Roughly two months had passed since I’d become an adventurer and set off on my first goblin-slaying quest.
My lifestyle was still much the same as it had been when I’d first arrived in Realzahd, but there was one little difference...
“Good morning, Chris. Breakfast’s ready for you.”
“Thanks.”
“We’re gonna head out now, so I’ll let you lock up.”
“Sure thing.”
I’d started sharing a room at the Shangri La Hotel with the two pickpockets I’d met here on my first day.
They’d come to visit me about a month ago. I guess it must have made them think a bit more critically about the way they were living when I caught them trying to steal from me, and they’d decided they were done leading a life of crime.
They’d asked if I’d be open to living with them, and I agreed, since I wanted to keep my living expenses as minimal as possible.
After that, they became adventurers like me. And that brought us to today, where they were just setting off for a full day of questing starting first thing in the morning.
As for me, well, I’d spent the past two months hunting goblins. I’d even managed to make three gold coins for my efforts.
The days had gotten pretty monotonous now that I was spending morning till night doing nothing but goblin hunting, but at least it let me keep my belly full, a roof over my head, and clothes on my back. Honestly, it’d been a pretty breezy two months.
What’s more, I’d even increased my rank yesterday from rookie to bronze. It felt like I’d finally taken my first real step as an adventurer...and now I was ready to set off again for Patia Forest tomorrow.
My ultimate goal wasn’t to live as an adventurer; it was to get my revenge on Claus, my sword god brother. Being an adventurer was just a means to that end, so I needed to get stronger as fast as I possibly could.
As I ate the breakfast that Hester had prepared for me, I tried to mentally sort through everything I’d need for my expedition tomorrow. Then, once I’d finished eating, I left the hotel and headed down to the backstreets.
I was kind of excited to go out shopping for the first time in two months, but I’d already decided on what I was going to buy ahead of time, so there’d be no room for impulse purchases. I still wasn’t financially secure enough for something like that.
So, without the means to enjoy my shopping trip too much, I kept myself detached from the experience as I did a lap of the stores that Ralph had recommended to me.
All I bought was a large backpack, some water, some preserved food, a few changes of clothes, and a single vial of the lowest potency healing potion available—just in case. It wasn’t necessarily the perfect equipment set, but I believed it would be enough to get me through my expedition.
The large backpack would be a great replacement for the small bag I’d been using up until now, and it’d allow me to carry significantly more plants back with me.
Most everything I’d bought was secondhand, so it wasn’t exactly the latest fashion, but it was all dirt cheap, so I still left the backstreets feeling pretty satisfied with my purchases.
Once I finished lunch, I headed off to my last destination of the day: the church.
Before I took off for Patia Forest, I wanted to get a clear grasp on my current capabilities. The receptionist at the Adventurers’ Guild had told me that I could go to the church and record my current stats onto my adventurer’s card, so that was my plan.
I wasn’t looking forward to having to cough up a gold coin for the service, but I honestly couldn’t think of any information more valuable than my own capabilities. Plus, in the grand scheme of things, a gold coin was nothing, really.
I wanted to test my theory about the effects of Patia Forest’s plants by recording any status changes I experienced from before and after I feasted on them.
With my current financial situation, I didn’t have enough money to perform the tests necessary to figure out which plants specifically could increase my capabilities, but I could at least confirm or deny the existence of performance-enhancing plants.
So, having made up my mind, I headed toward the biggest building in Realzahd: the church.
It occupied the best spot in town, and gave off a distinctly sacred air. It was on a completely different level to the church where I’d undergone the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony. To start with, it was a whole lot grander in scale. I found myself feeling a bit intimidated as I pushed open the huge, heavy doors at the entrance.
Warm beams of sunlight illuminated the church hall. Whether it was a trick of the layout, or simply by virtue of its holy purpose, the whole place seemed to naturally sparkle—no flashy lights necessary.
A large crowd of people stood facing the priest, their hands clasped together as if they were praying. I weaved my way through them and walked up to the pulpit.
The priest here wasn’t some withered old man, but a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes.
“Hello,” he greeted me. “How can I help you?”
“I’m here for an ability assessment.”
“Ah, you must be an adventurer, then. We don’t conduct ability assessments in the main hall. Please make your way to the room in the back and to the right,” he instructed me with a smile.
I did as he said and found the room he’d indicated, which was dusty, dark, and cramped. It was completely unlike the radiant hall I’d just been in.
In the center of the room was a large blue crystal—just like the one I’d seen during the Heaven’s Blessing Ceremony—and a small bell. I rang the bell and stared at the crystal as I waited quietly for someone to arrive.
“Thank you for your patience. You said you were hoping for an ability assessment?”
“Huh? Wait, didn’t I just speak with you in the main hall?”
“Indeed you did. My apologies for the confusion, but we’re a bit short-staffed at the moment, so I’ll be the one to conduct the assessment. My name is Graham, and I’m a priest here at this church.”
“Nice to meet you, Father Graham,” I replied. “Uh... Is it okay to leave the main hall unattended right now, though?”
“Not to worry. If an ability assessment is all you’re after, we’ll be finished in no time at all. I’m afraid I won’t be able to leave the main hall long enough to hear a confession, but...am I correct in assuming you won’t be making one?”
A confession...
An image of myself stealing my parents’ things flashed through my mind for a moment, but I had no intention of making a confession to the church about that. I quickly composed myself again and told him he was correct.
“Yeah. Just an ability assessment, please.”
“Very well, then. We do require a donation of one gold coin for the service.”
I reached into my bag and pulled out the appropriate coin, which I handed to him.
“Thank you for your donation. May I take your adventurer card as well, please?”
“Sure.”
“Please fix your gaze on this crystal. The process won’t take more than a minute,” Graham said, hovering his hands over the blue crystal as he did.
In the next moment, the crystal briefly emanated a pale light, but the light was gone again almost as quickly as it had appeared.