A teenage boy was walking around a convenience store, thinking about what to buy, when he looked down at his wallet.
"Well, I guess I'm short on cash too," he muttered, letting out a breath.
He picked up a small chocolate bar and walked to the counter.
"That'll be $1.49."
"Yeah, here," he replied, handing over the cash and blinked.
But when he opened his eyes again, he was no longer in the store.
He now found himself standing in the middle of a vast desert, dressed in the some ragged clothes and holding only the water bottle he'd been carrying while handing the cash.
"Where am I?"
'No way this is real… it has to be some sort of dream, right?' he thought, gripping his water bottle tightly as he looked around the endless desert.
He started to walk forward aimlessly, each step making his feet feel like they were bleeding from the sand crunching beneath them. Strange statues surrounded him—nine in total—each too weathered and ruined to make out their faces or understand the worn inscriptions carved beneath them.
All he could make out was that every statue carried a weapon. Each one stood in a heroic pose, as if captured in the moment of their final stand, gripping their weapon with unwavering resolve.
One statue held a copper spear behind its back—untouched by time. Another pointed a silver rapier directly at the boy, its arm extended as if issuing a challenge. A third gripping a massive greatsword forged from some dark, unfamiliar metal. The fourth wielded a longsword that shimmered like ruby, its crimson edge catching the light, while dark stains along the blade seemed to absorb it.
The fifth bore a deep blue katana, stained with blotches of black that hinted at a dark past. The sixth cradled a crystalline white bow, delicate yet deadly. The seventh raised a shield made from an unusual, almost alien steel.
The eighth held a pair of daggers—one light blue, the other dark red. And the ninth... It had no weapon but its fists, each clad in heavy knuckles that gleamed with menace.
After walking forward for a while, he suddenly found himself standing before what looked like a village—no, a capital of some medieval kingdom. He blinked in disbelief and looked around. A vast forest now stretched out in all directions, and the scorching desert had vanished entirely. Even the sand that had clung to his feet was gone, as if he had never been at the desert at all.
He walked up to the gates and saw a short line of people entering, each showing some kind of ID card to the armored guards standing watch at the massive entrance.
"Oh great, I need an ID now? I don't even have my wallet—wait, where did it go? All I've got are these weird clothes… not even any shoes or money. Hah, who am I kidding? It's not like I had much money anyway."
As he approached the guards, he was surprised to realize he could understand everything they were saying perfectly. But when he glanced at the cards people were showing, none of the writing made any sense to him—it was all in a language he couldn't read.
Finally, it was his turn. The guards looked at him with a mix of curiosity and confusion.
"Well, I haven't seen you before. Are you a new adventurer from a smaller village, or just a merchant?"
The boy hesitated, unsure how to respond, so he simply nodded.
The guard raised an eyebrow. "Alright... do you have your merchant card or adventurer's license?"
"Uh, no, I don't," he replied quickly. I came here to, uh… get those things. Yeah."
The guards exchanged a quick glance, clearly suspicious, but after a moment one of them shrugged.
"Fine, but head straight to the guild. No wandering around without proper registration," he said, stepping aside.
Relieved, the boy nodded and walked through the massive gates, trying not to look as lost as he felt.
'What was up with those two? I swear I saw some sort of fur on the other one under his armor—what kind of fever dream is this?'
He was surrounded by merchants and small stores.
The streets bustled with activity as he wandered through, wondering what to do next. His eyes locked onto a strange-looking building across the square. He couldn't read the sign above the entrance, but he saw a steady stream of people going in—some clad in massive armor, wielding greatswords and heavy shields. Others wore light leathers, with bows slung over their shoulders or small daggers hanging from their belts.
'Could these be the "adventurers" the guard talked about?'
He approached the building and stepped inside, finding himself in a large hall with a bustling bar area on one side and a registration counter on the other.
"I guess I can register here for one of those cards the people at the gate were showing," he muttered to himself.
He suddenly felt someone standing behind him—and then, unexpectedly, a warm hug.
"Oh, look what I found, Murd! A newbie!" said a cheerful woman's voice from behind him as she wrapped her arms around him.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about her," said a big man with a heavy looking axe slung across his back.
His outfit was an odd mix—strange-looking leather and fur combined with a heavy, thick-plated armor that covered his chest. In one hand, he casually held a large mug of beer, the foam near the brim.
"She acts like this with all the new adventurers when she's drunk."
"I am not drunk!" the woman exclaimed, clearly offended.
The woman wore blue leather armor and had two daggers on her belt. She carried a strange-looking bow with glowing, detailed carvings on it. Her eyes were a deep crimson, and she wore a triangle-shaped hat with a bird feather sticking out of it.
"Sure… but where am I?" the boy asked, still trying to make sense of everything.
"Well, the Adventurers' Guild, of course! This is where dreams get crushed and legends are born!" the woman declared dramatically, clearly drunk.
The man chuckled and added in a much calmer tone, "Don't worry, boy. I can explain it all. Just come sit with us at the table."
They all sat down at one of the tables on the bar side of the guild hall. The man leaned forward and asked,
"So, boy, you've got a name, don't you? Mine's Murd, and I'm in a party with this drunken archer elf here. Her name is—"
"I am Corie!" the woman cut in loudly before he could finish.
"Oh, my name is Nakate. Or—well, my full name is Nakate Ashen. But you guys can just call me Nakate, I guess."
"Well, well, well… it's rare to see someone with a clan name who doesn't even know what an Adventurers' Guild is," Murd said, raising an eyebrow.
Murd led Nakate to the counter and spoke to the woman behind it—a blonde with green eyes, dressed in tight leather clothing.
"Could you inspect this kid's stats and get him registered as an adventurer?" he asked.
She nodded with a calm smile. "Of course. I love seeing new adventurers join the guild and help those in need."
She brought out a strange wooden card, blank and smooth, and placed it on the counter. Then, in a calm voice, she said, "Please raise your hand above the card."
"Oh, sure." He looked at the card with his palm above it, and it gave a small glow for a second. 'What the hell is happening,' he thought, while looking at the card getting carvings on it with the same language he couldn't read before—just this time, he understood it a little.
★ Strength: 12____________________________________________________
◆ Fortitude: 6_____________________________________________________
➶ Agility: 17________________________________________________________
⟡ Willpower: 47_(Sub-clan of Faith — Blessed with 40+ Willpower)
⋄ Intelligence: 21____________________________________________________
♣ Luck: 30____________________________________________________________