Chapter 1: Prologue - Section 1 - Hero Summoning
All I've ever tried to do in life is mind my own business, stay out of everyone's way, and keep my head down.
I've almost perfected this skill as an art form being present in a room but without anyone taking notice of me.
It's not that I dislike people it's just I prefer my life online and friends I've made there to any of the people I see or meet here in the city either when I'm out and about or when at work.
Today was like any other day in that I was on my way to work dressed in a full suit with a briefcase clutched in my hand.
[I've got that presentation to make today if I blow this then my place at the company is finished for]
As I proceeded down the sidewalk cars were passing by on the street are in just as much rush as the pedestrians everyone heading towards me moved away like water passing around a rock in a river, until I came upon a group of high school students (4 of them) walking along in their school uniforms, i knew the school since it was my alma mater but the type of kids who go there left me with only the impression that the vast majority were being trained to be arrogant and look down on others.
As the pair of girls and guys came advancing towards me they were walking in a line purposefully taking up the entire breadth of the sidewalk without a care in the world.
No sign's at all that they had any intention of separating watching the other pedestrians who stepped off the sidewalk and into the road to avoid them with smirks written across their faces.
[Whatever… if I bump into them because they refused to move due to ignorance that's their problem]
As I closed in on them they still didn't take notice that I was even heading straight for them, they all just stopped moving standing completely still staring at their shoes as if the very sidewalk they were standing on was on fire.
As I reached them I put out one hand grasping a shoulder to force one of the boys to turn to the side so I could pass through but as I made contact with his shoulder a white light filled my eyes quickly shutting my eyes
"Aggghh"
A cry of pain loosed from my lips my eyes burning as their blinded by the light I fell backwards as something shoved me away and I landed on the hard cool ground, bringing my hands up to shield my eyes.
The faint sound of a voice was sounding in my ears almost like a quiet echo.
[Was that a woman's voice… well if it's those kids they'd better be apologizing i mean even if i was trying to cut through to go to the extreme of shoving me like that?]
"It Worked, Oh Thank The Gods you came when we called we've prayed day and night for so long thank you for coming you four brave and honorable hero's of leg…end... wait… 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Why are there five?" <Priestess>
"Five it's unprecedented the summoning is only capable of pulling up to four heroes at a time" <Priest 1>
"Truly we are all blessed by the gods for such a miracle to occur for our Kingdom" <Priest 2>
"Quickly get the Temple Master, and bring the Oracle Stone!" <Priest 3> breathed out heavily
Hearing this series of conversations occurring around me I pulled my arm down from my eyes opening my eyes at a squint, what I saw astounded me.
I was just walking down one of a Megacity's heavily populated street surrounded on all sides by towering skyscrapers, billboards and all manners of people, and vehicles and now all of a sudden I'm in what looks to be in a solid white marble dodecagon Cathedral hall with stain glass windows on every second wall separated out by five twenty foot tall stone statues.
As my gaze pans the room I settle upon the four school students who are still standing in front of me who are just as stunned as I am turning their heads and staring around this new room with their collective jaws on the floor.
As i'm sitting on the stone floor scanning the room I can see a massive pale blue chalk diagram has been painted or drawn onto the floor with candles placed equidistantly around the circumference, numerous priest in long flowing white ceremonial robes with golden trim are clamouring to their feet many of whom like myself seem to have fallen to the ground scrambling now to regain their footing and heading towards a young woman wearing similar robes but wearing something akin to a nun's habit and clutching an ornate staff that appears to be made of gold with an intricate carving adorned and many different gems offset.
As I'm looking around taking in my surroundings a pair of men rushed to enter the room, one matches the other long robed priests, but the other looks to be a man well into his latter years long silver/white hair and a beard extending down to his waist wearing robes that are gaudy as hell.
His clothing is red robes with layers of ruffles running up both his arms, woven gold and gems running the length of the chest various metal chains dangling down from his lapel, arms, waist and even trousers.
Every step the old man took a corresponding jingling sound could be head as the various metals all came into contact with one another.
Stopping before our group all of whom are still wearing astonished looks he raised both his hand high above his head clapping them together.
'CLAP!'
The sound echoed throughout the room, drawing the attention of everyone present.
"I do apologize for this inconvenience; I am Temple Master Gligir Kez" <Temple Master Gligir>
"Yeah cool story bro, but where the hell is this" <School Boy 1>
"Urk… Why we are in the Grand Cathedral of the Kingdom of Mire" <Temple Master Gligir> responded his tone darkening at the rude response from the children
"Mire huh never heard of that one before, is that even a country on Earth i think grandpa here forgot to take his pills?" <School Boy 1> responding indirectly while pointing his response more towards his comrades than the Temple Master
"What is an earth?" <Temple Master Gligir>
"Bwahahaha!" <School Boy 1> burst out laughing at Gligir's question "This dude doesn't even know what planet he's on"
The girls giggled a little stifling their desire to also join in on laughing at the old man, while the other boy just held a nonchalant attitude like nothing mattered
"You sadly are the ones who are mistaken this is not Earth as you called it, you stand upon the world we call Terra!" <Temple Master Gligir> exasperatedly answered "We called you here to this place by way of an ancient ritual we call the 'Hero summoning'" <Temple Master Gligir>
"Dude we've totally been isekai'd this is lit!" <School Boy 2>
This was the first time the second boy had shown even a slight change in attitude but this was closer to a dam bursting as his emotions ran wild.
Meanwhile the two girls hesitatingly looked around their eyes wet like they're about to cry, while grasping desperately at the other boy.
"Ca… Can you send us back to our world?" <School Girl 1> finally squeaked out a tiny voice
"Sadly no… we only have the power to summon, but our records show that once your task has been completed in this world you should be given a choice by God to remain or be sent home" <Temple Master Gligir> responded, a sly grin creeping across his face "Now the ritual should only summon up to four heroes yet five have appeared before us, thus we need to examine you all to determine which of you are the hero's and then get you an audience with the king right away"
From his reply i began to speculate in my mind
[Wait that doesn't tell us anything, like why we were summoned, and also whether we even want to cooperate in the first place with this kidnapping kingdom. Also what happens if none of us are hero's? or even if one of us isn't? I've read enough manga and light novels to know a hero summoning is almost always shady as hell. "We summoned you because of some big evil threatening our land but you're too weak as you are now, go out and defeat all of our enemies for us so you can become stronger to win again Satan… blah blah" they've already stated we cannot get home so unless that was a lie, there might be other's who can help.]
As I sat on the floor crossing my arms and thinking this the kids we all motioned and approached a pedestal that had been brought in, each in turn placed their hands atop a green orb the size of a bowling ball with what looked like a green liquid flowing inside of it, once both hands were place the orb emitted a green light and projected what looked like a video game status screen onto the nearby stone wall. Name, Race, Health, Mana, Class, Title's it's all shown.
[Ok so that's something they didn't lie about then this really is another world, but still for that rude cocky jerk to be given the class of Hero, seriously]
I remained stationary watching the proceedings while condemning the results in my mind.
After all four has touched the stone, they had one thing in common, all of them had the title "Hero From Another World" they had various skills, and according to the chatter from the priests around them all their stats were crazy high matching the surprising class's of {Hero, SwordMaster, Saintess, and Sage} considering they were only Lvl 1.
Gligar raised a hand to me and motioned for me to take my turn getting "appraised" by this Oracle Stone.
I didn't really have a choice so i made my way to my feet and moved closer placing my briefcase on the side of the pedestal i reached out and placed my hands onto the orb.
A wave of heat could be felt rocketing it's way up my arms from my hands.
It almost felt like the burning sensation of athelete's foot.
As soon as both my hands rested on the cool stone surface of the Oracle Stone the stone itself meanwhile changed color, where is was green when idle and luminescent green when touched by the other's now it had changed to a Muddled Red, almost like blood was flowing from within the orb, after a few seconds had past I could hear whispers from the priests behind me, all of whom were wondering why my status hadn't shown up or whether i even possessed a status at all.
[Huh weird the status for the others showed up immediately after they touched this thing, maybe I'm just so awesome it's taking it longer to pull up mine? Pft yeah right like i've ever been that lucky in my life for something like that to happen]
As I thought that a Red Status Screen shot out and projected itself on the wall.
Kokei Ekiken Age: 27
Race: Human Level: 1/30
Class: Novice Title: From Another World
Health G Mana G
Strength G Dexterity G
Stamina G Intelligence G
Agility G
___________________________________________________
Skill: Gamer: Yggdrasill
[Wow huh guess I put the cart before the horse… the kids all has Hero from another world, but me, I'm just from another world. Not to mention they all had stats from E-D for their core stat (Strength and Stamina for Warriors) whereas mine are way lower perhaps even at the floor for this world, then levels i have a max level of 30... all the others had 99 as their cap, not to mention skills they all had awesome skills, Sword Master, Holy Magic, Spear Mastery etc but me, I'm a gamer?? Well I mean at least it's got the name of my favorite MMO game but what the hell does that do for me here in another world]
"Pfft" the group of high school kids are all beside themselves clasping hands to their mouths, not only do I not get the hero title now I get these brat's looking down on me for having a skill that makes no sense in the surrounding.
"Gaaammmeeeerrr…?" <Temple Master Gligir> slowly sounded out my skill with a questioning look on his face.
"Hmmph well regardless sorry my good sir but it seems like you were not a hero we meant to summon, as you are now we cannot possibly use you to save our kingdom, if you were to try and go with these youth's you'd surely only get yourself killed and be nothing more than a burden for them"
Taking my hands off the Oracle stone I turned to face the Temple Master.
The surrounding priests all looked at me as if i was nothing more than trash, not even holding their comments under their breath i heard how all my stats were Final G, the lowest making me more useless than even an average citizen.
"Oh that's no worry sir, but I must ask since this isn't our world any chance I could be given a modest sum to allow me to live comfortably here in this nation for a while until I can find myself a job? When the 'Heroes of Legend' over there defeat the demon lord, or king I should get the same chance to return but I wouldn't want to slow them down since their already so totally swole and the like" <Kokei>
As I finished speaking the school boy leader's face had gotten as red as tomatoes as he overheard me mocking them to the Temple Master, the girls meanwhile just glared at me and my provocation.
"Oh but of course" <Temple Master Gligir>
Taking a simple coin purse out from under his robes he tossed it over to me.
"This should be more than enough for you to live quite well for at least a month or two here in the capital. <Temple Master Gligir>
"My deepest thanks your holy eminence" <Kokei>
I flourished excessively ending in a deep bow the hand clutching the coin purse tight to my chest, holding posture for a few seconds before once again straightening up.
"You will do quite well for yourself here in the city I'm sure Mr. Kokei, you've the etiquette of a noble" <Temple Master Gligir>
With a smile beaming across his face for such a send off towards one whom he knew nothing about.
"Now though it'll be a bother, could I trouble you to have someone escort me to the exit? the other's must hurry lest they keep the king waiting and I'd hate to be the sole reason for that to happen?" <Kokei>
I quickly exclaimed with passion, deep in my heart I wanted to get the hell away from here
"Oh yes but of course thank you for the consideration, Cluntia here shall escort you" <Temple Master Gligir>
Waving his hand towards the young woman clutching the golden staff.
"She is the Head Priestess who performed the summoning so it is the least she could do as a form of atonement by being your escort through our sacred halls" <Temple Master Gligir>
She walked towards me slowly a grimace unbefitting of a young beauty strewn across her face, the others all filed out of the room still fawning over the heroes, the tsunami of voices faded off into the distance as they proceeded down the hallway leading away from this chamber.
Stopping a few steps away from me, and entering a low bow just enough to tilt her head forward, not changing her obvious displeasure at staying behind.
"As commanded follow me" <Cluntia>
Coldly she speaking out.
[Yeah safe to safe she hates me, whether it's because I'm not a hero, or because she was sort of blamed for being the one who brought me here by accident i do not know... or perhaps she wanted to see the king with the others?]
As I followed along trailing after the head priestess Cluntia our footsteps echoed against the walls of the hallowed halls each passage i was lead down was lined with artwork, stone busts, and object housed within glass cases.
Not a word was spoken towards me and with each step i could stay her pace was increasing until we finally reached a grand doorway at the entrance to the cathedral almost at a full jogging pace, the twenty foot tall doors opened as a trio of men on each side pulled the doors open, stepping my way out of the door I was assaulted with the site of a foreign medieval city sprawling before my eyes.
A massive stone staircase acted as a procession leading down into the cobbled stone streets with wooden single or two story shops, and houses lining each side.
Flocks of persons wearing all many of clothing, armor, and gear could be seen in the distance making their way up and down the street.
[Wow this really is a fantasy world after all, looks like a medieval European city to me at least from what I've seen in movies that is]
Turning around on my heels to thank the head priestess for showing me the way, I stood there with my mouth open.
Cluntia had already gone; she must've run off as soon as I reached the door.
Looking back at the cathedral the giant double doors were already halfway closed marking the end of my welcome into this new world.
'Boom.... Clack Clack'
With that sound the heavy doors slammed shut and the sounds of a lock being secured confirmed to me that my time at this place is utterly at it's end.
[Well now first things first]
Placing my briefcase on the ground, i opened the coin purse that was given to me and spilling its contents into my other hand.
10 white coins clinked their way out.
All imprinted with the face of a overweight looking man whose chin was distended so much i'd almost go out of my way to declare he had mumps, or a similar disease.
[Huh white coins and this must be the king, well when in Rome I guess... but is this alot of money or a little? Guess that'll be the next step, acquiring some common sense here following that if possible I'll need a change of clothes Full 3-piece suit doesn't really spell Fantasy world so I'd stand out way too much.]
Securing my allowance once again in the pouch and picking up my suitcase I headed my way into town descending the long white stair case.
The closer i got the more the scent of premodern life assaulted my senses.
First hit was my nose this city must have an open sewer system since the air quite literally burned my nostril's, after that was my sense of touch as the surrounding air felt much denser almost as if i was walking at sealevel where the humidity made it so you could feel the air as you walked, looking up into the sky i also saw another marvel as high above the city sky hung a pair of Suns, not just a single one like we have back on earth.
"Get your Hiqiange Loaf here" <Peddler 1>
"3 Griffin Pancakes for 1 small Bronze" <Peddler 2>
"Orc Meat, fresh red Orc meat for sale" <Peddler 3>
My ears were next filled with the sound of peddlers shouting their wares at everyone who passed by on the street.
Wow! everything here just shows how much different this world is I can understand some of what their talking about but no idea about the rest, Orcs and Griffins are common in gaming but Hiqiange?
[It's well past lunch now and I haven't eaten since I was planning to go out after my meeting if it was a success so I should grab a quick bite to eat here and that'll help with my investigation into my economic standpoint right now.]
Approaching a stall selling what looked like bread tending by a middle aged man with brown hair and fairly modest clothes that looked like hemp or burlap.
"Well lookie here young master fancy yourself some Hiquiange Loaf freshly baked this morning I guarantee" <Peddler 1>
He spoke evenly with his hand loosely wringing together hoping to make a sale
"Depending on the price I'd be interested, and if I could also get some information from you at the same time that would help me plenty since I'm newly arrived in the capital" <Kokei>
"Well it's is 1 Copper for a whole loaf or 3 Iron bits per slice, as for information the cost would depend on what you'd like to know?" <Peddler 1>
"Oh it's nothing too much really, I'd just like to find a clothing store or tailor, a general store, and of course your recommendation for a good inn I could lodge at while I'm in the city, that and of course I'll be getting a loaf of your bread here as well" <Kokei>
"Ah yes I see, I could tell from your attire you're not from around here, for a moment there you had me thinking you might've been one of the Heroes that were summoned you've got the hair and eye color for it, but they're probably all caught up with the king and are to important to bother with the like of us huh… Right info and bread hmmm well since you're a nice young fellar I'll give you a deal I'll tell you what you want to know and give you my finest loaf together for 1 silver coin." <Pedler 1>
[No idea if that's fair, or if I have enough on me, I mean logic says gold should be worth more than silver but this is another world maybe silver is rarer than even gold]
Pulling one of the white coin's from my coin purse I handed it over to the peddler.
"Oh ho ho, White Gold heh! If I knew you could pay that much I should've charged you more heh he but a deal's a deal." <Peddler 1>
The peddler chortled as he wrapped a loaf of bread up before handing it over to me
"Now then for your change do you mind if i give you coppers? Or do you want a mix of silvers as well? I can give you copper coins back for your change but you'd wind up with quite a few not sure if your coin purse there could hold them all?" <Peddler 1>
[Hmmmm]
"Ugh yeah sure a mix of silvers and coppers is fine by me" <Kokei>
Struggling to respond
The man worked behind the stall handing me 4 silver coins and then pour a handful of copper coins into my held open coin purse.
[Makes me feel like i'm a kid on Halloween receiving a treat... But oh well that answers the economy question for the most part that 10 silver coins equals a white gold coin, and 10 copper coins equals a silver coin]
I followed up with the peddler to inquire the other currencies and verified the exchange rate was the same across the board.
To sum it up the currency system as I understand it appears like this, and based off the cost of food items compare to similar prices in USD from earth.
1Iron Coin 1(Dokc) = 25¢ 10 = 1 Copper Coin
1 Copper Coin 10 (Dokc) = $2.50 10 = 1 Silver Coin
1 Silver Coin 100 (Dokc) = $25 10 = 1 White Gold Coin
1 White Gold Coin 1,000 (Dokc) = $250 10 = 1 Small Gold Coin
1 Small Gold Coin 10,000 (Dokc) = $2,500 10 = 1 Large Gold Coin
1 Large Gold Coin 100,000 (Dokc) = $25,000 10 = 1 Platinum Coin
1 Platinum Coin 1,000,000 (Dokc) = $250,000 10 = 1 Mithril Coin
1 Mithril Coin 10,000,000 (Dokc) = $2,500,000 10 = Holy Blue Coin
1 Holy Blue Coin 100,000,000 (Dokc) = $25,000,000
Course the peddler spoke of Platinum and Mithril like they were the stuff of legend, only ever seen in a countries treasury or nobles estates, while Holy Blue coins were even further being National Treasures.
Most people in capital get by with Iron, and Coppers for the barest of essentials but travellers merchants, adventurers, and Nobles usually deal in Silver and various Gold coins.
So all said and done I have about 2,475$ left but thanks to the peddler 9,900 Dokc is enough for you to live as a commoner in the capital for a year or life like a lower noble for a month even more so if you leave and live in the frontier villages where they rarely ever see silver coins flow through the markets.
Thanking him for the information I headed off to a nearby low stone wall with purple moss growing out of the gaps to sit down and eat my newly acquired loaf of bread.
I didn't have a knife but eh first meal not like it's got to be sliced; I tore apart the loaf with my bare hands.
The crust was hard like a French loaf but the 'meat' of the loaf was nice and soft but a bit pink in color, steam rose up from the interior carrying with it a sweet scent that tickled my nose and wetted my appetite further.
Hiquiange must be some sort of fruit they add to the bread for flavor.
As I sat there eating my bread staring at the streets around me, it really hit home this was a fantasy world as knights, those i could only call adventurers, peddlers, and merchants all mingled and heading this way and that, merchant carts filled with barrels, boxes, and weapons of all sorts as well.
[One thing to note for a fantasy world though… which just adds to this kingdom's seediness is the fact that they said they needed heroes to save the kingdom, and yet the people are not suffering, not one of these people has a look of despair or hopelessness, and food prices being peddled are more than reasonable and stock seems to be plenty. Furthermore the entire time i sat on this wall gazing at the cityscape only humans could been seen, the peddler who sold me the Loaf had alluded that this recipe was a famous one handed down from the beastfolk, and yet not a single one could be seen... are they choosing to avoid the capital, or is this kingdom just human supremacists barring beastfolk and other demi-humans from being seen in public? Guess I can inquire more about this at the inn tonight, information flows more freely among those drinking]
Getting to my feet once I was full of bread, half a loaf still remained so I wrapped it back up in the cloth and stored it in my briefcase before setting off to the clothes store the peddler had mentioned.
The selection at <Final Stitch> was fairly limited but I managed to acquire 3 sets of clothes, {Shirt, and Pants} they weren't anywhere near top of the line but they'll help me to blend into this world.
I also got a simple magic rucksack (Can hold 25lbs worth of items regardless of size) to put all my things into.
As a bonus I sold the shop the clothes I was wearing along with my briefcase (minus the contents) winding up earning myself 4 Silver Coins and I got the clothes and backpack thrown in for free.
Having settled my first hurdle of blending in, and acquiring a new wardrobe i left <Final Stitch> behind heading off down the street to the General store <All You Need>.
[Alright Clothes and normalness has been achieved next up will be getting supplies and tools to survive in this world, i need to find out quickly the technology level here so i can craft something to sell but without draw to much attention towards myself, lest i run away before being forced to become a corporate wage slave once again with a noble forcing me to pump out goods nobody else but me can make, as is common in isekei stories when the hero blunders and exposes his extraterrestrial knowledge]
I spent a fair bit of time poking around the general store as pretty much everything there was new to me, I know I could've gotten better stuff but I just needed the bare essentials for right now so I only bought; A Flint kit, 1 weeks travel rations (Consisting of Dried Meat, and Nutrition crackers), compass, iron knife, iron short sword & sheathe, 3 water skins, and a leather mantle (cape/with hood)all for 1 White Gold Coin.
[Alright got myself equipped, I probably still look green like a novice adventurer but at least I should be less of a target now that I'm armed at least patting the dagger on my left and sword hanging from my right side, last thing on the list for today is to get a place to spend the night time to find the <Wolf's Den> that the peddler recommended]
I wandered around for a bit completely getting lost in this foreign city the people constantly bumping into me as they hurridly rush here and there, quickly diving out of the path of horse drawn carts that acted like they didn't care should you be run over.
Until I finally broke down sacrificing my modern pride and paid a passing child 1 copper coin to guide me to my destination, I arrived in front of the inn which was one of the largest building i had seen in this city so far, at five stories in height with quite a number of small wooden windows without any glass, the entrance reminding me more of a old west tavern, with a pair of swinging half doors situated two steps up from the street surface, as the sun was setting.
[Not sure if the days are as long as they are on earth but it was around noon when we came here i think, i spent at least an hour in the cathedral, another hour eating lunch and talking, then a few shopping, followed by quite a bit of time wandering around lost but even still the sun shouldn't be setting already…]
Pondering all this while staring at the building, meanwhile the child guide had happily run off while tightly clutching the copper coin i had provided, his dirty face and ragged clothes led me to believe he lived in this city's slums or could possibly even be homeless so to earn a copper coin was a godsend.
I reached out after climbing the steps and opened one of the wooden doors stepping foot into the inn, as soon as i entered the ruckus and laughter of many men resounded from the bar that was to the right of the front desk.
Behind the desk sat a gaunt women with thick muscley arms and her hair done up in a simple single braid.
[Huh all this noise and i couldn't hear anything from outside even though those doors are not soundproofed or even airtight, must be some form of magic i guess...?]
"Here for supper? The bars to your right" <Hostess>
Only giving me a moments glance.
"Oh thank you maybe later; actually I'd like to get a room for the night if possible" <Kokei>
"I see… well that'll cost you 1 silver coin y'know?" <Hostess>
Asking this time with some worry in her voice as her eyes looked me over.
"Does that include a meal?" <Kokei>
"Comes with a basic meal, just bread and light soup, if you want something more or drink other than well water that'll cost extra, same goes for if you want a washbasin" <Hostess>
Her tone changing completely after I didn't shy away from the mention of cost.
"Thank you, well I will get one room for the night then, and I won't need a basin tonight, but do you have a menu for food and drink? Or do I order in the bar?" <Kokei>
"We can get that all sorted out here for you young sir, we're not a noble joint so no menu since almost all our patrons can't read, but tonight we've got Roasted Boar Steak, Fried Crescent Newt, and Mixed Greens. Choices of drink are Fruit Juice, Mulled Wine, or Mead" <Hostess>
"I'll go for the Boar steak and greens along with the bread and soup that come with my room please" <Kokei>
"Alrighty that'll bring the total up to 1 Silver coin and 3 Copper Coins" <Hostess>
Dropping my backpack to the floor in front of me I reached inside defying logic if you looked from the side as i was arm deep in the bag even through it was only a foot in size from the outside, i located my coin purse I'd hidden among my supplies pulling out the required money from within before replacing the purse, and resealing the bag handing over the small sum of coin to the hostess, in exchange she asked for my name before writing it down in a single book and handing me an iron key.
"You're welcome to head on in and find a table I'll bring your food to you when it's ready, afterwards head up stairs your room is #5 on the third floor on the right all the way at the end of the hall." <Hostess>
She politely waved me off as she headed back to what I think must've been the kitchen to place my order in with the chef.
Heading off into the bar she'd directed me towards, every table was full of many different kinds of people, labourers, rough types, off duty guards.
Each table was its on Cliche as all possessed the same dressed persons which made me believe it was the norm to arrive as a group rather than mingle and stray outside your own class in this city.
I sidled my way over to one of the tables with what looked like the typical group of adventurers, who were dressed similarly but much more well rounded than i was with leather armor and helmets, sitting there was a group of 4 they looked down cast at the table not speaking a word to one another but a few empty seat were also here.
"Mind if I join your table?" <Kokei>
Asking Tentatively
"Yeah sure why not" <Leader>
Managing to speak but sounding severely depressed
The other members never once taking their eyes off the table to even look at me, chose not to voice an object to their leader.
Taking a seat on the far end of the table from the leader i settled into the simple wooden chair taking my first real seat in this world since arriving having only sat on a wall and floor up till now, observing the group of people before me.
3 men and 1 woman (looked to be two warriors and two mages going by clothes and visible gear)
"I don't mean to be rude if you're busy but would you mind awfully if I asked you some questions? I'm newly arrived in this country and I'm looking to get a lay of the land?" <Kokei>
The leader picked his head up and peered over to me for the first time.
"Why oh why would you ever choose to willingly come to this country of all places? Ever since our parties been here it's as if we were cursed." <Leader>
"Oh come on Larr don't be like that you'll scare the guy off, sorry bout him we're just down cause we failed our last job and had to pay the penalty fee, my name is Quinella by the way nice to meetcha" <Quinella>
"Nice to meet you, and sorry to hear things have been rough lately, my name is Kokei...
[She didn't give a family name so if I don't want to get mistaken for a noble or worse I should probably withhold my own family name for the time being]
I'd be happy to pay you guys for any information i ask that you can provide me?" <Kokei>
As I said this the other three member all perked up and looked over at me with cheerful smiles.
"You'd be like a saint to us if you did Kokei" <Quinella>
Responding with more cheer in her voice than before.
Just as I was about to start barraging them with questions my order arrived and a series of plates and bowls were put in front of me.
All four members of my table looked at the food with longing eyes, drool was sighted to be forming on the men's mouths, while Quinella audibly gulp back the saliva building in her mouth before showing something unladylike.
Before the employee could turn and leave however.
"Excuse me sir" <Kokei>
"Oh yes is there a problem with your order young sir?" <Employee>
Replying worriedly as he turned round to face me
"No no there's no problem at all the food looks delicious, I just wanted to place another order if I could" <Kokei>
As these words left my lips I could see the men of my tables eyes flare up with jealousy.
[C'mon guys I can tell your hungry but don't get the wrong idea I've already got my food I'm not doing this to show off]
"Oh but of course, what can we get for you sir" <Employee>
"Let's see, we'll need 4 boar steaks, 4 bowls of greens, 1 pot of soup, a loaf of bread and… oh hey Quinella" <Kokei>
Sheepishly she glanced towards me, and barely held eye contact without responding.
"Would your party be fine with Mead to drink or would you prefer wine or juice?" <Kokei>
Three heads all shot their gazes over to her now boring holes with eyes of longing, Quinella's mouth opened and closed a few time before she responded to me.
"Eh, Kokei forgive me for asking but that food you're ordering, it's not for us is it?" <Quinella>
Pained looks flashed across her companions faces as they took her words to be ones of refusal.
"Course it is, not fair if I'm the only one at the table eating besides eating alongside others makes the food taste that much better in my mind" <Kokei>
"But… But, but we cannot pay you back for this" <Quinella>
Frantically stuttering her words in reply.
The men all started becoming teary eyed at this point visibly shaking without breaking their composure to attack Quinella and stop her from receiving my charity.
"You already agreed to sell me information so this is just a perk of the transaction no hurry up Mr. Waiter here will need an answer so's he can put our order in, and if I wait much longer for my drink my throat might dry up" <Kokei>
I threw in a joke to lighten the mood and make her less uncomfortable while sounding like her refusal was actually causing me a problem.
The three men all lightly forced a chuckle with their teary eyes shifting gazes from her to me.
She took one sweeping glance at her companions before sighing resignedly and answering.
"Mead would be lovely thank you Mr. Kokei" <Quinella>
"Alrighty 5 pints of Mead as well, and that should be it for now" <Kokei>
"Yes Sir, that will be 1 Silver coin please" <Employee>
Without hesitation I handed over the silver coin as soon as it graced his palm the waiter headed off.
[It's a good thing i took out a pair of silvers keeping them in my pockets before to help grease the wheels]
"I hope you don't mind if I get started right away I'd hate for the food to get cold, and your own should be arriving in almost no time at all as well" <Kokei>
As I spoke to them Quinella and her group continued to stare at me with eyes of shock mouths now hanging open.
A few seconds passed without response so i took that to mean they approved since i didn't hear an objection digging into my food.
The greens were good simply boiled and then salted, the boar steak was tasty if but a bit gamey i feel they didn't quite bleed the boar completly before butchering it, the soup was thin and watery but still good enough with plenty of veggies within but still quite lacking in total flavor a veggie soup should have, opening the bag at my feet i reached in and brought out the remainder of my loaf of bread unwrapping it and cutting a slice off before dunking it into my soup.
"Here we go, your food will be out in a moment" <Employee>
5 wooden pint mugs of Mead we placed on the table froth reaching out from the confines of the cups as the bubbles popped causing dribbles of mead to cascade down the sides of the pints, I reached out for a cup immediately the other 4 on the other hand remained there.
"C'mon guys drink up, you don't expect me to drink all five cups myself do you?" <Kokei>
Upon my saying so the men reached out eagerly their hands shakily grasping a handle pulling it back towards them but not one took a drink.
Quinella still sat there staring at the full pint mug remaining.
[Wow these guys sure are timid, just how broke are they…]
I reached out across the table moving the mug to be before her, before returning deep into my seat taking up the handle of my own mug.
Taking a swig of my own mead, the taste of honey was strong even if the alcohol content itself burned my throat while I was drinking; taking my action as a cue the men all slammed their mugs together before drinking them heartily.
"So you lot are all adventurers I take it?" <Kokei>
"Yeah" <Party>
"So you mentioned before that this isn't a country one chooses by choice…" <Kokei>
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone