"You call yourself a man? Pip-Squeak?"
Those words echoed in his mind. It stuck with him even after he got rescued. Luckily, the Adventurers' Guild was kind enough to let him spend the night in one of their vacant rooms. And thank goodness for that because he wouldn't know what he would have done.
"Are you going out?" A voice heavy with a Scottish accent called out.
The voice belonged to Cyrus. Mondstadt's Branch Master.
"Yeah, I need some fresh air."
"I understand that very well lad." He laughed heartily. "Don't go looking for trouble and if you need help, just reach out to one of us. We adventurers look out for one another, don't forget that."
John gave a slight nod and pushed the heavy wooden doors open.
The sun mercilessly beamed down on his face and the sound of birds chirping filled his ears the moment he stepped outside. John brought his hands up to cover his face, his eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden brightness.
The smell of bread and roasted meat washed over him, making his empty stomach growl with hunger. He clutched his stomach in an attempt to ease the growing hunger pains but it was no use. Maybe if he collected the commission fees from Katheryne, he could afford something even if it's just fisherman toast.
John hurried his pace as he began his descent down the stairs. The only thing on his mind was food.
"Ad Astra Abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers'-"
"Yeah yeah, I've heard it all before. Just give me my mora." John demanded impatiently.
"Oh yes, your commission fees from yesterday." Katheryne stated plainly, reaching for something under her desk then gently placing a pouch of gold coins before him.
"Here is your payment of 2775 mora for yesterday's commission."
'2775? That's so little. How do Adventurers live like this?'
Pockets barely heavy, John turned to walk over to good hunters before he was suddenly stopped.
"Would you look at that, it's the pip-squeak that screams like a little girl. What are you doing up and around? You were hurt pretty bad last night, shouldn't you be in bed? Princess~." A cocky voice taunted him.
Standing before him with a smug grin and a skewer in hand was the girl who saved him from the forest last night. He didn't get her name since he passed out shortly after she shot the slime.
In the blink of an eye, she quickly closed the gap between them.
"Heading out?" She grinned, her face just inches from his.
John's face immediately flushed red with embarrassment. He had never been this close to a girl before. She had fiery red hair, freckles adorning her face collectively around her nose and eyes as green as a forest. She looked like someone who would have never given him the time of the day back on Earth.
"Well?"
"I was going to grab something to eat first." He admitted.
"I just so happen to have some skewers with me. Here, take this and follow me." She demanded not taking a no for an answer and stuffed a skewer into his face before he could refuse.
He choked for a second before looking back up at her.
"And go where?"
"You'll see." She shot him a cheeky smile.
***
Armed with a silver sword he purchased from Wagner, John felt somewhat safe since he had a weapon this time… not that he knew how to even swing a one.
"I never got your name." John stated, panting slightly from keeping up with her pace.
"Edith, and you?" She answered without looking back, her attention clearly somewhere else.
"John." He replied.
"Mind telling me where we're going?"
"Nope."
"Is it dangerous?"
"You bet." She answered cheerfully, almost psychotic in a way.
"It would be nice if you were upfront with m-" His sentence was cut short as he bumped into her mid stride.
"Ow," John blurted out, "Why'd you stop?"
She didn't answer, only motioning him over to her side.
John's eyes widened and his hands instinctively clutched the sword around his waist.
There in front of him was a hillichurl encampment. There weren't a lot of them but looking at one up close like this made him feel uneasy. Their skins were charred as if they had been burned by the sun itself. The stench was unbearable to say the least. There were only three hillichurls guarding what he assumed was an exquisite chest. A wooden box with iron trims lining its edges.
"What are we here for exactly?" He asked with a shaky voice.
"You're going to help me with my commission."
"Help you? Are you crazy? I almost died to a slime. What makes you think I can take on those barbaric humanoid monsters?"
"You complain too much. Just go." Edith said, shoving him into the open.
The masked humanoid monsters immediately became enraged. Two of the three carried a club while the one in front, leading the charge, had a shield in addition to the club. They yelled something in hillichurl, quickly closing the distance.
Panicking, John unsheathed his sword and held it up, his knees shook wildly. Thinking Edith had a plan of some sort, he glanced back to see that she was gone.
'Come on! Keep it steady John!'
The leader rushed with his shield up with the other arm readying an attack. John made the rookie mistake of closing his eyes and swung.
Crack!!
The sword wedged itself into the shield.
John had neither the experience nor the strength to pull the sword out. His judgement was so clouded that he didn't even think to let go.
In co-ordination, the two hillichurls leapt into the air. Their clubs raised over their heads. The one in front of him was just a distraction, they were the real attack.
John froze like a deer in headlights, just in two days, John had gone from a shut-in to fighting monsters.
Something whizzed past overhead, nailing both of the hillichurls right in the face. Their bodies immediately disintegrated mid air, releasing an awful rotting smell.
'Edith' John snapped out of it and kicked the shield, hard, launching the hillichurl back. In the midst of it, John managed to pull his sword out and he swung only to be intercepted by the wooden club, chipping the silver sword.
John immediately drew the sword back and raised it to his side, his body almost moving on auto-pilot. John swung again, this time putting his whole body into it, twisting his whole torso as he brought the sword down. It barely grazed the hillichurl who instinctively moved back just in time.
He messed up. John already committed too much to the swing. There was no way he could bring his arm up in time to block the incoming attack.
The wooden club smashed down on his shoulder, causing him to writhe in pain.
Adrenaline coursing through his body, John gritted his teeth and pushed through. Whether he knew it or not, his previous close encounter with death changed him. Not that it made him a better fighter overnight, he was still swinging the sword like an absolute amateur.
Despite it all. The pain was still there, no matter how much he tried to ignore it. John brought his sword up just in the nick of time. He felt his bones rattle as he blocked the downward smash which utterly shattered the sword. Without missing a beat, He stabbed the hillichurl with the broken end of the blade which made him stumble forward as it dissipated into dust.
"Nice going there John." Edith remarked. "I knew you had it in you."
"Yeah well no thanks to you." He retorted, panting as he straightened his back, clutching his injured shoulder.
"No thanks to me? I literally saved your ass. You would have been gone if I hadn't dealt with two! Mind you, two out of the three hillichurls." She stated, pretending to be offended.
"Anyways, I saved your ass twice. You still owe me." She smiled as she knelt down before the wooden box.
"Now, this is what I'm here for."
She wasted no time and stuck half her body in the chest, rummaging through the contents, muttering to herself until she emerged with a crimson sword with a star shaped guard and pommel.
John immediately recognized it.
It was the traveler's handy sword. Although it had the trash defense percentage sub-stat, he was glad to see it.
"Meh, I'll let you have this, I don't really use swords anyways." Edith said, holding up the sword for John to take without so much as a glance back.
John took the sword and immediately, three floating orbs where the hillichurls met their demise flew straight into the sword. The pain immediately went away the moment it did.
This was expected, John knew the traveler's handy sword had a healing passive but he couldn't see the elemental orbs until the moment he grasped the sword and the particles didn't fly into his body like it did normally in game.
"I think we're done here." Edith declared cheerfully, stuffing loads of purple crystals and gold coins into her backpack.
"All's well that ends well. Amirite?" She smiled before seeing John admiring the sword, "Happy with that blade you got there? Johnny?"
"Yeah, thanks." He smiled sheepishly.
Maybe, just maybe things weren't as bad as he thought…