n

n

nFoster slowly opened his eyes, feeling his mood soured so early in the morning. The dream that he had last night quickly faded away from his memory, but his mood didn't particularly improve,

"Urgh, this is pissing me off...

" He groaned at the fact that he couldn't even remember what annoyed him like that all the whilst he quickly got dressed. Looking outside, it seemed like they still had a little bit of time until they had to head off to the guild.

nBut even then, there was something else to take care of. Foster walked over toward his bed, and lightly kicked the shin of the man that was sleeping in it,

"Wake up.

"

nWith a flinch, both from pain and from surprise at suddenly being woken, Octer shot up, and looked at his friend,

"Foster? What are you doing in my room?

"

nWith a wry smile, trying to hold his annoyance in, Foster quickly replied,

"This is my room, remember?

" He asked, grinding his teeth together, and Octer slowly looked back at him as he realised what was going on,

"...Sorry?

" He said nervously, and Foster couldn't do anything but sigh in response.

n

"Just get to your room and get ready, we'll have to leave soon.

" Foster told him, and with a loud groan, Octer stood up, and Foster quickly turned toward him as he made his way to the door,

"By the way, why did you just immediately fall asleep? You were a damn rock, man. A boulder, even...

"

n

"Ah, that...

" Octer said,

"I was already super low on stamina, but then I activated my bone armor again, and it just sort of seemed to have drained a lot more 'cuz it was stuck, y'know? And when your stamina runs out, that's what happens.

"

nFoster sighed slightly,

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. But good to know that it won't kill me to use up my stamina. I never really had to deal with actual... well, values like that in my old world.

"

n

"Really? You said you didn't have the system, but you don't even have things like stamina?

"

n

"Of course we do, we just don't have numbers connected to it like that.

" Foster replied immediately,

"It just didn't feel quantifiable like that. I can try to explain it some more later, but for now, seriously get to your room and get ready.

" He said, opening the door for his friend. With an awkward expression, Octer stepped outside into the hallway.

nHe scratched the back of his head,

"Again, sorry. And thanks for the help last night. I was really freaking out there.

"

nWith a smile, Foster patted Octer's shoulder,

"Don't worry about it, man. It's what friends are there for.

" He said, stepping back into his room. And right before shutting the door, he said,

"Oh, but you do owe me today's food cost. If not for helping you out, for the fact that I had to sleep on the ground.

"

n---

nThe trio stood in front of the guild, waiting for their fourth. They got here a bit earlier than they were supposed to, since Foster insisted that you were supposed to be early for a business meeting, but it seemed like Kyla was of another opinion.

n

"I still think we should head inside to get your guild card first.

" Lynol pointed out, but Foster turned his head while leaning against the wall next to the guild's entrance,

"When we came by the other day, we set the time for both picking up the card and for the meeting with our handler for 9am. They're gonna do both at the same time. I don't wanna go in there and then say, 'oh, our fourth party member is still on her way, sorry'.

" He said, and Lynol looked back with a wry smile.

n

"What? Why that? It's not our fault.

"

n

"So? We're a party, I'm not going to push negative attention on Kyla.

" Foster pointed out, and Lynol let out a deep, annoyed groan, all the whilst Octer finally saw someone that could stop this conversation right beside them.

nHe raised his arm and waved at her, as Kyla quickly came running over toward them. With heavy breaths, she looked at the trio,

"Sorry... for being... late...

" She said apologetically, and Lynol sighed annoyedly,

"You are not late, we still have ten minutes.

" He said. Immediately, Kyla turned her head toward Foster, and slightly glared at him.

n

"But you said the meeting was supposed to be at 8:45...

" She pointed out, and Lynol slightly grinned,

"Yup, I did say that. Just as a bit of... well, insurance, in case you were late.

" He said, walking past Kyla while patting her head before walking into the Guild.

n

"More importantly, let's go in, now.

" He said, and the others quickly followed him, although Kyla was glaring at the back of his head the whole time. Lynol was actually slightly grinning at the fact that Foster messed with her. Although his grins could barely be seen, so nobody beside Foster noticed.

nThe group lined up in front of one of the reception-desks, with the same receptionist sitting there as last time. It took another couple minutes until it was their turn, but soon, they stood in front of him. The young man quickly recognized the group,

"Ah, here to pick up your guild card?

" He asked with a smile, and Foster immediately nodded his head,

"That, and for the meeting with the handler you were going to introduce us to.

"

n

"Right, of course. My colleague is going to take care of that.

" The young man said, as he quickly stood up, walking to the shelves behind the reception desks. He picked up one of the small wooden boxes there, and quickly returned.

nThe man opened up the box and quickly pulled out a small metal card, the size of a regular credit- or id-card, a small booklet, as well as a folded-up piece of paper,

"Together with the card, you will receive a small rule-book, holding basic information about the guild, a general code of conduct, as well as information about how to act in emergencies while adventuring. There are some locations for recommended shops for new adventurers as well.

" He explained, sliding the book forward, before placing the folded-up piece of paper onto it,

"This is a detailed map of Arcadum, so that you can find your way through this city. The recommended shops noted down in the book are marked on there as well.

"

nWith a broad smile on his face, the receptionist then picked up the small metal card, and handed it over to Foster with both hands,

"And most importantly, here is your guild card! Please make sure not to lose it, as re-issuing can end up being sort of pricy.

"

nFoster took the card with a smile on his face, and looked at it. It had his name and age written on it, as well as his current adventurer tier, one. There was a small bar at the bottom that Foster wasn't sure what it was for, but it was probably just decoration anyway,

"Well, thank you. I'll make sure to read this as soon as I can.

" Foster said, putting the book and map into his bag, while the receptionist looked at him with a smile.

n

"Is there anything else I can help you with?

" He asked, and Lynol quickly stepped forward,

"Yes, now that he is officially part of the guild, we would like to register as a party.

"

n

"Of course, right away! Then I would need everyone's guild cards for this.

" The receptionist said with a smile, and all four of them quickly did so. Kyla and Foster's cards were the most pristine out of the bunch, while Octer and Lynol's were slightly scratched up along the edges, showing that they were adventurers for a while already. They were both Tier 2, and the bar at the bottom that Foster thought to be just decoration was filled up with a decorative pattern to a certain extent. Lynol's was filled up just an inch, and Octer's was filled up more than half.

n

"Alright.

" The receptionist said, taking all the cards into his hand,

"Who is going to be the party leader?

" He asked, and Lynol immediately pointed at Foster behind him,

"Him, Fo-

"

n

"Lynol.

" The others replied in tune, interrupting him as he spoke. Confused, Lynol looked at them, and Foster looked at him with a wry smile,

"You've been acting as the leader anyway, and you've been doing a hell of a good job. And I literally know nothing about any of this.

"

n

"...right. Then, I guess I'll be the party leader.

" Lynol said, not having expected to take on this role in the group.

n