Chapter 15: My first adventure
I'd been at the dojo for nearly a month, and things were going swimmingly. That is, until dueling week, when we are all required to dual in order to maintain our positions in the rank. Because I am the lowest ranked, if I lose one of these duels, I lose my dojo space, but if I win, I get whatever the loser bets. Everyone trying to join the dojo challenged me because of my age, which made the whole thing frustrating. So far, I've defeated 12 opponents. Today would be the last day for me to defend my spot at the dojo.
I defeated my opponents by staying low and launching for their legs, which made it difficult for them to hit me. So far, my spoils of war consist of two horses, ten gold pieces, and finally manufactured weapons with the anvil emblem. I spoke about it with Master Brom out of curiosity. Master Brom examined it carefully, and it stated, "In the city of Roa, there is a family of dwarven blacksmiths who are skilled weaponsmiths who serve the liege Lord by furnishing his armies with weapons and armor." Their surname is Anvil.
As I talked with Master Brom about how to know where I was, I heard a voice say, "I, Sylvia Stoneroad, challenge you, Ryan Grayrat." I looked at Sylvia, completely confused and trying to process what she had just said, so I replied, "Why challenge me? You're a rank higher. You should have no need." She glared at me, disappointed. "I saw you beat the wannabes, and I think you need a challenge."
I couldn't really argue with that logic.
"I Ryan Grayrat; I accept Sylvia Stoneroad challenge," I remarked.
Sylvia's wager was going to be her ranking position. That is, if I won, I would have her room. I determined that if she won, she would receive one of the horses that I had lately won.
We both took our positions and launched forward without being told. Knowing Sylvia was faster than me, my strategy was to counter her first strike rather than striking first. Sylvia's assault was coming right at me, so I tried to counter, but she successfully dodged and countered with her own, grazing my arm. I charge again and fire another assault. Only for her to block it. Our conflict persisted, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get ahead. She has me beat in every way. I'm neither quicker nor stronger than she is, and her footwork is far superior to mine.
Our conflict persisted, and our attacks were swift and powerful. Several times throughout our fight, I was struck. If we were fighting with actual swords, the damage I would take would be a slew of cuts. Then something occurred. When I noticed her guard was somewhat reduced, I launched an attack, only to find it was a faint. My blade was knocked from my grasp. I slide away after falling to the ground. But Sylvia is right on my tail. I figured I'd lost this when I saw a sword strike aimed directly at my head, but I wanted to get one solid blow in.
Sylvia is above me, her sword raised high in the air. When he came right towards me, I put my left arm up to block the sword. And with my right arm, I charge with as much battle aura as I can muster. exceeding my limits, causing my bones to feel like they're going to explode. When her sword connects with my arm, it causes excruciating pain. If my body were normal, my arm would be shattered. But I gritted my teeth and went to launch my punch.
When my punch hits Sylvia's stomach, all of the air in her body is evacuated, and she vomits everything she ate that morning, sending her flying across the dojo. This gave me enough time to retrieve my sword and administer the killing blow. After that, Sylvia says, "I confess defeat," to which I respond, "I would call this a draw." Confounded, she looks at me and asks, "Why would you call it a draw? It's plain you have beaten me," to which I shake my head and add, "Had we been using actual swords, you would have won if my physique was normal." "What do you mean if your body was normal?" she asks, perplexed.
"Well, let's just say my physique is sturdier than most," I said simply. For example, that punch I threw at you should have utterly shattered my arm. And I don't want to rely on it; I'd rather win through competence." "I see, that does make sense, okay? I'll take this as a draw if that's good with you, master Brom," Sylvia says. Brom shakes his head in approval, so we shake hands and say good match.
After that, I made my way to the infirmary to see how Mom was doing. When I open the door, mom swiftly looks to see who's coming in, and a big smile appears across your face when she sees me. And there was my baby sister, Norn, sleeping peacefully in the corner. Mom says, "Come in," and I walk in. She urges me to take a seat. She then says, "How were your duels today?" I told her about the one I had today and how fantastic Sylvia is. Mom's wicked grin creeps over her face.
My face flushes scarlet as mom asks, "Does my little Ryan have a crush on someone?" I'll confess that she's incredibly adorable; in my previous life, I had a thing for elves. "No, Mom, it's not like that. She's more of a rival," I said. Mom asks, "Is that so?" I ask, "How are you and Norn doing?" Mom says, "I'm doing well; Norn keeps me awake at night." I ask, "Is there anything I can do to help?" Mom shakes her head and says, "No, I've got everything under control, but thank you for asking." Norn determines that now is the moment to make a scene.
I run over to Norn, making silly expressions at first. When that fails, I pick her up and rock her, but her wailing continues. Finally, I discovered the culprit: Norn had wet herself. Mom throws me a diaper, and I change her. I rocked her back to sleep and returned her to her cot. I turn to Mom and explain, "The true reason I'm here is to inform you I'll be gone for approximately 9 days." Mom looks concerned and asks, "Where are you going?" "I'm heading to Roa and starting to work as an adventure," I answered.
Seeing mom's displeasure, I reply, "Don't worry, Mom, I'll be back, I promise." Mom frowns but relents, saying, "Okay, just promise me you'll be safe, and if you run across your brother, please tell him I said hi." I offer her a huge grin and say, "I will, Mom." I go over to her and hug her; she hugs me back and says, "I just want you to know Ryan that I love you," to which I respond, "I love you too, mom." We part ways, and I leave the dojo.
I go to the sleeping room and get my bag with my things. Then I had to go to the stables and get the horse I stole from Dad as well as the other two horses I won. My intention is to sell them once I arrive in town. The daylong journey to Roa went off without a hitch. The city of Roa was encircled by high stone walls. Even the roadways are totally paved. It took me about an hour to get into the city since there were so many people arriving and departing. I asked the gatekeeper where I might sell the horses. He directed me to a stable called Sam and Pippin.
When I arrived, it appeared to be any other average stable in my world. I rode up to the building, and a halfling approached me, saying, "Hey there, my name is Pippin; what can I do for you today?" I said, "I'm here to sell these two horses." Pippin rubs his chin and says, "All right, follow me." I follow Pippin inside a barn-like structure. There are a lot of platforms inside this structure, and I'm presuming that because of his tiny size, he requires higher platforms to look over the horses once I tie the two horses I'm contemplating selling. Pippen begins to examine them.
Pippin examined them and replied, "I'll pay you one gold for both." I agreed and was paid one gold before arriving at the adventure guild. There are several weapon stores on the streets, and I happen to see one with an anvil insignia on it. I notice a large group of people dressed in adventure gear. Following Pippin's instructions, I arrive at the adventure guild in no time, tie up the horse, and stroll in. And at the counter, I notice a dwarf dressed in what appears to be shoddy chainmail, with a hammer, a shield, and a helmet.
Not only that, but I also observed a swordsman roughly 2 years my senior. As I approached the desk, a boy with brown hair turned around, seemingly to go. His eye color is green, and he had a mole beneath his right eye. His looks remind me of my father. The youngster glances at me, a bit surprised, before shaking his head and continuing on his way. As I approached the desk, the receptionist's large tracks of land made it difficult not to stare, but I persisted and continued advancing while gazing right into her eyes.
When I approached the desk, the receptionist smiled and said, "Hey, how may I assist you today, sir?" "I'd like to join up as an adventure," I began, and the receptionist replied, "Oh my, there's been a lot of those today." "Here you are; please sign this," she says as she offers me a form. Someone comes next to me and says in a very squeaky voice, "I'd like one too." To my right is a halfling dressed in what appears to be a beginner magician's robe. The receptionist continues to grin and hand him a form as she begins to explain the guild's bylaws.
The rules are pretty simple. Everyone begins off as an E-Class, and the highest you can go is an S-Class. You can only take one class higher or lower than your present level. There are also restrictions against purchasing, selling, or swapping employment. You will be demoted if you fail to complete enough jobs. If you succeed in enough jobs, you will be promoted. If you fail a job, you must pay a charge. The form I had to fill out required some basic information. For example, your name and the role you play She takes the paper once I've finished filling it out, places it on this slab, and has me pour mana into it.
After that, she hands me my adventure card, which has my name, race, and age. The receptionist then explains, "Over there is the quest board; you may only accept three tasks each day," and I go over there to check what quests are available.
The three that I found most fascinating that have no time restriction are a clothes store with a dire rat infestation, a lost cat, and a cellar that needs to be cleaned.
The first one I opted to tackle was the dreadful rat infestation. A dire rat, if my memory serves me properly, is a one-foot-tall rodent. I needed to get to the better section of town, which had the fancier stores. I stumble upon the Devil Wears Prada shop.
When I walked in, I noticed the owner scowling at me. When I approached him and showed him that I had accepted his request, his frown changed into a smile. And when he showed me the basement, there were probably seven rats. "Would it be acceptable if I simply froze everything over with that?" I questioned the owner, who shook his head.
He answered, "No, that would be OK," so I used magic to freeze the entire area, freezing all the rats solid. Impressed, the store owner handed me the tag proving that I had finished the request, and I proceeded to clean up the basement while using my demon sight to hunt for any animals. We arrived at the warehouse, cleaned up the storage space, and received my tag. The remainder of the day was spent seeking out the orange cat. I appear to have found every other type of cat except the one I'm looking for. With this, I vowed never to accept another lost pet quest.
Unfortunately, while my demon eye can aid to some degree, it can't discriminate between various creatures, so even if an animal appears in my demon eye, I can't determine what kind of animal it is, which leads me to dogs, pigeons, and rats. But then I noticed the orange cat up in the tree. I climb the tree, retrieve it, and return it to its owner. I knock on the door, and a little girl, maybe around six years old, answers. When I tell her that I was the one who accepted her request and located her cat, she is overjoyed and hurries in to get her parents.
Her parents provide me with my tag, and I proceed to the Adventures Guild to turn them all in. When I arrived, I ran into a brown-haired swordsman. "I'm very sorry; please forgive me," I say. "May I also have your name?" The brown-haired man responds, "No, it's alright, my name is Leo." After that, I introduced myself, "Hearing my last name, his face goes into a frown as he shoves me away and continues to walk. I had to wonder why he appeared to detest my last name. To the amazement of the receptionist, I turned in all of my tags. For all of my efforts today, I received ten copper coins.
With the silver I got from the two horses, I was able to rent a really cheap inn for the remainder of the week.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
JonnyLs
JonnyLs thank you for reading this chapter please let me know what you thought of it. I hope you have a great day.
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