Stein pushed his weak body into a sitting position.
"Well, are you paying or not, boy?" The guard waved his spear impatiently.
A second guard approached Stein, going down on one knee before placing a hand on his shoulder. "Save your spiros, adventurer. These vagrants will be here again tomorrow, begging. Your money wouldn't change that."
Stein's eyes drifted toward the sorry bunch who stared at him with hope and desperation. His fingernails dug into his palm as he looked away. He had only nine spiros. He was hungry, dirty, and had nowhere to sleep. He didn't know how much anything in this new world cost. He got to his feet, deliberately turning his face from the crowd. He had to leave immediately.
"Please," one of them called weakly. "You are one of us."
Stein's step faltered.
"Fuck this," he cursed, then threw two coins at the guards. "Two buckets for them."
His body ached as he walked away from the well. A glance back showed a chaotic scene of people shoving and pulling at each other. The guards tried to make them form a line, but they wouldn't listen. Stein could have been one of them if he had lost all his coins to the bandits. He didn't know whether to feel resentment at having been robbed or gratitude that he had been allowed to keep ten spiros.
The streets of the unknown city were short and narrow, blocking sunlight from reaching the ground. In wider streets, thin sheets of linen formed canopies above stalls and some walkways.
The streets weren't empty, but they certainly held fewer people than one would expect in a city. There were no signs of modern technology or electrical appliances, which was strange considering this world was supposed to be of a higher tier than Earth. All Stein saw was a city struggling to survive in a barren wasteland.
He soon found himself lost in the maze that was the city. He had been lost from the start anyway; he had set out with no destination in mind, letting fate decide his encounters.
"Join the Adventurers Guild!" a voice caught Stein's attention.
It came from a boy standing in the center of an open square. He wore a brown leather coat that reached his knees, with thick gray boots and trousers. The hot sun cast its merciless rays on his exposed head and improper clothing choice, but he seemed to be doing just fine. He didn't even appear to be sweating, which was outrageous. Everyone Stein had come across in this cursed world was sweating.
"Free lodging, free meals!
Earn up to thirty spiros a day!
Join the Adventurers Guild!"
The boy's eyes narrowed when he noticed Stein, then his lips stretched into a smile.
"Bro, you look like you could use some guidance," he said as he approached.
Stein was taken aback by the casual way he was addressed.
"You're new, aren't you?" It was more of a statement than a question. "I was once like you—confused, hungry, and scared. Plucked out of my girlfriend's bedroom and dumped on this shithole with no one to help me get started." He grinned and placed a hand on Stein's shoulder.
"The Adventurers Guild was created just for people in your situation. All you have to do is join us and we'll help you get started with free lodging and meals for the first three months, then fifty spiros monthly afterward."
He dug a hand into his coat and pulled out a steel machete. "You'll also get to pick a weapon of your choice, handcrafted and enchanted by one of our talented blacksmiths—nothing like the crap the natives would sell to you." He sneered. "And best of all, you get to work for the guild and earn a lot of spiros."
Stein perked up at the thought of earning more spiros. His current Spiros would last at most two more days. "What kind of work?"
"Ooh, there's a lot!" the boy said excitedly. "Peltra is much larger than it looks, and adventurers provide most of the important resources needed to keep it running." He waved a hand dismissively. "For a newbie like yourself, you'll probably start with scouting outside the city or inventory work at the headquarters while you receive basic combat training. Yes, we will train you. After that, you'll do some gathering in the outskirts of the oasis—herbs, spices, fruits, whatever the natives ask for."
Stein blinked. "There's an oasis?" It didn't make sense. Was it drying up?
The boy snorted. "Yes, I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone live here and not by the oasis, right? Well, it's too dangerous. People get hurt and die all the time." He spared a glance at Stein. "Rarely adventurers from our guild, though. We always go out in well-trained teams with capable, powerful leaders. Anyway, at night it's a slaughterhouse. Even we wouldn't dare camp there. It's a whole new ecosystem of monsters, and it's practically suicide to meet them. There have been no survivors."
The boy's expression turned distant for a moment, then he snapped back to the present. "So, would you be joining us? It's two hundred spiros upfront."
"What!" Stein couldn't hold back his voice.
The boy scoffed. "You'll earn your money back in less than a month, and we offer a lot. You'll even get a guild outfit like mine." He pulled open his coat, revealing an interior designed to hold all sorts of equipment—daggers, a water bottle, a flare, and various trinkets Stein couldn't recognize.
Stein sighed. "I don't have that amount of money. I'm going to have to pass."
The boy gaped at him, then swallowed. "We could accept one hundred spiros, but you'll receive only fifty percent of your pay until you balance the rest."
Stein shook his head. "I don't have that amount either."
The boy's smile strained. "See for yourself." He waved a hand.
Stein's system came alive.
"See? It's authentic," the boy said.
"That was never the issue," Stein sighed, then told him about the bandits he had met in the desert.
The boy's face darkened as the story progressed. By the time Stein finished, the boy's hand was clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. "Dammit, those vile, shameless, godforsaken—" He struggled to find the right word and gave up halfway.
"What are our scouts doing? They're supposed to stop incidents like this from occurring." He stroked his chin in thought. "I'll report this to the commander in charge of this district. Ugh… what was your name again?"
"Stein. Call me Stein."
"Right. We all use aliases here. It's almost like one of those VR games right? Only it's too real." He smiled bitterly. "I'm Keefe."
Stein shook his hand.
"Here's what I can do for you. I would love to lend you the hundred spiros, but I don't know you too well. You seem like a trustworthy fellow, but I've been duped way too many times." He laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. Find some work, get fifty spiros, then maybe I'll give you the other fifty."
Keefe looked around as he spoke. "You'll have to leave this district, though. It's crawling with beggars. Begging isn't punishable here, so it's a lowlife magnet. The western half of Peltra is where most of us gather."
Half an hour later, the sun had begun to set, and Keefe and Stein were in the western half of the city of Peltra. Just as Keefe had said, there were no beggars to be seen here. Stein couldn't even spot anyone in a brown sack.
The city seemed to come alive as the sun withdrew. While some shops began packing up, even more began setting up stalls. Children came out to play as lamps and torches were lit. Strange, delicious aromas of meals being prepared made Stein's stomach grumble in protest. Unknown bells rang, and people laughed and fraternised. Stein watched as a cohort of adventurers returned with loot—tired, but in good spirits.
"How many of these people are adventurers from Earth like us?"
Keefe rolled his shoulders and scanned the crowd.
"Way more than you think. About twenty percent."
Stein's brows shot up. "That many?" One in five of anyone he saw could also be from Earth, yet they all seemed to have lived here their whole lives. Was it that easy to adapt?
Just as darkness began to take hold of the city, Keefe stopped in front of a small building polished white like all the buildings in Peltra, its windows obscured with clothing. Keefe knocked, and a wrinkled, grey-haired man answered the door.
"Why, Keefe." His eyes lit up before falling on Stein. "And this is?"
"Stein." Keefe placed a hand on Stein's shoulder. "He's new. He'll need a place to rest, some food to eat—" Keefe placed some coins in the man's hand.
"And a bath." The old man wrinkled his nose as he retreated into the building, leaving the door wide open.
"Yeah, that too." Keefe grinned as he beckoned Stein in.
Stein sniffed at himself, and it was no surprise that he stank; he had been sweating nonstop. "That's Gerald" Keefe nodded in the old man's direction as they walked. "He is affiliated with the guild. You can sleep here for a spiro a night until you're able to afford a place of your own."
"When you've raised enough money and think you're ready to join the guild, just tell Gerald and he'll contact me."
Keefe bid them farewell and left.
The "bath" turned out to be scrubbing his body with a damp rag before rubbing on some pleasant-smelling oil. The food was flatbread and milk. Stein was so hungry he barely tasted it as he wolfed it down.
Tomorrow would be his first full day in this unforgiving world that had no tolerance for laziness or mediocrity. For now, Stein's goal was simple: earn some Spiros!