Chapter 6 - Midham And Begard
Del began walking towards Begard. The town was not very far from Midham. It would only take thirty minutes by horse. If Del ran in the direction of Begard, he would arrive there in around two hours.
The road toward Begard was paved with stones. The road to Begard wasn't dangerous due to the continuous patrol from the knights of the Elbanian Kingdom.
It would be exhausting and Del knew about that. However, a 1911 pistol was well worth it alongside extra crackers. With those crackers, he would be able to take a quest located a little bit further without spending much money just for the food.
The clothes that Del was wearing was still the same as the one which was given by the Elbanian Kingdom. He washed the clothes once a week when he could afford not to go outside of the inn. He would usually dry his clothes upstairs while waiting for them to dry with the other adventurers. He planned to buy new clothes if he had the money.
Speaking of clothing…
"Pidma, are you there?" Del asked while running in the road.
[Personal Information and Data Management Assistant Initiated]
[Hello there, what can I do for you?]
"Pidma, last night, I saw that you can give me something other than guns. Can you give me clothing?" Del asked.
[Yes. I can give you anything besides guns for a modest price]
"Cool, give me a new pair of clothing then," Del said.
[Give you? You need to pay for it, Del. You better have the money.]
"Is five silver coins enough for a new pair of clothing?" Del asked.
[Calculating Conversion From Coins to Dollars. User Has 10$]
"Does that mean I have enough money to buy a new pair of clothing?" Del asked.
[No, I'm afraid not.]
"As expected…" Del sighed.
Del knew that he didn't have enough money. Even the cheapest clothing in the clothing store was twelve silver coins and it was used. A new white shirt would cost him around fifteen silver coins. Del couldn't afford it yet.
[However, if you need an item, I can arrange a quest for you. Some people actually have demand for some items. Others are interested in having someone disappear. There is also some demand on the market for information.]
"Wait, well, show me a quest for clothing then," Del said as he continued walking.
[Ok.]
▬▬▬
[White Wolf Fur Demand]
Alright, I found that someone in Midham wants to buy a white wolf fur. If you come to the guild and finish the quest, you should get enough money to buy a new pair of clothing. I can arrange a loadout for you to use if you finish the quest.
Task:
[Finish Gathering Wolf Fur Quest] [1x]
Reward: [M1943 Combat Uniform] [20 Silver Coins] [50 Copper Coins]
▬▬▬
"White Wolf??? Pidma, that thing is a D-rank threat. There is no way I can't deal with that thing. I even doubt that bullet would penetrate the thick skin of the wolf itself. However, if you give me a rifle," Del said to Pidma.
[Want me to put it for later?]
"Yes, I'll take that quest when I become strong enough. In the meantime, I'll just focus on the task that you give for me right now," Del said.
[Very well then.]
Del continued walking on the road that led to Begard. The road that led to Begard was bordered by two locations. One was a mountain located on the north of the road. The other one was a forest located south of the road. Both places were known to be dangerous places and the guild advised anyone not to go there unless necessary.
Talking about location, the mountain of the north was dangerous because it was a breeding ground for cold weather monsters. One of the monsters that Del knew was the White Wolf. It was known to be able to kill a novice adventurer in just one slash. That mountain was also known to be the home of the mythical ice dragon.
As a result of the combination between dangerous monsters and a lair for an ice dragon, that mountain got a danger rating of C-rank. Ice dragon itself was an S-rank threat that required a full party of A-rank adventurers just to subjugate.
[Del, could I ask for something? What's your biggest fear of this world?]
"What do you mean? I think I fear everything in this world. I don't have any certified education in this world. I don't have any connection in this world. I don't have any strength to survive in this world. My only friends want me to go away. The kingdom banished me from my only hope of surviving. The only thing that I want right now is to live decently," Del said to Pidma.
[That's a tough life you have there.]
"Trust me, I'm a high-school boy turned into adventurer without any preparation," Del said.
[I see.]
"Don't you worry about it, my life is going to be short anyway," Del said.
[Not under my watch, Del.]
"Right, you're kinda like a guardian angel, you know?" Del asked.
[Yeah. I agree with that.]
After two hours of sprinting and stopping. Del finally arrived in Begard, drenching in sweat. Begard was a bigger town than Midham. It was located right on the east side of Midham. Del had visited the town multiple times during his time as an adventurer.
It had been a month since he became an adventurer. He was not as novice as he used to be, but he was certainly as poor as when he started. Now, he had to find Lebisa street first. The road in the Elbanian Kingdom usually had a nameplate, it made things way easier.
Del walked in the direction of the center of the town. The center of Begard was a fountain. The fountain would lead him to every single street on Begard. Begard might be a big city, but it was not as big as cities like New York or anything in the modern world.
"Sir, do you know where Lebisa street is?" Del asked one of the bystanders.
"Boy, what did you do to get that kind of sweat?" The bystander asked Del.
"I ran from Midham to Begard, that's where my sweat came from, sir," Del answered as he wiped his head.
"Boy, you can take a horse, can't you?" The bystander asked.
"Sir, respectfully, do you know where Lebisa street is?" Del insisted.
"Sorry, it's right around the corner of the fountain," the bystander answered.
"Thank you," Del said.
'Goddamn old hag wasting my time,' Del cursed quietly as he left for Lebisa street.
Del looked at the buildings along Lebisa street. At first glance, all of it looked the same. All of them were buildings made from bricks and had two floors. Luckily, every building had a number plate in front of it. Del just had to find the correct one.
"27… 27… 27…," Del searched for the house, "Aha, 27!"
Del approached the house with the package in his hand. The owner of the package might not feel comfortable with Del's sweaty palm. But well, if he wanted the wedding ring, he had to get it from Del.
Del knocked on the door, "Excuse me, a package from Midham."
A woman opened the door. It was an old woman, probably in her mid-40s. "Young boy, what can I do for you?" The woman looked at the box that Del brought, "Oh my, thank you so much. I'll send a word to Midham that the package arrives safely." The woman took the package.
"Thank you, ma'am," Del left the building.
***
Del sighed as he gulped down the glass of water at the inn. It was exhausting, but Del got his money. Rina was nice enough to give Del a free glass of water. It usually cost around twenty copper coins just for a glass of water.
"Del, why did you run to Begard? You can take a horse, you know?" Rina asked.
"Rina, that's a private matter, ok? It's not like I can't walk. I just want to save money, you know?" Del said as he gulped down another glass of water.
"Haha, I see. Anyway, Del, I have to go back to work, you take a rest, ok?" Rina left Del's room after she put a big mug of water on the desk of his room.
"Now, let's see. Pidma, are you there?" Del asked.
[I'm here. Do you want to take the rewards for the quest?]
"Sure, bring it on."
[Alright. Dispensing Reward…]
Suddenly, a big metallic box appeared on Del's desk. It spilled the glass of water that Rina brought for him.
"Dang it, my glass of water," Del said.
However, his disappointment was wiped away by the sudden appearance of the metal box. He stood up from his bed and looked at the metal box.
"Let's see what we have here," Del opened the box.