Lone: The Wanderer [Rewrite]

The evening passed calmly, and soon, morning crept around to take its place.

Lone greeted Phil after he and Soph were fully prepped for the day and well-fed. The room did come with two meals a day, after all. It would be rude not to enjoy said meals.

Lefakern's wife was a lovely portly lady with a charming smile that only added to her appeal.

Her cooking was also exceptional, so Lone made sure to promise he and Soph would be returning for dinner. That simply made the woman laugh politely and tell him that he didn't need to act so seriously about a bit of food.

"Don't get drunk this time, 'kay? Not unless you think you can earn Intoxication Resistance. It’s not only bad for you, but you can’t handle it," Lone's tone was soft, but he meant every word that he said.

As cute and endearing as she was before she had blacked out, cleaning up the vomit she’d spewed all over their bed and herself before waking up was a nightmare. A nightmare Lone would rather not repeat.

"I promise. I don't want a headache again anyway," Soph mumbled with a frown on her face.

“Ye arrived on time. ‘at’s a good sign,” Grimsley said as he scratched his head. ‘Ah really accepted a fuckin’ beastkin as ma apprentice. What would ol’ Wilbur think?’

He chuckled a bit at the thought as he turned around, letting Lone and human companion follow him back into his home and workshop.

‘Ol’ fooker’d likely tell me ‘ow ‘e was right aboot ‘ow ah was a daft cunt fae bein’ so nationalistic back ‘ome,’ Grimsley concluded as he sat down and gestured for his guests to do the same.

‘Ah wonder what Wilbur’s up tae these days? Last ah ‘eard ‘e was in Krieg Moor and ‘e’s set up a steamforgin’ workshop… Ah well, ‘at’s nae important right now. Ah’ve ma own pupil tae teach,’ he thought as he cracked his neck and began talking.

“That was a blacksmithing lesson?” Soph questioned with a confused look on her face.

Currently, Lone and Soph were in the bookstore which Phil had said was neutral in regards to demis.

It was roughly three times as large as the miscellaneous store back in Ros, and it was obviously only selling books and manuscripts.

Lone nodded. “I mean, the guy doesn’t want to waste metal. I get him doing a purely verbal lesson to start things off. I found it quite informative.”

“It was boring,” Soph countered.

Lone smiled. “I guess blacksmithing just isn’t for you then, huh?”

She nodded. “Fighting and cooking will do for me. Maybe being a floof enthusiast too? You’re too diverse in your talents. It’s unfair.”

“Haha, well, I guess,” Lone said, not bringing up how incredibly gifted she was with both magic and her Luck stat.

"Excuse me," Lone said to a young human boy of maybe 14 years who was dusting off an empty shelf. "Do you work here?"

The boy paused what he was doing and smiled. "Yes, sir, I do. How can I help you?"

"Great. I'm looking for novels on ranking up, levels, and skills. Does the store sell those kinds of novels? Also, anything on the history of Altros as a whole would be perfect," Lone requested.

The boy frowned. " Not really. That’s the kind of information that’s not easily spread. Folks don’t want their secrets being handed out to the poor and unworthy. You know how it is.”

‘He’s incredibly well-spoken for a child. Maybe he’s a noble working part-time here? Could also be in a similar situation to Grella and Phil since he isn’t disgusted by the notion of talking to me,’ Lone mused mentally.

The boy scratched his chin. “History though, we have a lot of that. No clue how much of it is accurate but there’s motes of truth in every story and legend, right? I'll go fetch some of those books and bring them to the counter if that works for you? If not, I can point out those particular novels, but I'd suggest accepting my recommendations. I've read almost everything in this store, after all."

"I'll trust your judgement," Lone replied which earned him a nod.

Not long later, their funds were reduced by eight silver coins, leaving them close to broke. However, Lone’s collection of books had increased by 16.

Eager to read them, he made haste with Soph in tow back to the Amberbark Inn. When they stepped through the doorway, a tired-looking Phil raised an eyebrow at them.

"Back so soon?” he asked. “It's not even noon."

Lone grinned. "I've started an apprenticeship with Grimsley - the demi blacksmith you told us about. After his lesson, we visited a bookstore."

He showed the single tome that he was carrying for appearances while the other ones had been covertly stored in his Dimensional Storage. "I returned to read this in peace."

Phil 'hmmed' audibly. His eyes moved from Lone and landed on Soph. "She ain't your master, is she?"

"What makes you say that?" Lone asked only somewhat seriously.

He felt that he could trust the family running this inn, so he didn't particularly mind exposing this little secret of theirs which he was barely even trying to hide now that they were away from Ros’s city lord and intended to sign up as adventurers soon.

"Even for a blind girl, she's too submissive, and you're too assertive. If anything, she'd be the slave and you'd be the master," Phil explained with a shrug. "Not that I really care anyway. I assume ya wanna keep this hush-hush?"

Lone smiled. "It’s not a huge deal, but it’s convenient so I'd appreciate that, thank you."

"No worries. Seeya tomorrow. I'm off to my herbalist's apprenticeship now anyway," Phil replied as he picked up a rucksack from behind the counter and left the building the second Grella appeared to take his place.

The girl laughed a bit awkwardly. "He's a keen study despite how bored he always acts here."

"I don't think he acts bored intentionally, I just think that nothing here interests him. Maybe you should buy him a book on herbology or alchemy or something like that for his next birthday? I'd expect that to keep him entertained while he's manning the desk," Lone suggested as he started walking up the stairs with Soph in tow.

Grella smiled softly. "I usually just buy him herbs. I'll be sure to try your idea next time though!"

She was a bit air-headed in Lone's opinion, but like the rest of her family, she wasn't a particularly bad person.

Lone rubbed his forehead and cracked his neck as he put down the book explaining levels and ranks in a decent amount of detail.

"Okay, so fighting is the only known way to gain enlightenment as far as this book's author is aware. I guess that's good news. Still, the ranks are only documented up to triple-X-rank. I wonder why? So I to A, then S to triple-S, and lastly, X to triple-X, but what comes after that? Nothing?" Lone sighed.

He shook his head as he muttered, "No. There's no way that’s the end. Admittedly, I haven't researched the gods that brought us here yet, but I have a feeling that they're beyond this world's highest standard... Weird. Why the fuck do I feel that way?"

Soph who was sleeping on their bed suddenly sat up. A cold expression took over her face and she immediately started putting on some clothes. "Talking to yourself again, are you?"

"Yeah, sorry. It's easier to visualise my thoughts if I say them out loud. Anyway, what're you doing taking control and getting all prepped for, Sophie?" Lone asked curiously.

She gave him a weird look. "We heard you say that fighting is how one ranks up, so of course, we are preparing to help you hunt some monsters. You were planning to go to this 'Adventurer's Guild' and accept a commission from them, yes?"

Lone smiled wryly. "Yup. You’re surprisingly good at reading the room despite your social ineptitude.”

"And we accept your compliment while dismissing your insult." Sophie finished putting on her clothes and glanced at Lone again. "Armour. Bring it out and help us into it."

"Sure," he replied as he shrugged and stored the book that he was previously reading.

As Lone was helping the girl into her suit of armour, she spoke to him again. "We may be attacked if we leave the city. By people, not monsters. We nor Soph has mentioned it, but many, many eyes have been watching us. Not only you either."

Lone nodded. "Well, you are stunning.”

Sophie’s cheeks flushed a bit but she furrowed her brow. “Do you think it might be wise to always wear our armour? The helmet in particular.”

“To hide your face?” Lone asked. “Nah, no point. So many people have seen you by now. It might even make things worse. We just need to be ready for if and when someone tries something.”

“Will you be ready? Can you end another person’s life?” Sophie asked very seriously.

Lone immediately nodded. “I don’t like the idea of it but I've mentally prepared myself. If it comes down to us or them, I won’t be choosing them."

"Good," Sophie replied sternly.

Lone had noticed Grella giving him and Sophie very strange looks when they passed her on their way out. More so Sophie than Lone.

It wasn't every day that someone could see a woman as beautiful and dainty as his girlfriend fully clad in reinforced steel armour, after all.

Lone and Sophie swiftly weaved their way through the city and found themselves at The Adventurer's Guild.

It was a decently-sized building with five floors and a big, grandiose plaque indicating that it was the guild for adventurers hung above the large entry doors.

People flowed in and out of it like a stream, but they made room for Lone and Sophie in consideration of the exquisiteness of her armour and the oddness of his race and peculiar weapon.

As they walked through the massive hall towards one of the many staffed inquiry desks, Lone couldn't help but wonder, 'Will I be accosted for my race in here? The shopkeeper in Ros said this place fostered a far more equal mindset, but surely most of the people working here are from Ranton, right?'

He honestly didn’t think he’d mind if some low-level thugs came after him here. It would be a good excuse to test himself against something smarter than a goblin. He could also get a new skill or two if he was lucky.

As if the stars were perfectly aligned, or perhaps due to some of Sophie's luck rubbing off on Lone, two human men approached them with annoyed looks on their faces.

"Hey, what the fuck is a woman doing in here? In full-plate too. Is that fake? I have a feeling it is," asked the taller of the two men who had a large greatsword affixed to his back.

He eyed Sophie top-to-bottom. “A young woman too. You’re short, missy.”

The other man of the two - an average guy in every single possible regard - sneered as he looked at Lone. "What's a demi doin' walkin' in here like he owns the place? I bet ye'r not even an H-ranker, are ye? Ye should run back off into the wild where ya belong, ya fuckin' mutt."

Lone frowned despite being mildly surprised and a little bit happy that the men who'd chosen to cause trouble with him and Sophie seemed entirely beatable.

They appeared a bit... weak. Or at least, they looked and felt weak to Lone. He was no expert, but he felt like the starved Goblin King was stronger than these two men combined.

'I wonder if they even have any skills that I can steal?' he thought before he asked, "Can we help you two?"

"Yeah, you can get out. The Adventurer's Guild is no place for the likes of you two," the more well-spoken one said.

The other didn't comment on Lone being a demi again but instead chose to threaten the two with a gesture involving his knife and his throat.

Lone saw someone wearing what looked like the guild's official clothing approaching him, Sophie, and the two men, so he looked in his direction and smiled.

Lone questioned, "Is there something we can do about this situation? It seems that my companion and I simply existing has offended these two very sensitive men here."

The employee returned Lone's smile with his own. "I'm very sorry for their actions. They're drunk, and this happens quite often."

The man then looked at the two before saying, "You know that the guildmaster won't be happy if he hears that you baselessly insulted a beastkin, right? Especially a nine-traited one."

The shorter man spat on the wooden floor. "Fuck the guildmast'r. I haven't gone out on a quest today, so my thirst for blood hasn't been quenched yet, ya see? I wanna invoke the Adventurer's Duel on this walkin'-furball."

"I'll challenge the short one too. Show her a woman’s place. Adventuring isn't to be taken lightly. If any old child barely off their mum's tit could do it, then the profession would become a joke," the taller man said to back up his friend.

The employee shook his head. "You can't. These two aren't adventurers if I'm not wrong. This should be their first time here, yes?" he asked as he looked back and forth between Lone and Sophie.

Lone nodded. "That's true, but we don't mind applying and then accepting that challenge. Can we become adventurers and then have you tell us the details?"

The employee frowned again but ultimately sighed and nodded.

"You may. If everyone is happy with that, and all of the fees are paid, who am I to stop a friendly duel or two? This way, please," the employee said.