner, the armor he's wearing is only level 2 equipment. About 10 hits and it would disintegrate.
"Are you a newbie adventurer?"
Kael stopped midway with the kettle in his hand after the water finished boiling, "Is it that easy to tell?" Kael chuckled, "I'm on my own and money is tight, so I decided why not become an adventurer?"
"Are the missions easy? Do you have any companions?" Rapid fire questions came out of Astraea.
"The missions are somewhat easy and for companions… I help carry the bags for other adventurers." Kael placed a teacup in front of Astraea, he didn't want to tell her the way he would get kills to afford the armor he has now.
Astraea took a sip, her eyes widened from how delicious the tea was. Kael lips formed a proud smile looking at her face.
Astraea placed her cup down on the long table, regaining her composure, "Why is it like that? The guild had a special event for all newbie adventurers to be equipped with magic to have an easier time starting out." She tilted her head, "You didn't attend?"
In recent memory, to celebrate the new batch of adventurers, the guild gave away skill points that would cover gaining a magic skill. Clearly, Kael did not have a clue about it.
"Eh?" Sweat began to produce on Kael's face while nervously smiling, "What did you say?"
"Mhm?" It was Astraea's turn to be shocked, "You didn't know?"
"Hmm?" Kael's face tilted to the side as the sweat profusely flooded his face.
"There were posters posted on the walls around the city."
"ARGHH!!" Kael's fingers ruffled through his black hair as he crouched down on the couch, "I thought people were just wasting paper!" Then Kael paused and looked up at Astraea, "But how would you know th-" He went back to being in anguish, "It doesn't matter! I must grind to get to level 5!"
Astraea had her eyes close as she was going to explain, "You know if you go back to the guild, they could make an exception since you were part of that bat-" Astraea noticed how quiet it was, she opened her eyes to see Kael had already ran out the door.
What a funny man. She lifted her hand towards her mouth chuckling.
Kael sprinted, finding the nearest low-level dungeons he can.