Rupegia Ch. 02: Second Day

A knock on the door wakes me up.

"The breakfast is ready," says a young male voice.

The nightmare didn't end. I'm still here, stuck in this world.

I didn't sleep well because my back hurts, but since I went to bed soon after sunset I've at least managed to sleep for a long time, so I'm not that tired. I had a few nightmares, though, and one of these was simply me staring at the goblin drowning on his own blood. That scene was way too brutal for me; it still creeps me out.

I look at my stats and see that my "Strength" increased by 1 (now 8). I guess yesterday's effort was rewarded.

My mouth feels horrible. I have to buy a toothbrush, a hairbrush, some soft sleeping clothes, a better blanket, a proper pillow, more spare clothes, and underwear. I also have to clean the bloody pants. I saw that there's a well outside for cleaning. I can just buy soap from the bath attendant yesterday, and she can use magic to instantly dry my clothes. Sounds convenient, but also not.

I put on my clothes and go downstairs to eat breakfast. It's bean paste, which reminds me of home a little, roasted vegetables, and a loaf of slightly sweet bread. I realize sugar might be expensive so this bread is actually high quality. As a sweet tooth and chocolate addict, the only thing I can call this is "boring."

While eating, I think about what I should do next. The guard said to get an ID at the guilds, depending on what ID I have I don't need to pay customs tax. But first, what exactly should I do in this world?

I want to go home, but to do it I need knowledge. I saw that there's a magic university here, so perhaps they have a library that I can use, but I don't think it's going to be free. I think that historically, religious buildings like churches could have people knowledgeable about the world, so perhaps I could go to them for advice. The map shows that there's a temple in the middle of the town.

Regardless, I'm going to need to find a job and acquire money for steady living. With my skill system, I could start a crafting business, but factories in this age might not have good workers' rights laws, which might make it easy for others to exploit me. Also, I'm more of a creative type, I'm not good with manual labor.

Perhaps I could bring technology from my world here, but that's risky and it's really going to call attention to me. Inventions take a lot more than just being the first to do it, there's a need for a lot of economics and security knowledge to safeguard the profits of inventions, and I know nothing about either of these.

If we are going to assume this is an adventure and role-playing game, the most straightforward method of acquiring money is killing monsters. The map shows that there are a dungeoneering and a monster hunter guild, so adventuring might be a risky but also valid way of work. With the way that my skill system works, I have an incredible advantage in combat.

I also need Experience to increase my level and get more skill points. I don't know how to acquire Experience besides killing monsters, but perhaps there's another way to acquire skills like training or taking an apprenticeship, though I need connections and a proper career path for that.

So in the end, my first move should be to go to the monster hunter and dungeoneering guilds. But first, I'll buy a hairbrush and a toothbrush. My breath feels horrible right now.

--

Now that I'm rested and much calmer, I notice that this city is bizarre but also kind of inspiring. The different architectural styles are all very interesting, and even the contrast between them has a charm of its own.

The people also have their own sense of style. It's like this town is a hub for travelers from around the world, and they all bring their own piece of home with them. Some alleys are dark and ugly, others are comfortable and calming, some have vines and unidentified plants growing all over, others have lights and moving metal parts that remind me of steampunk. The people are all energetic and positive interactions abound.

Maybe it's just that I'm in the good part of town, or maybe I'm just feeling lonely. Yeah, let's go with lonely.

After some walking, I get to the monster hunter guild. The building looks menacing. Fangs and bones decorate the protruding pillars, skins and scales of all kinds decorate the walls, and an even bigger carnival of colors than the rest of town makes me question the sanity of the architect. A large skull with a long snout and huge teeth but lacking a jaw is hanging over the entrance. The teeth are sunk on the wall as if the skull is biting the building itself.

I cross the large double doors and I'm greeted by a large number of people talking over tables decorated with the same ridiculous style as the building's walls. Most of them are drinking unknown liquids from tankards, and there's no way it's not alcohol.

I get the impression that some of these people must drink alcohol like water even though we're still in the morning.

The first floor of the building is one large hall filled with tables. Over one wall, there's a set of large boards with pieces of paper stuck on them. If this follows the traditional game template, those are the bulletin boards and the papers are requests for extermination.

On another wall, there's a row of booths filled with men and women wearing a dark blue velvet uniform, some simple yellow embroidery to make the uniform prettier, and a badge on their chests of a crossed fang and sword. That's the symbol of this guild, and it's the same one on the double doors.

I walk towards one of the booths.

"Welcome, how may I help you?" Says a middle-aged female attendant. She's a beautiful short-haired brunette that shows an air of experience.

I smile gently and answer, "Hello. I'm a traveler and I just got into town. I came from a small village, so I'm rather ignorant of the way things are done around here. Can you explain this guild to me? What I was told might not be fully correct."

The attendant opened her eyes in surprise. I guess this is something that's unusual to ask.

"Well, this guild is very simple." -Her eyes gloss over and she begins speaking in a robotic voice- "This is a place for people that hunt monsters to gather, party up, and trade or sell their spoils. The army does regular cullings to keep the monsters in check, but they also sometimes employ hunters from the guild to help the culling. Outside of the culling, other parties also hire hunters to catch monsters for their ingredients that can be used to create valuable items, potions, food; as escorts for a merchant caravan; for expeditions inside the Sea of Trees or dungeons; or to simply protect something. Every once in a while, a special and dangerous monsters appears, and hunters specialized in tracking are then sent to hunt it down. In cases of emergency, the hunters are also called and forced to help defend either the city, the people, or the buildings in the vicinity of Rabanara. Those are the main functions of hunters on this guild."

She takes a breath and immediately continues, "On our side, we buy any monster corpses or organs, intact or not, then we evaluate them and give out the proper rewards. The advantage of selling to us is that we have experts in dismantling and evaluation of monster parts. We do not haggle and only buy at a fixed price. We also buy parts without the need for a buyer since we're able to stock parts. If you were to go to the merchant guilds you could sell for higher, but there might not be anyone buying it at the moment.

"On the second floor, you can use the meeting rooms to discuss things with your allies, and we guarantee a [Silent Room] enchantment on each room. On the third floor, there is the administration personnel that you can consult for more serious matters. Behind this building, there's the training grounds. For ten copper, you can use it and train with our instructors for a full period."

I assume period means from morning till noon or from noon till dusk.

"We are a sister guild to the dungeoneering guild, but we're the ones who manage and organize the hunters. We also help assess the danger of monsters and the ability level of hunters to minimize death or harm. The dungeoneering guild holds all records of dungeons, monsters, and they help acquire the tools used in expeditions.

"People who register at the dungeoneering guild are called explorers, those that have registered at both guilds are called adventurers. Finally, registering at either or both of the guilds allows you to enter or leave any town without paying tax as long as you don't hold any export good on you or in your [Item Box]. If you acquire the favor from the guildmaster, or someone with equal or higher authority, then you can pass the gate without having the contents of your [Item Box] read." The woman finally finishes and takes another breath.

She seemed surprised at my question, but she was able to answer it perfectly. I guess they are prepared for ignorant people like me, and it's just that I'm a rare find.

"Hmm... So how do I register?" I ask.

"Two silver coins, a drop of your blood, and we give you your crystal ID tablet. Also, during registration and afterwards, we periodically ask to inspect your tablet. This is to make sure that no criminal and no person who learned forbidden skills is using our facilities."

"Forbidden skills?"

I knew there was something like this.

"[Necromancy Magic], [Bloodwork] and [Undead Creation] are the only ones whose names we are allowed to mention. [Slavery Magic] and [Blood Magic] are also forbidden unless you're registered."

So slavery is also sanctioned in this world.

"Alright, I would like to register."

The guard already saw my ID when I entered the town, so there's no problem here, but I need to be careful of which skill I choose or I might accidentally pick something forbidden. There are tons of skills with dangerous or suspicious names.

I turn around and fiddle a bit with my skills. I put one point into [Space Magic] so my usage of "Items" is less suspicious. They apparently can't see the level of my skills, so this should be fine.

I pay the price, then the attendant gets a transparent crystal tablet and a needle from below the table. She pinches my finger with dexterity and lets a drop of blood fall on the tablet.

She picks it up, spends a moment to read it all, then turns to me and says, "I will register this at our books. Please wait here for a while." She leaves the booth and disappears deeper into the building.

I turn around just in time to see a fight break out. Two drunk-looking men start punching each other with unsteady postures. Two large attendants with clubs at their waists immediately jump in and forcefully break the fight. They hold the men in position while they scream abuse at each other, and after a minute or two they tire out, then the attendants drop them in place. They both fall down on the floor like boards and the hall resounds with laughter.

This is a very ruthless but surprisingly friendly atmosphere. Still, I don't really feel comfortable here.

Soon, the attendant comes back and gives me the tablet. It's a small rectangle that fits well in my hand, like a mini smartphone. I'll just put it in my chest pocket for now, then I'll store it in my "Items" later.

"How do I register at the dungeoneering guild?" I ask.

"Just show them your ID and they'll register your name for free."

I knit my eyebrows in confusion. "What, if it's free, then why do I also need to register there? Can't it be done automatically?"

She answers with a perfect business smile, "It depends on the town, not every hunter and dungeoneering guild is integrated."

I scratch my head in confusion. "Oh, well... Anyway, now I want to sell some monsters I killed."

Her smile becomes gentle and genuine. "Oh? You already killed something? Well then, please follow me to the disassembling room."

Ah, I made a mistake, I forgot my "Items" is a special thing. I know that [Item Box] probably works similarly, but I have never actually seen it in use.

I need to make an excuse so that I can remove all my points and put them into space magic to see if I get an [Item Box].

The attendant takes me into a room with multiple cushioned chairs along the walls and a closed door with a sign "In use" hung on it.

"There's someone disassembling a monster. Wait here, and when they're finished, you'll be called," the attendant says and leaves with a small wave.

I just got a life jacket. I sit and immediately put all my points into [Space Magic]. The first point gives me [Telekinesis] spell, at 10 points I get [Gravity Crush], and finally, at 20 points I get [Item Box].

I cast it. A little mana goes away and it opens the exact same menu as "Items", but now there's nothing inside of it.

Well then, at least now I know the truth, so I put all my points back how they were.

--

After a good thirty minutes, the door opens and a big, bald, and burly man with bloody apron and gloves greets me with a smile.

"Good morning, young man. Are you here for dismantling?" He asks.

"Yes, I am."

"I'm Gordon, the chief butcher. We're ready now, so please come in, and sorry for the wait."

I nod silently and follow him to the next room. I enter a large, cooled room with a large number of metal tables, a few still bloodied. There's another person with bloody apron and gloves that's scrubbing the dirty tables.

"Now pull out on the table anything you want to sell," Gordon says.

I pull the monsters out of my "Items" one by one, and neither of the men comment anything. I notice that the monsters are still warm and bleeding, so this means that whatever is in the [Item Box] or my "Items" gets frozen in time. When I pull out the bear, the two men freeze and let their mouths hang open.

The assistant stops scrubbing and mutters, "Wow."

"Yo, call Sonny. This one is valuable," Gordon says with a creepy smile on his face.

Gordon touches his hand with his finer and a large knife materializes on his palm with *poof*, then he ignores the other monsters and starts removing the pelt of the bear.

"You killed this one alone?" He asks while still working.

"No, I found him weakened. I think he was fighting the goblins that I killed."

His laugh echoes across the large room. "Hahaha, now that's a jackpot. You see, this one also has a bounty on him, so when we get Sonny here you'll get a bonus. Also, did you kill him by stabbing through the eye? That's some creative method you got there." He glances back and shows me a bloody smile as some of the bear's blood is smeared on his cheek.

Do they have poker here?

"Creative? How are you supposed to kill him normally?" I ask.

"Crushing the head. His skin is too hard to kill with an axe or spear, and magic ruins too much of the meat and the pelt. I see you used something like [Electric Magic], yeah? That's good to stun him, but it still damages the pelt a little."

The door suddenly opens and I see Sonny come into the room. He's a small man with yellow eyes, white hair, pasty white skin, and white spiral horns on his head. When he sees the bear, his eyes shine behind his oval glasses, his lips curl into a creepy smile, and he whispers, "Ooooh, excellent."

Thankfully, he ignores me and goes towards Gordon. He examines the butcher's work and starts talking to him, then the assistant comes back and helps Gordon.

After Gordon finishes the bear, now named Grey Berserker, Sonny says that the reward for killing him is two gold pieces while the body is worth another seven. If the hide was more well preserved it could be sold up to ten coins. Each goblin's body is worth forty copper. The "hedge-wolf", now named Mossy Fangpine, is worth one silver coin.

Since the money isn't excessive, they give it to me immediately, otherwise, it's necessary to wait for the money to be transferred to the guild.

Sonny turns to me and says with a subtle smirk, "So this is your first hunt, eh? Starting your tally with a surprise. But don't let other parties use you, now. They might be too easily impressed by a lucky kill on the Grey Berserker."

I awkwardly smile and respond, "Well I don't plan on bragging about it, so nobody will know."

He holds back a chuckle. "Oh, no. We publish hunt results, so people will know your name pretty soon."

I wince and look away. "Argh... Is that so?"

Even this I have to be careful about so that I don't stand out.

Gordon's laugh echoes again through the cold room and he asks, "Hehehe, you don't want fame? What kinda hunter are you?"

"It's kinda troublesome to be too famous too quick," I answer.

He points the bloody knife at me like a finger and nods. "Haha, the boy got a good head on his shoulders."

"Anyway, I will be waiting for your next surprise," Sonny says and he gives a small bow.

He seems to be a delicate man. He moves with measured movements that give him an air of dignity.

I say my goodbyes and leave. Now I need to go to the dungeoneering guild since they might have some interesting information about monsters and dungeons.

--

This guild also boasts an extravagant facade. Black bricks reflect little dots of light when the sun shines upon it, ceremonial blades slowly swing along the wall through magical means, and exposed clockworks show a very familiar clock above the double door. This clock is exactly the same as the ones on Earth, with twelve hours and sixty minutes. Maybe I can buy a pocket watch somewhere and cosplay as a steampunk Victorian British noble.

On each of the large double doors, there's an engraving of a gear and an upside-down bardiche. The symbol probably represents the cliche of a trap of swinging blades on a corridor being activated by a mechanism. The dress code for the uniforms of the attendants is exactly the same as the hunters guild except that the badge is different.

The door is on a corner of the building, so when I enter it I'm faced with a rather small hall with a few cushioned chairs and tables. The rest of the building is separated by a chest-high wall, and I see rows and rows of bookcases, tables, and chairs on the other side. There's also a considerable number of people studying there. It seems that I have to put a coin on a booth to enter the library area.

The small windows make the illumination seem moody, and couple that with the almost absence of any sound, and the atmosphere is one of calmness and seriousness. All in all, this place seems much more refined than the hunters' guild.

I approach a booth and ask to register. The attendant takes my tablet away and comes back a few minutes later.

"How do I enter the library?" I ask.

The attendant responds in a low and serious tone, "There's a toll of two copper coins, and you have to put a deposit of one gold coin. If you damage a book, then your deposit is forfeit."

"What kind of books are there here?"

"Strictly magic, traps, dungeons, monsters, and artifacts. Anything else you need to go to the temple or the university."

"Artifacts?"

"Rare magical items with dangerous uses."

O~h... that sounds interesting.

"I also heard you sell supplies for expeditions," I continue questioning.

"The item shop is through that door." He points to the closed door.

How's a room full of shops so silent even though it's right next to a library? I'm going to bet on magic.

I'm not interested in buying items right now, so I just leave. Next, I'm going to the temple.

--

The temple is in the middle of the town, so it takes quite a while to walk there.

It might be a few hours before noon, but the temporary food stalls are already opening around me, and soon, the smell of simple roasted or fried food fills my nose.

I'm actually kinda hungry, and I'm too curious to let this chance pass by, so I buy a cheap stick of goblin meat. It's quite a lot of meat for a single copper coin so it makes me a bit anxious to eat it. It's probably pretty bad-tasting meat that the poor eat.