"A pleasure doing business with you, good sir." The man behind the counter handed me two short daggers, a black folded cloak, gloves, and healing elixirs.
"Thanks." I hurried out. I hadn't felt this intimidated in years.
A gang of men looked suspiciously at me as I walked past. One of them puffed up—threatening. I put him on his ass. The others charged. I knocked them unconscious, searched their pockets, and found a map and money. That's how I got here with their coins. Robbery? Nah. They would've done the same to me.
A picture popped into my head. Yuzu. Damn… I wish she was still here.
Something brushed against me. I turned. Two girls clung to my arms. My face went red.
"You know, handsome men like you don't go unnoticed!" the girl on my left grinned.
"Don't trust that witch. You're mine. Forget Miss Bitty No Tits over there," the girl on the right said.
"No! He's mine! And I'm at least an F-cup!" They pressed themselves against me, arguing.
"Shesh… this is embarrassing. I'll take both of you. Just don't look at me with those seductive eyes, and don't fight over me," I said, folding under pressure. They smiled.
I found an inn, rented a room with three beds, and tried not to think about the chaos outside.
---
"Goblins, up ahead! Two on the right and three on the left," one of the girls warned. I readied my daggers.
The goblins held clubs. The girls claimed the right. I charged the ones on the left. They swung their clubs; I dodged, cutting off their arms with daggers faster than a bullet. Their arms regrew, clutching their weapons again. I severed their heads before they could attack. Yellowish fluid pooled on the ground.
I wiped sweat from my brow, eyeing the others. The two girls were being tossed around like ragdolls. I ran to the last goblin and sliced its head off.
Shesh… I looked at the anomaly. Six-foot-two, hairy, armored. It charged. I shoved the girls aside. Its claw slashed my stomach, blood spilling through my armor. Pain shot through me, but I drank a healing elixir, jumped back, and took a stance.
It charged again. I countered, stabbing its armpit. The beast fell back—but in a high-pitched cry, it split into a thousand copies. I evaded, sliced two in half on the left, and held back cautiously.
Lightning struck. A man in a red cloak arrived, waving at me.
"Tell me, sir, do you reside with the Guild of the Lost?" he asked.
"No. What's that?"
"I saw your fight—evading their attack, cutting two in half with precise strikes—it was incredible," he said.
"I'm just a traveler," I replied. "This map brought me here… but it was bugged." I drew my broken blade. "Attacked at midnight. My blade broke on a hobgoblin, so I stabbed it in the stomach."
"Could you have done better?!" he asked. I shook my head.
"Watch out!" I screamed. Ten mob-beasts charged. He waved his hands; they disintegrated.
"I'm Al, head of the council. You're Joel, right? If you're free, I'd like you to check out our guild," he said.
"Sure," I replied.