Ocean! Town?
Alex First wanted to see if he got lucky and was near a village.
He couldn't get a accurate reading through his new senses, everything was so new to him that they couldn't really be trusted or he just didn't know what he was sensing.
After climbing the tallest tree he could find he looked all around the area.
Even with his enhanced sight and his high vantage, he couldn't find anything.
Not wanting to just pick a random direction, he just sat in the top of the tree going over the smells he could sense to see if there was anything he could recognize.
After a couple of minutes he thought he could smell salt, it was very faint but when he focused on it alone it became more clear.
Putting more focus to the new smell he realized it was the smell of the ocean.
'Oceans usually mean fishing villages and port cities, worst case scenario I can follow the shore to civilization' Alex thought happily.
At the very least it was a start, and better than walking around blindly in the forest.
Making up his mind, Alex jumped off the tree and started heading in the direction of the smell.
Knowing the trip will most likely be a long once since he couldn't see something as big as an ocean from his vantage, he decided to train on the move.
Active skills like {Stealth} and {Fel-Fire} were easy to train while moving, he couldn't use them at the same time, but he could cycle between them.
Running through the forest with {Stealth} active was amusing to say the least.
He wasn't trying as hard as he should to watch his footing, so he was making a decent amount of noise.
It was very entertaining for him to see the panicked look of the animals and monsters when he ran by.
They could obviously hear him but couldn't sense where he was, they didn't have a clue where to run too in order to avoid this "beast" coming for them.
After his Third time cycling between the 2 skills, he was in deep thought about why he passed lots of beasts and monsters in {Stealth} but didn't see any at all when using {Fel-Fire}.
Regular animals he could understand, but why no monsters attacked had him confused.
Finally after a couple hours of thought and a couple more cycles of the skills, he attributed it to the wildlife being able to sense the danger of the flames and give him a wide birth.
After what felt like days running through the woods, even though it hadn't even been a full day.
Alex Finally came to the ocean.
Looking out over the incredibly calm ocean, he was in awe. It was a breathtaking sight.
'This is why being an adventurer is so much fun, all the wonders of nature are ours to explore' he thought excitedly.
While he still couldn't see any signs of civilization, he was able to see a ship out on the ocean.
After watching the ship for a while a was able to tell it was heading towards land but in a different area than he was.
Taking a gamble he headed in the direction the ship was going.
"If it is coming to land, there is probably a port" he said softly to himself as he sprinted off.
After another hour of running down the coastline trying not too loose sight of the ship, he started to notice signs of humans.
With his heart beating quickly from the run and excitement of seeing something new, he crested the final hill.
The sight that greeted him was a bustling port town, it wasn't huge but it also wasn't small.
It was beautiful in its simplistic build and older style.
From his vantage he could see the Marina if full swing.
While it appeared to primarily be a fishing town, the marina was large and also had a few cargo ships at port.
While looking over the town Alex felt like it looked familiar.
Just that fact alone brought a single name to mind. "Hargeon" Alex said under his breath.
'I just knew I would be put close to Fairy Tail! Its just a short train ride to Magnolia and finally the Guild hall' He thought with excitement practically radiating off him.
It was only after he calmed down that he noticed the area around him had turned into magma. "Oops" He muttered. "guess I got too excited".
He had always wondered why Natsu seemed to let his power flow when he got too excited. 'Seems "excitement" is a pretty strong emotion' he mused.
The fact magic in this world resonates with ones emotions had momentarily slipped his mind.
'I might have to pay closer attention to my emotions now, wouldn't want someone to get hurt because I was too excited' He realized.
With that in mind he started down towards the town.
On his way down he started wondering how he would get some Jewel to buy the stuff he needs.
'Guess I'll ask around to see if anyone needs some help doing anything'. After getting a game plan he increased his speed.
With his knowledge from the anime, he knew there was only 1 wizard shop in this town.
He figured if anyone in the city knew of people looking for magical help it would be the old shop keeper.
After asking a few people for directions and walking awhile, he finally came upon the small magic shop.
"Good evening Lad! Welcome to 'Proper Grocer' If there is anything specific you're looking for, come to the front desk and I'll help you out, otherwise feel free to browse to you hearts content!" A cheerful elderly voice called out to him as Alex walked into the shop.
"Good Evening to you too! Perhaps you can help me out" Alex smiled as he returned the greeting.
Walking to the counter Alex started talking. "I'm new to town and am currently broke, I wasn't robbed or anything but I won't bore you with the details" he said still smiling.
"I was wondering if you know anyone in town looking for some freelance wizard work, that I can use to earn some Jewel."
"Hmmm are you by chance part of any wizard guild?" the old man asks with a thoughtful expression.
"Not yet, but I'm currently on my way to the Fairy Tail guild in hopes of joining. Hargeon is my last stop before Magnolia, but I'd rather take the train than walk the whole way". Alex replies with a sheepish smile.
"Haha I understand completely" the old man said with a soft chuckle.
"I often get small requests from the locals, with rewards only a couple thousand Jewel each for the highest paying ones" the old man said after a while.
"Usually only things that aren't worth it for the guilds to put a quest out for" he continued.
"Do you currently have any requests right now?" Alex asked. He didn't mind doing odd jobs.
"I got 1 that you could help me with, its the highest paying one I currently have and it can be done daily for the next 3 days. The shop is currently contracted to the town to assist in the maintenance of the cities sewers. Its a protection Job that only requires a Rank-E Mage. Does that sound like something you would be willing to do?" The old man asked after explaining the Job.
"What's the Pay?" Alex asked.
He was not above going into the smelly sewers if the pay was right. It might be worse with his enhanced senses but he's sure he will be fine.
"The Pay is About 1000 Jewel per day, its actually a very decent amount for what you have to do.
You see, the only monsters that appear in the sewers naturally are slimes.
They are very weak and completely blind. Usually you don't even end up confronting any, but if you do you get to keep the cores, witch is a bonus 100 jewel".
The old man said as if trying to convince him to take the job. "Your job is basically to just watch the workers backs while they do their thing.
Slimes are weak but have a nasty acid burn if they can get to you." He continued.
"Sounds easy enough, alright I'll do it." Alex said with little hesitation.
He was broke and needed some money, this was an easy way to do it while staying honest.
"When does the Job start"? Alex asked, not wanting to waste any time.
"It was fate that we met today actually, usually I have my helper go with them, but he called in sick today.
I was going to have to close the shop and go myself if you hadn't come along.
The workers will be here in about an hour to start, and the job will take about 4 hours" the old man replied.
"That works for me" Alex said. So far everything seemed pretty reasonable.
"Would you mind if I just sit in the corner and Meditate while I wait?" He asked.
"I don't mind at all lad, you are helping me after all" the old man said happily.