"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but can I make an offer?"
Just arms reach away in the next bed over, the most beautiful guy I have ever seen was sitting up and focused on our conversation. He seemed a little nervous to be butting in, but he must have found some courage from my pleading gaze. "You said you're not in a guild, right?"
Honestly, I had no clue whether I was or not, but that didn't matter right now. This was my chance to escape debt and I'm taking it.
"That's right." My voice came out stronger than before, for which I was very grateful.
My savior's face lit up with excitement and I heard a tiny gasp come from Maggie. I didn't blame her, he really was gorgeous.
A soft boyish face with bouncy caramel curls. His smile was blindingly white and I think the light was reflecting off his teeth to create a halo effect. Either that or I'm seeing things.
"Would you like to join my guild? It's kind of small, but we have great benefits!"
Ugh, that smile again. This guy should work as a salesman. All he'd need to do is flash those dimples of his and his customers would blindly purchase anything.
"I'd love to!"
Score. I just got my bills paid, a job, and a tour guide. Thank you Angel Boy.
"Sir, you might want to rethink that offer. You're being scammed."
Aw, Maggie, you are looking out for me. I take back all the nasty things I thought-
"He only has two skills and they're both low level garbage. On top of that, this man also has a bad leg which will keep him out of dungeons. If you're just looking for a dungeon miner or porter, you can hire them for much cheaper."
I take everything back.
Angel Boy was startled by the criticism and his already round eyes widened even further. Wow, so blue.
"Oh, that's okay! The guildmaster said I could choose anyone I wanted to recruit and that it doesn't matter how strong they are," he explained. "He won't be doing anything as dangerous as going into dungeons."
"There are a lot of people more deserving of your charity, though," Maggie tried.
What did I ever do to make her hate me so much? Besides trying to get out of paying, that doesn't count.
"While that may be true, this man right here is my choice. I believe he will do an excellent job for the guild and definitely repay my small favor in the future."
I swear this boy's eyes were twinkling. "Sometimes people just need a little help getting off the ground, you know?"
"An angel," Maggie whispered. I know, right? On the other hand, I think Maggie might actually be a demon. Maybe I should douse her with some holy water, see if she melts.
"Well, if you insist, who am I to talk you out of it?" Maggie started untying me and I had to rub some feeling back into my limbs. If I hadn't met my savior, she probably would have kept me here until she wrung every last cent out of me.
After collecting the payment from Angel Boy, she shot me one more dirty look before she left. With the demoness out of the way, I sat up to better speak with my new guildmate.
"I don't think I ever told you my name. I'm Greyson Mathias." Luckily I remembered this body's name from seeing it on my status window.
The dimples were back again and he was reaching across the space to shake my hand excitedly. "Nice to meet you! My name's Milo Gaine. Can I call you Grey?"
"Um, sure." Grey, huh? I guess I can roll with that.
"Yay! This means we're friends now." Milo launched himself across to hug me with his thin arms, knocking the air out of my lungs with his surprising weight.
I let out a groan and he sprang back in shock. I had to grab him so he didn't fall off the bed. "I'm sorry! I forgot you're hurt."
He started frisking me, looking for sores, and it took me physically peeling off the little barnacle just to get him to stop. "I'm fine, I promise."
Milo searched my face for any untruthfulness before he finally relented. "Alright. Tell me if anything starts to hurt, though. I may not look like it, but I have a high level healing skill."
That's… so fitting. I'm going to keep calling him Angel Boy, I decided.
"Anyways, let's get out of here. I've got to show you the guild headquarters and introduce you to everyone."
Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I tried standing and promptly fell to the floor as I lost my balance.
"Careful! I forgot you have to get used to that leg. Do you need help walking?" Angel Boy was already pulling me up before I could even process what just happened.
I guess I had forgotten that my new prosthetic doesn't flex like a normal foot. I'll have to get used to that.
I was pulled through the makeshift hospital and, despite the tent not being that large, I was panting by the time we reached the exit. Hopefully they have cars in this world, otherwise I might not make it past the first day. The Amish way was not for me, I got motion sickness the one time I rode in a horse drawn buggy.
Angel Boy led me to a large SUV and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. After settling me in the passenger seat, he got behind the wheel and started the drive to the guild headquarters. I noted how small he looked in the big car and smiled a bit.
When we turned out of the parking lot, I noticed a gaping black hole situated in an adjacent dirt field. Every few seconds, the edges would spark with purple electricity and just looking at it made my head hurt, like it was exerting real pressure. A portal.
A bunch of people milled about the surrounding area. There were even a few tents set up, emblazoned with logos and manned by busy looking teams. There were also people going in and out of the portal, though anyone leaving came out covered in blood.
I winced at the sight, wondering if I had been one of those people. Noticing my discomfort, Angel Boy commented, "This dungeon has been quite problematic for the big guilds. Since it's a survival type, they've been throwing everyone they can get inside, trying to outlast it. That's how I got hired, though I had to pull out when I got shot."
Hearing this, I turned to look at him. "You got shot?"
"Yep. One of the goblins had a crossbow and I didn't dodge in time. It's a shame I couldn't stay longer, I was trying to level up one of my skills."
He didn't seem fazed at all over the injury. I wondered just how often this kind of thing happened for him to treat it so nonchalantly.
"It's nothing compared to what happened to you. How'd you lose your leg? They don't usually send low rank hunters to the front lines."
Great question, I would also like to know the answer to that. Seriously, when am I going to hear from the system? I can only dodge these personal questions for so long.
Angel Boy slapped a hand over his mouth right after he said it. "Oh! Sorry, sorry, you might not want to talk about it. I won't ask anymore."
Not wanting him to feel bad, I reassured him it was fine and spun some vague story that it was a sneak attack by a goblin. He nodded, empathizing with me when I mentioned how tricky they were. I was totally making everything up, but he seemed to have bought into it.
My companion was a bit of a chatterbox, so I just sat back and listened to him talk. While I did, I let my mind wander to thoughts about meeting the guild.
To say I wasn't nervous would be a total lie. There was no way I was going to pass a background check when I'd only just learned my own name fifteen minutes ago. Was I going to have to make everything up and hope I don't get caught. Yeah, actually, that might be my sole option.
I can do this, I told myself with false confidence. Just don't screw up and everything will be fine. Hopefully.