Chapter 1:
Minced Meat Cutlet
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It is said that the profession of “adventurer” came into existence some seventy years ago, when four legendary heroes ended the long, long war against the demon race.
Just like that, the number of battlefields around the world began to dwindle (though they never totally disappeared), which meant that mercenaries and soldiers suddenly had to find a new way of living. Some became knights, taking up their swords for nobles, or soldiers of fortune who traveled from rare battlefield to battlefield to make a living. Many abandoned the sword entirely, choosing to become artisans of some type, farmers, or merchants. Sadly, there were even those who pointed their blades at the innocent, choosing to become violent bandits instead.
But among those warriors were a small group who decided to walk a new path in life as adventurers.
Adventurers: those who fought against dangerous monsters and bandits, protected merchants traveling from town to town, solved all kinds of problems in cities, and found riches in the old ruins across the Eastern Continent. In exchange for having the protection of none, they chose to live a life of freedom.
It had been seventy years since the birth of the adventurer. New adventurers were born every day, but not all of them found their way into great fortune. There were only a small number who won riches and great renown. Greater in number were those who retired in peace, having found some moderate success in their craft. Even greater in number were the poor fools who eventually ended up as corpses in some dark cave.
This is the tale of one adventurer on a quest of rediscovery.
Her name was Sarah. She was a type of adventurer called a treasure hunter: one who specialized in extracting riches from ruins.
She carefully made her way down the rope, descending into the darkness of the ruins.
I’m sure it’s supposed to be today. But that’s why I have to be more careful than ever, she thought to herself, keeping tabs on her surroundings. She had traversed through this cave multiple times. In fact, she already knew the whole route from the entrance to her destination by heart. Sarah had even taken out any and all monsters that were lurking in the area. That, however, was no excuse to let her guard down, and she knew it.
Like hell I’m gonna be one of those jokers who ends up dying just before getting their hands on the goods.
“If you let your guard down during the last stretch, you end up paying the price more often than not.” When Sarah was much younger, her treasure hunter cousin had made sure to hammer that point into her head.
Unfortunately, that very same cousin would go on to find a secret room connected to the final area of some elven ruins and go missing the very next day. Sarah was well aware of the fact that their body was never found, and so she promised to abide by the words they left for her. It was thanks to her caution that she ultimately arrived at her final destination unscathed.
“What the heck?” Sarah raised her voice, confused at the sight before her.
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Five years ago, the legendary treasure hunter, William Gold, passed away. He spent his final years in a small mining town. It was rumored that he settled in this dry town some ten years ago because he had hidden part of his vast collection of treasures within the mines.
Needless to say, this was all hearsay. Even his remaining relatives in the Gold Firm, one of the very few large merchant families in the Kingdom, had no public records of William leaving behind any hidden treasure. However, the reason Sarah came to this old town was because she got her hands on William Gold’s journal from his final years. According to his writings, after moving here, he would visit the mines every seven days without fail.
Today is the Day of Satur. Time to go to the mines. William left behind few other words on the subject but always made sure to make note of this “Day of Satur” every seven days. For as long as his body allowed it, he would go to the mines on this very specific day. When he eventually succumbed to illness and was confined to bed, he would still write in his journal, Today is the Day of Satur… If only my cursed body could still move.
At one point, perhaps as a result of his old age, he visited the mines on the eighth day. Alongside a flurry of curses, all William noted about that day was that it was “a massive waste of time.”
Despite her age, Sarah was a talented treasure hunter. Compared to other youngsters and assorted bandits, she felt confident that she was a step above the rest. Her instincts cried out to her that this journal was the real deal and that she needed to visit the mines on the very same day that William had: the “Day of Satur.”
Thoughts of William’s secret treasure filled her mind as she infiltrated the old mines. She found a secret passage that he’d hidden, one that no rookie treasure hunter would ever be able to find on their own. Sarah’s journey down this path would put her against monsters that only professionals could handle. She eventually drew up a map, figured out a safe path to her goal, and today, on this “Day of Satur,” finally made her way to the deepest part of the mines…
That was when she saw it.
A door.
On this door was painted a cat, but even stranger was the sign hanging from it. Written across it were strange characters that even Sarah, well versed in the languages of both the Western and Eastern Continent, as well as that of the elves and the dwarves, could not read. As of yesterday, this ivory door had not existed.
“It’s a door…right?”
After examining it briefly, Sarah found that the door wasn’t rigged with any sort of traps. Heck, it wasn’t even locked. This meant that she could go in immediately if she so chose to.
“Well, I’m not going to get any farther unless I go through it!” Sarah said.
Thinking over it briefly, Sarah decided to enter the door. She had prepared for the day that she would finally come face to face with William’s legacy. She even brought an elixir with her, a medicine that could heal all manner of major wounds in one gulp, and outfitted herself with the best equipment before coming here. There was no turning back.
“If I die here, I guess it’ll just prove that I wasn’t much of a treasure hunter. Here goes nothing.”
Ring, ring.
The sound of a bell rang out from the other side of the door.
An alarm?! Sarah instinctively drew her trusty dagger and took a defensive stance.
“Welcome. Can I ask you to put the blade away, ma’am?”
Inside the door was a single middle-aged man with a somewhat exasperated look on his face, asking her to tuck her dagger away.
“What the heck?” she said for the second time.