7 Becoming An Adventurer

As claimed by the booze-loving familiar that held knowledge of the town, he found the shop he was looking for, walking through the front door that had a small chime. It was like stepping into an armory; bins of singular pieces of protective gear were for sale, along with racks of swords, axes, and just about any conventional tool of killing. 

"Welcome to Falmur's! I'm Falmur, by the way!" 

The owner there greeted the three openly, taking off his leather gloves that were clearly worn and pushing the protective goggles from his eyes. He had a gruff, but welcoming voice and a bald head etched with scars. 

"Yo," Jett returned the greeting, walking over to the wooden shopkeeper desk before hoisting the heavy sack of [Basic] rarity weapons on top of it. 

A heavy "thud" resounded, bringing a curious look from the owner of the equipment shop, who raised an eyebrow at the sack. 

"How much can I fetch for everything in there?" He asked. 

"Well, let's take a look," Falmur said, opening the sack of weapons. 

While the bald-headed man rummaged through the sack, Gunter and Edith scoped out the place, checking out the gear, though Jett made it clear with a look to both of them that he wasn't exactly looking to pay for anything there. 

Rubbing his chin, the blacksmith grumbled a bit before finally looking up from the sack, "Hmm, I can do seven copper."

"Seven?! That's it?!" Jett reacted in surprise. 

"Listen, kid, seven is being generous. None of this can go on the racks," Falmur told him, holding up one of the swords from the sack, which was rusty and chipped, "I'd have to spruce all of these up–you're basically selling me materials here." 

'It cost me twenty-four copper to summon that junk…! Talk about shitty resale value!' He lamented. 

There was no haggling that could be wiggled in; the price was stone, and though he sulked about it, Edith assured him it was a fair deal. 

"Thanks for your patronage! Make sure to come back if you get your hands on anything else or if you see anything here you like!" Falmur waved them out with a smile. 

"Yeah, yeah…" Jett walked out of the shop, muttering as he pocketed the seven copper he got in return. 

An abrasive slap on his back arrived from the towering booze-drinker, followed by laughter that boomed out. 

"Keep your chin up! We're on our way to the Guild–a place where the dreams of those with a fire burning in their hearts are made! Honor, glory, wealth–! All of it!" Gunter told him. 

"You don't have to sell me on it, but yeah, sounds awesome," Jett replaced his gloom with an excited smile. 

Edith added in with a small smile, "It's a great place to begin your journey, no doubt. Don't worry–we'll be by your side, Master."

"Thanks," he nodded with a smile. 

While it was a small time, there was certainly no shortage of commuting merchants and passing-through adventurers, leading to the stone-and-dirt roads of Merdlum being busy in the rising morning. 

Arriving at the doorstep to the Guild of Merdlum, he felt an air of adventure swirling around the establishment; it was tall, but not imposing, made of fortified stone and wooden logs. 

"Here we go," he said under his breath. 

Entering the Guild with his two companions following behind, he immediately noticed the sight of plentiful adventurers sitting at the tables on the left side of the lobby; they were already drinking first thing in the morning and chatting up the place. 

"...A bit packed this early, isn't it?" He remarked. 

"There are adventurers that choose to live in guilds. I believe it's usually to have first 'dibs' on quests," Edith told him. 

Approaching the reception desk of the Guild Hall, he had to wait in line for a lengthy ten minutes, standing behind a rather tall man dressed in full, crimson armor with twin blades strapped to his back. 

Finally, he reached the desk, greeted by a golden-haired receptionist wearing a black-and-white blouse with a bright smile that dazzled in tandem with her amethyst eyes:

"I haven't seen your face around here before. With that being said…Welcome to the Merdlum Guild! I am Julia, what may I do for you?" She asked. 

He confidently responded, "I'd like to become an adventurer." 

"Is that so? If that's the case, I'd suggest acquiring armor," Julia told him with a kind smile, though her words stung. 

It was only then that Jett realized how perplexing he looked standing in the guild full of equipped adventurers while he was still wearing the outfit he got transported in from Earth. 

"Ah…I'll handle that later," he assured with an awkward laugh. 

Juliua nodded, "Well, you'll just need to sign this application then I'll get you your Adventurer Amulet right away!" 

"Alright," he agreed. 

He was handed a paper before heading over to a sofa in the hall so that he could read it over and sign it; it required basic information like his name, age, family, birthplace, and some of his specialties. 

'It's easy enough to sign, I guess. Is it really this easy to become an adventurer?' He thought. 

Looking at Gunter and Edith, who were standing from the couch like guard dogs, a thought came to his mind, "Do you two need to sign up?" 

"That is not necessary," Edith responded, "We're your familiars; we don't seek the fortune or trinkets from quests, but only to be at your side in your adventures." 

"What she said! As long as I'm getting warm booze in my belly, I couldn't ask for anything else," Gunter assured, slapping his own abdomen with a laugh. 

Jett smiled before nodding, "I see. Thanks." 

Finishing the application, he returned it to the Guild receptionist, who overlooked it before slamming down a stamp of approval on it and sliding a necklace with a bronze-tinted amulet hanging from it. 

"I'd like to formally welcome you as an adventurer, Jett Levine. Be it hunting dragons in the sky or exploring that which is unknown to us, please be safe in your journeys," Julia welcomed him, "I pray that you may be the one to put an end to the Reverse King." 

"Thanks, I plan on it," he smiled, taking his adventurer amulet before looking up again, "Wait, 'Reverse King'? Who's that?"

"You don't know?" Julia blinked at him, surprised at his lack of knowledge on the subject. 

"Not a clue," he shook his head. 

"The Reverse King is a plague on Fantasia…He's said to be somebody that arrived from an entirely different world and wields his own special ability unlike any magic. Before him, there were centuries of peace, but he's united demons, orcs, and even dragons under his 'Reverse Kingdom'--It's only inevitable he'll soon wage war on the world…" Juliua sold him. 

It was shocking to hear, and certainly unsettling information provided to him that opened his eyes to the greater picture. 

'From a different world?...Is he like me? A special ability…A system, too? This guy sounds like trouble either way–if he's the 'demon lord' or whatever of this world, I'll have to confront him at some point,' he thought. 

For the time being though, he chose to keep his suspicions to himself, choosing not to divulge his own identity as an otherworlder since it likely would come with prejudice and fear with the existence of the so-called Reverse King.