Preparing to set out

After a brief rest, Renato woke Perly. After all, the Misty Path was hardly a good place to sleep.

On the way back, he gathered up the scattered belongings and secured the bundle of calming flowers.

He also picked up several dark green drake scales along the way, their surfaces smooth and warm to the touch. Renato put them in his Bag of Holding, intending to examine them more closely once he got back.

After turning in the quest, Renato informed the staff at the guild headquarters about the new wereboar tribe in the Old Ruins District and the Quadruped Drake on the Misty Path.

He did not know whether the guild would take action, but he had no intention of setting foot in the Phantom Forest again for at least the next few days.

With a Bag of Holding, Renato could now take away plenty of loot he previously would have had to leave behind. After searching around, he brought back three damaged cowhide breastplates, six pairs of leather boots, four pairs of leather gloves, two axes...

Selling off the equipment in his Bag of Holding gave Renato's savings another boost. Including the quest reward, he now had twenty-seven silver coins.

This dangerous experience had made Renato take potions more seriously. He made a special trip to The Crucible and the Joke and spent two silver coins on five Healing Potions.

While he was there, he also took out the dark green dragon scales and asked what they were worth.

"Just these two scales won't fetch much." Oliver tapped the ash from his pipe. "Five copper at most. Otherwise, dragons would have gotten rich ages ago just selling their shed scales."

Since they were worth so little, Renato kept the dragon scales as souvenirs instead of selling them.

After gulping down a bitter Healing Potion, he decided to have dinner at Last Call.

Glancing at Perly, who had been silently following him the whole time, Renato felt rather helpless.

"Perly, you don't have to keep following me. The quest's done, and you've paid me. We're square."

The dragon's tail had torn Perly's original linen robe, so Renato had given her a deep black cotton one to change into. It did not fit very well and hung loosely on her.

"But you saved me... That Healing Potion must have been expensive. I..."

More people were gathering outside the tavern, and a few nosy adventurers had begun looking their way. Renato cut off her fumbling words and led her inside.

The lighting was dim. Renato knew this was because Gane, the owner, was saving money: he only ever lit a single oil lamp.

The place rang with voices. A large crowd of adventurers had gathered around a table for a drinking contest, their rough laughter and curses mingling in a tremendous racket.

After sitting down in a corner, Renato called Gane over to order, then looked at Perly across the table.

"Perly, you got a general idea of Brekka Town today, and you even completed a quest. You should understand how dangerous the Phantom Forest is now."

He ordered a serving of stew seasoned with black pepper, a piece of white bread, and a slice of salty cheese.

"If you really want my advice, stop being an adventurer. You're still young, and you're a spellcaster who can read and write. Finding somewhere to live a stable life shouldn't be hard. There's no need to do work that could get you killed."

"Being an adventurer is the only way I can earn enough money. I... I'm not giving up." Perly shook her head. "I can pay you, Renato. Could you keep being my guide?"

The Adventurer's Guide did not display a quest notification. Renato was not surprised. He had already tested this with other people several times. There had to be some unknown detection mechanism that prevented him from cheating with fake commissions from acquaintances.

"Perly, you should put all your money into yourself, whether that means buying equipment or learning spells. That's where your strength as an adventurer comes from."

Renato meant every word. In Brekka Town, the only person you could rely on was yourself.

"Besides, I probably won't be working in the Phantom Forest for a while. The Misty Path is too dangerous. I'm planning to go into the city and see if there are any suitable commissions."

Perly fell silent. She had not ordered anything and was simply struggling to gnaw through the black bread she had brought.

Renato did not consider himself overly sympathetic, nor did he know much about this girl he had met only a day ago. But he thought highly of the apprentice mage before him, whose courage bordered on recklessness. She just needed time to grow.

I have money to spare now anyway. I'll just think of it as feeding a cute little animal.

He pushed the stew toward her with a smile.

"I ordered too much, and I can't take the stew with me. My treat. Let's share."

Perly did not refuse. With her head lowered, she swallowed small bites of meat. Watching the way she treasured each bite yet ate so eagerly, Renato let out a nearly inaudible sigh.

This was a world full of miracles, but it was also an extraordinarily cruel one.

After lighting the oil lamp, Renato sat beside his bed and sorted through the things he needed to bring, putting them into his Bag of Holding one by one.

Two linen shirts, three pairs of cotton socks, a pair of old leather boots...

He still needed the blanket and sleeping mat that night, so those would have to wait until morning.

He had also bought a small canvas tent, a cast-iron pot, two strips of salt-cured meat, a jar of salt, and half a block of butter from nearby vendors.

Including the partial refund on his room, Renato now had twenty-two silver coins and more than two hundred copper coins.

He opened the Adventurer's Guide and spent all 1,485 of his accumulated experience points on leveling up Champion Warrior.

Champion Warrior level 4 (515/1000) → Champion Warrior level 5 (1000/3000)

[Character]

Renato de Fernando

Race: human

Class: Champion Warrior level 5 (1000/3000), Chosen of Dakoul level 1 (30/?)

HP: 60/60

Strength: 15

Constitution: 13

Dexterity: 14

Perception: 15

Intelligence: 11

Resolve: 15

Feats: heavy armor proficiency, martial weapon proficiency, swordsmanship specialization, darkvision, Mind Over Body

Skills: religious knowledge level 6, historical knowledge level 4, linguistics level 4, group tactics level 3, riding level 2

This level-up increased his strength by one point. Unlike the previous increase to his constitution, Renato did not feel much of a difference.

Although he was going to Fried City to rest, Renato had no intention of living off his savings indefinitely. He had been an adventurer for more than three months and completed over twenty quests with a hundred-percent success rate. He had long since qualified for a higher adventurer rating. He wanted to see what high-experience quests the guild had available.

Most of Renato's experience and money currently came from private jobs. Part of his reason for going into the city was to explore possible connections.

Fried City had a typical inner-and-outer-city layout. The city hall, banks, luxurious mansions, and commercial districts were all in the inner city. Renato had never been inside before; the city guards stopped anyone who looked poor.

The outer city was where the common people lived, with temples to various religions, markets large and small, and the Adventurers' Guild. Renato had lived there for a while and was reasonably familiar with it.

Several districts were the city's notorious slums. Not only were they densely populated and plagued by frequent murders, but they were also home to all manner of disreputable people and gangs. Poor, filthy, and chaotic, they were places the city's bigwigs could rarely be bothered to manage.

During his flight, Renato's first impression of Fried City had been shaped by its reputation as the south's famed "Commercial Pearl"-a free city without a king, without arbitrarily imposed, oppressive taxes, tolerant of all sorts of religions, and relatively lenient in its laws.

Now, however, what left the deepest impression on Renato was Fried City's bewildering variety of guilds.

Anyone who wanted to work as a weaver had to join the Weavers' Guild. Anyone who wanted to be a blacksmith had to join the Blacksmiths' Guild. Even porters had to join the Laborers' Guild.

Joining cost money, and the guild took a cut of whatever its members earned. This blatant extortion had shocked Renato when he first arrived.

Without joining a guild, no one would dare hire you. Fried City's laws made employing non-guild workers illegal and punishable by a fine.

Still, Renato believed that the higher the barriers to entry, the more gray-market business there would be. There would be no shortage of private jobs for him.

He simply lacked connections at the moment. He needed someone to introduce him and let potential employers know what he could do.

Of course, someone as unreliable as Little Finger was out of the question.

"I'll start with the gangs in the slums, then see how things go."