The Adventurer's Guild looked less like a workplace and more like the world's most dangerous tavern.
Ryuji stood outside the building for a moment, staring up at it.
The structure was massive compared to the surrounding shops—three stories of heavy stone walls and thick oak beams. A giant iron emblem hung above the doors: two crossed swords over a shield.
A few adventurers lounged outside on the steps.
One sharpened a sword.
Another cleaned blood off an axe like it was a normal daily chore.
One guy was asleep while hugging a barrel of ale.
Ryuji nodded approvingly.
"Yeah."
He cracked his knuckles.
"This place looks like my kind of office."
He pushed the doors open.
The inside was loud.
Very loud.
The guild hall was enormous, filled with wooden tables where armored adventurers sat drinking, arguing, laughing, and occasionally arm wrestling.
Weapons clanked.
Boots stomped.
Somewhere in the room someone shouted,
"THAT WASN'T A FIREBALL, THAT WAS A FLARE!"
The smell was a mixture of polished wood, alcohol, sweat, and metal oil.
Ryuji breathed it in.
"...Smells like home."
A massive quest board covered one wall.
Dozens of parchments hung from it.
Monsters.
Deliveries.
Escort jobs.
Treasure hunts.
"Nice."
He walked up to the reception desk.
Behind it sat a woman with glasses and dark hair tied into a neat bun.
Her expression looked permanently tired.
Her nameplate read:
Mira
Without looking up she said,
"Next."
Ryuji stepped forward.
"Looking for work."
Mira flipped a page in a ledger.
"New adventurer registration?"
"Something like that."
Now she looked up.
Her eyes scanned him.
Torn clothes.
Huge build.
Knuckles that looked like they had broken things before.
"...You're not from around here."
"That obvious?"
"You don't carry a weapon."
Ryuji flexed his fingers.
"I am the weapon."
She stared at him.
"...Right."
She slid a form across the counter.
"Name?"
"Ryuji Kuroda."
"Class?"
Ryuji blinked.
Class.
Right.
Fantasy world.
He thought for a moment.
"...Unarmed combat."
Mira raised an eyebrow.
"So... monk?"
"Nah."
"Martial artist?"
"More like professional problem solver."
She wrote something down anyway.
"No guild affiliation?"
"Just arrived in town."
She stamped the form with a loud thud.
"Congratulations. You're now an F-rank adventurer."
Ryuji leaned forward.
"What's the pay?"
"Low."
"Honest."
She flipped through a quest ledger.
"Normally new adventurers have to join a party."
Ryuji crossed his arms.
"Normally I'm not normal."
Mira sighed.
"Of course you aren't."
She paused on a page.
"There is one job."
She slid a parchment forward.
"Black Serpent tail stones. Ten required."
Ryuji picked it up.
"What's a tail stone?"
"Small magical crystal inside a serpent's tail."
"What do they do?"
"Used in antivenom potions."
"And the reward?"
"One hundred coppers."
Ryuji frowned.
"That's it?"
"You are level one."
"...Fair."
She slid a small pouch across the counter.
"Sample stone so you know what to look for."
Ryuji examined the black pebble.
Smooth.
Cold.
He pocketed it.
"Where are the snakes?"
"Western forest."
"Anything else?"
Mira looked him dead in the eye.
"Yes."
"Don't get bitten."
"Helpful."
"The venom kills in minutes."
Ryuji grinned.
"Good thing I'm hard to kill."
Mira muttered,
"We'll see."
The western forest was darker than the one Ryuji woke up in.
The trees grew closer together.
Twisted roots crawled across the ground like skeletal fingers.
Sunlight barely reached the forest floor.
Ryuji stepped over a fallen log.
"Alright."
He rolled his shoulders.
"Let's find some snakes."
Ten minutes passed.
Nothing.
Twenty minutes.
Still nothing.
Thirty minutes.
Ryuji kicked a rock.
"Where the hell are they?"
The forest answered with silence.
He checked under logs.
No snakes.
Checked tall grass.
No snakes.
Climbed a tree.
Still no snakes.
"Great."
He jumped down.
"So the snakes are invisible."
He leaned against a tree.
"Fantastic quest design."
Out of boredom he opened his system menu.
Status.
Inventory.
Skills.
Still empty.
He sighed.
"Man, this system sucks."
Then he noticed something.
A tab he hadn't opened before.
Search
"Huh."
He tapped it.
A new interface appeared.
A search bar.
Below it were dozens of strange listings.
Equipment.
Items.
Tools.
Ryuji leaned forward.
"...Wait."
He typed something.
infrared goggles
The screen flickered.
Then displayed several options.
One item caught his eye.
Thermal Monocle
Allows detection of heat signatures.
Price: 50 Coppers
Ryuji's grin slowly grew.
"You sneaky bastard."
The system shop.
He selected it.
Light shimmered in his palm.
A brass monocle appeared.
Ryuji whistled.
"Well that's convenient."
He placed it over his right eye.
The world instantly changed.
The forest turned grayscale.
But living creatures glowed bright orange.
Ryuji laughed.
"There you are."
All around him—
Heat signatures.
Thin.
Coiled.
Hidden in grass.
Wrapped around branches.
Dozens of them.
Black Serpents.
They were almost invisible normally.
But with thermal vision?
They might as well have been wearing neon signs.
Ryuji cracked his knuckles.
"Oh yeah."
"Now we're cooking."
He checked the shop again.
Another search.
anti venom dagger
Results appeared.
One stood out.
Ruby Venom Dagger
Neutralizes poison on contact.
Price: 30 Coppers
Ryuji nodded.
"Cheap."
He bought it.
The dagger materialized instantly.
Bronze blade.
Ruby gem in the pommel.
It balanced perfectly in his hand.
"Nice."
He turned toward the nearest glowing serpent.
"Let's work."
The first snake never saw him.
The blade flashed.
The serpent vanished in a puff of mist.
A black stone dropped to the ground.
[Black Serpent defeated]
[+10 EXP]
Ryuji picked up the stone.
"One down."
The second snake tried to strike.
Too slow.
Ryuji stabbed downward.
Two.
Three.
Five.
Ten.
The system notifications stacked rapidly.
Ryuji moved through the forest like a predator.
The monocle revealed every hidden serpent.
Within twenty minutes he had collected fifteen stones.
He checked the pouch.
"Nice."
Then he heard something.
A sound.
Soft.
Weak.
"...Help..."
Ryuji froze.
He scanned the forest.
Nothing obvious.
But then—
Behind a bush.
A small heat signature.
Too small to be an adult.
Ryuji pushed through the foliage.
And found a child.
An elf child.
Small.
Maybe eight years old.
Silver hair.
Pointed ears.
She lay curled on the ground, breathing rapidly.
A basket of mushrooms lay spilled beside her.
Two puncture wounds marked her ankle.
The skin around them had turned dark purple.
Ryuji crouched immediately.
"Shit."
Black Serpent bite.
He knew the symptoms from Mira's warning.
The girl blinked weakly.
"M-mister..."
"Hey."
Ryuji spoke calmly.
"Stay with me."
Her breathing was shallow.
Her body trembled.
Ryuji didn't hesitate.
He grabbed the girl's ankle and pressed the ruby pommel of the dagger against the wound.
The gem flared crimson.
Black venom began to seep out of the bite.
The ruby absorbed it.
Slowly turning dark.
The girl gasped.
Her breathing steadied.
Color returned to her cheeks.
Ryuji sighed.
"There we go."
The ruby cracked.
Then the dagger crumbled into dust.
Its magic spent.
Ryuji looked at the ashes.
"Worth it."
The girl opened her eyes.
Large green eyes.
"W-who are you?"
Ryuji scratched his head.
"Just a guy who was nearby."
She sniffled.
"I thought I was going to die."
He shrugged.
"Not today."
He helped her sit up.
"What's your name?"
"Lina."
"Alright, Lina."
He looked toward town.
"Where do you live?"
"Briar's Hollow."
"Parents?"
"My papa runs the apothecary."
Ryuji blinked.
"...Of course he does."
The universe had a sense of humor.
He stood up.
Then gently lifted the girl.
She weighed almost nothing.
"You good?"
She nodded weakly.
"Thank you mister."
Ryuji adjusted his grip.
"Don't mention it."
As they walked through the forest, Lina clutched his shirt.
"Mister?"
"Yeah?"
"Are you an adventurer?"
Ryuji thought about it.
Then grinned.
"Just started."
She smiled.
"You saved me."
He chuckled.
"Yeah well."
"Saving people seems to be my thing lately."
The sun was setting when Briar's Hollow came into view.
Warm orange light spilled across the rooftops.
The town looked peaceful.
Lina perked up.
"My home!"
They headed toward the apothecary shop.
A man stood outside frantically.
He looked ready to tear the town apart searching.
When he saw Lina—
"LINA!"
He ran forward.
Ryuji carefully set her down.
The elf man hugged his daughter tightly.
"Where were you?!"
"I got bitten by a snake..."
His face turned pale.
Then he noticed Ryuji.
"You saved her?"
Ryuji scratched his chin.
"Something like that."
The elf bowed deeply.
"Thank you."
Ryuji waved him off.
"Just doing my job."
Then a system notification appeared.
[Quest Updated]
Return the Lost Child
Reward: ???
Ryuji grinned.
"Oh?"
The adventure was getting interesting.