"This should've been enough for the commission, please check everything."
Handing over the bag filled with goblin ears, my hands found their ways crossing across my chest.
Tapping my feet while waiting for the commission to go through had become a daily routine nowadays with the adventurer's occupation slowly gaining popularity among the masses.
Even behind me, there's still a long line, waiting for their turn on the counter.
To the right and to the left of me, there's two more lines of the same length waiting to either complete their commission or accept another one.
Even just now, I had to wait for at least 20 minutes for my turn to go meet the receptionist.
Despite the return being extremely high, the risk factors that come with it practically evens out the pros and cons.
Dying is a normal occurrence.
Adventurers disappearing would not even cause the other member of the guild to bat an eye towards the situation.
Unless you're quite high ranked, your life is treated like a cow in a barn, waiting to be killed at any moment.
If only I had the options, I would never have picked up this occupation. But at this rate, there's no way I could've made enough money to cover up my expenses for the next month.
"Completion confirmed. Here's your reward, would you like to immediately accept another one?"
Accepting the bag of copper coins, I grinned widely. With this amount, I should have enough to survive for another two weeks.
"Is there any more suitable for my level? If possible, I'd like one similar to the goblin extermination."
"Unfortunately, there don't appear to be any at the moment. All requests had been taken down due to external factors that we are still investigating."
"Really? I guess that's a good thing? The only negatives towards there being less goblins would be my income, I suppose."
Taking the money bag with me, I left the guild. Showing a slight smile as I began skipping down town.
While trying my best to keep the bag hidden from plain sight, I looked inside an alley. Weighting my choices, I entered.
Even while knowing the risk, I needed to go there. Unfortunately, most of the roads had been taken over by groups of people from the slum.
With such knowledge in mind, I had to sneak here most of the time. For the few fortunate days where the guards actually do their jobs, I could've simply just walked there.
But such a rare occurrence would only happen once in a blue moon.
Putting that aside, I could finally see the building after walking for a while.
A rundown shack looking house. The roofs were of portions while the windows could barely be called a window. With stone pavements leading the way, I entered the house only to be greeted by silence.
"...It's me, Rachel."
Calling out to the darkness, a voice returned back.
"Elisa? Is that you? Didn't I tell you to not come back here?"
"You know I would never leave you behind."
"Which is why I kept telling you to not meet me. Only misfortune will befall you whenever you visit."
Clenching my hands, I stayed silent, knowing how factful the words she's letting out are.
"Don't worry, I don't plan on visiting for long today. I'm going to be leaving a gift here for you."
"Again? What's with you and gifts? Did you get proposed to so often that you could give me gifts every time you visit?"
"Of course not. It's just something that came out of my own pocket. Don't think too much about it."
Hearing some rustling in the darkness, I held back the urge to look up.
"So? What is it this time?"
"You can open it after I leave. For now, I'll just place it down here, alright?"
Hearing a silent 'Hm', the bag was placed on the floor. After a few moments, I turned around and left after saying a barely audible 'See you soon.'
Knowing her, I highly doubt she would've accepted the money. This is the only reason why I'm in such a hurry to leave.
If not for that, I would've begged to stay with her, even just a second longer.
…Now I'm stuck with the problem of how to pay my loan. How unfortunate.
—
And that should be all. Phew!
Looking down at the small shelter I've built, I never felt satisfaction of a higher degree.
I always thought those camping videos were quite bull until I've tried building them myself. And could you believe it? Building a hut is EXTREMELY hard.
The lack of any materials like ropes or tapes to hold them together also plays quite a massive role in my physical agony.
How much I'm missing my old lifestyle already!
After that earthquake a few days back, I had to walk around a bit more to find a better location.
As long as I'm not in the ring of fire, I should be able to manage by myself.
But that hope also dashed away when I noticed a very big mountain with black smoke coming from the top.
Realising how much of a precarious position I'm in, I decided to… Ignore all of it!
I'm not even the thinking type, why should I care about the geographical significance of my location?
A man hunts when he's hungry. A man chases when he's desperate. A man screams when he's angry.
I am just a man…
…Yes, I am just a man…
Which is why this river I found is like an Utopia!
There's fishes, there's a source of flowing water and there's vegetation!
It's a heaven in the wild!
My luck truly only shines through whenever I'm faced with misfortune.
Oh how I wish to share these feelings to my brothers.
"I've got a roof over my head now… source of food and water… What else?"
I have a feeling that I've been forgetting about something for a long time now…
A breeze of cold wind brought me out of my stupor as I finally realised what I had forgotten.
"My clothing! How could I forget a man's greatest shame!"
With a new goal in mind, I tried to make a mental plan of what to do. Knowing how hard it was to knit a new cloth, I bet it would be much faster to just find a civilization and ask for a few sets of clothing.
…but my body still feels very sticky.
Right after waking up a few days ago, I had realised how battered up this body was. With a deep wound above the left temple plus a long slash across the chest.
Weirdly, it doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would. Therefore, I decided to just finish the necessity before pledging that case. Now that I'm not really in a desperate situation, I could finally take a look at previous problems.
With stains of blood covering my body here and there, I figure taking a shower would be a must right now.
And taking a shower is the thing I would be doing.
Looking towards the river, I gulped.
In the mission of solving a problem, I had to face another one… one that I fear.
Stepping closer towards the body of water, I could hear my heart thumping.
"Hah…. Huh…."
Exhaling my breath, my feet finally reached the river…
These past days, I had tried to avoid looking directly into the river in an attempt to keep my dignity.
Even having to resort to avoiding showers.
*Splash
Putting a single foot in, the second one follows.
With the water being waist deep, I could finally get a good look at myself.
…this is bullshit.