The Adventurer's Guild

Poison Coating, huh…

I tapped the skill to pull up a more detailed description.

Ti—tickling?

Then what's the point of it at all?!

Every scrap of anticipation I'd been holding onto went cold in an instant.

And then another game system rose to the surface of my mind—the one that mattered more than anything else.

Status Window.

At once, a window recording my current condition bloomed into view. The first thing that caught my eye was my level.

Lower numbers than I'd expected…

Probably because I'd spent so long claiming my ankle hurt and skipping any real exercise. One look at my body right now was proof enough. I checked my scrawny frame again—height 181 centimeters, weight 62 kilos. Nobody was going to call this a body with muscle on it.

Hah… nothing I could do about that now.

More importantly—where do I put the leftover points?

I thought it over. Acceleration—that was the skill I'd used to take down those bandits. And Acceleration had one fatal flaw: it left me gasping for air.

I got a good skill. No way I'm letting it go to waste.

That settled it. There was only one place to put the points.

I dumped the remaining stats into Stamina. A change rolled through my body at once—my nostrils, which had felt so tight and stuffy, opened up and breathing came easier, and a strange vitality seemed to well up through my limbs. I'd been dead on my feet a moment ago. It was almost uncanny.

So this… is the power of stats?

With a body that felt a full step fresher, I managed to sleep soundly that night.

Riiing—

Morning broke. I stretched once, long and hard.

"Uuuaaagh!"

Bright, clear weather. I pushed the window open and a pleasant breeze slipped inside. Climbing down from the bed, I strapped on my gear and headed downstairs.

In the kitchen, Aera was making toast, fried eggs, pan-seared bacon, and soup. Even in another world, it seemed, people ate more or less the same things.

"You're up? I was just about to come wake you."

Aera glanced over at me, apron on, tasting the soup with a ladle.

I smiled back at her.

"Turns out I'm more of a morning person than I thought!"

"Have a seat. It's almost ready."

She said it with a smile. Watching her cook in that apron, she looked a little different from my first impression of her—more mature, somehow.

She set the finished meal down in front of me.

"Please eat, Ki-seok."

At a moment like this, "darling" would suit her better than "Ki-seok," if I'm being honest.

I cut the bacon and egg with my knife, speared them with a fork, and took a bite. It was genuinely delicious. I'd been treated to good food at dinner the night before, too, but eating with a whole crowd had made it a little awkward. Today it was just the two of us, and that ease felt good.

"How is it?"

"Really delicious. Thank you, Aera."

"Hehe. I made sure the maid and Grandpa Lu didn't come anywhere near the kitchen so I could cook it myself. I'm glad you like it~"

I scooped up some soup with my spoon. There were button mushrooms in it.

Mushroom soup, huh~

The familiar taste of it seemed to melt something in my chest.

"Where are you headed today?"

Aera asked as she ate alongside me.

"I was thinking of buying some gear and getting an ID made. Maybe look around the town a bit, too."

"Then come with me! I'll show you around."

"I'd be grateful for that~ Thank you, Aera."

We finished breakfast, got ready, and stepped outside. Out front, Grandpa Lu was waiting.

"You're awake, Sir Ki-seok? I am truly sorry. As a butler, to fail in receiving a guest like this…"

"Not at all, sir. Aera already told me the story. There's no misunderstanding, so please don't worry~"

"That's right, Grandpa Lu. I'm going out to show Ki-seok around for a bit!"

"Very well, young miss. Do enjoy yourselves."

With that, we left the trading house and set off along the main road. The street was lined with stalls and shops of every kind—meats, vegetables, and fruits I'd never seen before. Some of the meat looked like it might have come from monsters.

We went first into a place marked as a weapons shop. The writing was in a language I'd never seen, and yet somehow I could read it.

Is the system translating for me?

The one who greeted us inside was a short old dwarf.

"Welcome, there."

"Would it be possible to take a look at some daggers?"

"They're over yonder. Go on and browse."

The shopkeeper jerked his chin to point the way. Aera and I walked over to the daggers. There were about four of them laid out.

Hold on… there's a game system for exactly this kind of moment, isn't there?

The name of it rose up, and I called it silently.

Appraisal.

At once, the names of the daggers began to appear before my eyes.

The basic daggers were the same as the one I already had… I focused on the steel ones and called Appraisal again under my breath. My MP ticked down, and more detailed information began to display.

What? Same type of weapon, but different enhancement values and stats?

"Shopkeeper, are these two steel daggers the same price?"

"Course they are. Same dagger, same price—why wouldn't they be?"

Jackpot. Being able to pick out the better item at the same price… Appraisal is ridiculously good.

"Then I'll take this one. How much?"

"Four silver."

"Aera, does that price look fair?"

I asked her in a low voice. She answered in a whisper.

"It looks like a good price. And this shop's owner is famous for never haggling."

Might as well just buy it, then. I pulled a gold coin from the pouch at my waist and handed it to the shopkeeper.

"Received. Here's your change. Come again."

Jingle—

As we stepped out of the shop, Aera spoke up.

"Where would you like to go next?"

"Ah… is there somewhere that sells clothes and armor? The way I'm dressed right now is pretty…"

I was still wearing a rumpled T-shirt and sweatpants. Aera looked me up and down.

"There's something more important than clothes first, I think. Follow me."

She caught hold of my sleeve and pulled me along. A short while later we arrived at a place with a scissors-shaped sign that read Barbershop.

"In you go~"

She steered me inside, where a middle-aged woman greeted us warmly.

"Welco—oh? Aera, is that you? What brings you here?"

"Hello, ma'am. I brought this gentleman in for a haircut."

The woman took one look at me and clapped a hand over her mouth in shock. My hair was a shaggy mess. It wasn't quite at the level of a special case, but the state of it was pretty dire.

"Have a seat right here. Looks like you're going to need major surgery."

I sat down as told. A little while later, when the cut was finished, both of them stared in open surprise.

"Why on earth have you been walking around like that? You're this handsome?"

"She's right! Ki-seok, you're so… good-looking!!"

The woman held up a mirror as she spoke. It had been a long time since my last haircut, and I wasn't sure it was quite that dramatic—but my hair was clean and neat now, and my whole impression had improved a notch.

"Thank you both for the kind words. Haha…"

"I mean it, young man!"

"Me too!!"

From there we left the shop and headed to a clothing store. I bought a light chainmail shirt, spare clothes, and a few other pieces of gear—and none of it came cheap. The total that left my pouch there was a full three gold coins.

A hundred copper made one silver, ten silver made one gold… three gold was a serious amount of money. But anyone who skimps on their equipment dies young. I chose to think of it as money well spent, and at last we set our feet toward the Adventurer's Guild.

The Adventurer's Guild was exactly what it sounded like—a place where adventurers gathered. I'd heard about it from Simon over dinner the night before: you could take on commissions there, and sell magic stones as well.

Stepping inside, I looked around. There were any number of tough-looking adventurers about, and a commission board hung on the left wall. We went first to the guild receptionist standing at the center desk.

"We're here to have an adventurer's card made for this gentleman."

"In that case, please write your name and age here."

I started writing as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠didn't actually know the script—but the system seemed to be helping.

The receptionist brought a small crystal orb out from a side room and spoke.

"This is the attribute examination. Place both hands on it and remain still for about thirty seconds."

The clear crystal clouded over as if smoke had risen inside it, and then the color began to shift. Green started to seep through the orb—and characters began to form across its surface.

"My goodness, how unusual…"

The receptionist's eyes went wide.

"Level 3, Poison attribute, is it?"

At those words, a murmur rippled through the people nearby.

"That guy's a dud."

"Poor bastard. First attribute exam of his life and he pulls Poison."

"With Poison… even the first floor's gonna be dangerous, isn't it?"

Then someone called out in a loud voice.

"If you're gonna fight dirty with poison, don't bother climbing the Tower—go be an assassin instead, buddy. That poison of yours won't do you a scrap of good in there anyway. Keh."

At that, color flooded into Aera's face.

"Oh no, I raised my voice without thinking… I'm sorry…"

The receptionist wore an awkward expression. As the jeers from that little group kept rolling in, Aera caught my sleeve.

"Let's go. You don't need to stand here listening to people like that."

She took the adventurer's card from the receptionist and led me straight outside.

"What awful people!"

Aera was genuinely angry on my behalf. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠It would have been a lie to say I wasn't irritated—but I forced a smile.

"Thank you, Aera. I'm fine."

She looked at my face, then said,

"Let's go eat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something delicious! To cheer ourselves up!"

And so we headed to a nearby restaurant. It was lunchtime, and the place was packed. We took a seat and ordered.

"One roast chicken, sausages, a salad, and two beers, please."

"Coming right up~"

Before long, a spread of appetizing food arrived—a piping-hot roast chicken dish among it. We each took a beer and fell into conversation.

I asked Aera why the Poison attribute was treated the way it was. She explained it kindly.

There were seven fundamental attributes, she said.

Attributes, at their core, referred to magical affinities that required MP—mana. Most people used one of the first five common attributes. Light and Darkness, she said, could only be obtained through extraordinary effort or some special catalyst.

"So if Earth comes up on the crystal, does that mean you can't learn any of the other common attributes?"

"You can. It's just that it comes with its own extra difficulties."

But unlike those seven, Aera went on, there were rare attributes that no amount of effort could earn you. And one of those was my Poison attribute.

"Then isn't that a good thing?"

"Well…"

She hesitated, then said,

"The Poison attribute is extremely difficult to grow…"

Even among the rare attributes, it was one that advanced with particular sluggishness. Aera herself had never heard of an adventurer who made it big with Poison.

Well… I was pretty disappointed myself yesterday, seeing "tickling" written there.

Tickling was worse than any poison you'd find in nature. And once your specialty attribute was Poison, learning or developing skills of any other attribute became far harder. That was why Poison was called a dud among the rare attributes.

"Hah…"

I let out a small sigh. There was nothing to be done about it.

"Please don't take it too hard. You still took down those bandits in an instant with that incredible speed last time."

Right. That was true.

Acceleration, which gave me that blistering speed—and Dagger Arts, which let me handle a dagger like I'd been born with one. I had both of those skills.

"Cheers—"

I clinked glasses with Aera and downed my beer.

Creeeak—

Just then, the door opened and three solidly built men walked in.

"Barkeep, three beers over here."

They sat down and started talking loudly.

"Money's been good lately—makes climbing the Tower actually feel worth it."

"It's all thanks to you, boss."

We kept drinking quietly, talking between ourselves. But whether it was because of Aera's cute looks or something else, the biggest of the three men glanced our way—and then started walking over.

Red hair and a beard. The man who'd approached suddenly spoke to me.

"Well, well. Look who it is—our little future assassin with the poison, sitting right here?"

One of the people who'd been mocking me earlier, by the look of him. The other two stood up from their seats and came over as well.

"What's this? Our buddy here's weak, but he's got money for a meal like that?"

"Right? Family must be loaded. Gear looks pretty decent, too."

They pointed at the chicken dish we were eating. Irritation started climbing up my throat.

"Why are you picking a fight? Go away. We're trying to eat!"

Aera raised her voice. The redhead only looked at her like he found it adorable.

"I say one word and it's a fight, huh? Watch that mouth of yours. And why are you drinking with a weakling like this? Come drink with us instead, miss."

"Would you stop? How strong do you people even think you are?"

"Us?"

They looked at each other and burst out laughing. Then the ones who looked like underlings started listing their levels one by one.

"I'm level 9."

"Same."

And the redhead stepped even closer to Aera.

"I'm a level 12 warrior. Get it now?"

Then he grabbed Aera's wrist.

"Just come over here, miss. Otherwise I'll have no choice but to thrash this soft boy of yours."

He pulled on her arm as he said it. Aera's voice rose.

"Stop it! Let go of me!"

At that sound, I lost my temper in a single flash and swung a fist.

Thwack!

"Hey—what the hell do you think you're doing?"

My fist was caught in the thug boss's open palm.

"Get your filthy hands off her!"

I swung again. But my fist never touched him anywhere. And then something came flying.

Wham—

An enormous fist. It caught me square in the face and put me on the floor.

"A level 3 trying to get himself killed."

"Heh heh, look at him drop from one punch of the boss's!"

Laughter all around.

"You bastards!"

Unable to hold back the rage, I ripped my dagger free in one motion—and called the skills in my mind.

Acceleration.

And—

Poison Coating.

In a blink I went for his arm. But the thug twisted his body just slightly to the side, and the dagger only grazed him. A shallow cut.

"You little shit—drawing a blade on me!"

In an instant the two behind him closed in as well. But maybe it was the experience of cutting down those bandits before—I took the situation too lightly.

Yeah. I can do this!

I used Acceleration again, meaning to drop the underlings first this time. But—

Wh… what?

The red-haired thug was suddenly standing right in front of me, and he drove a fist straight into my gut.

"Guh—!"

Hit in the stomach, breath and a sour rush of bile burst from my mouth together. Then his other elbow came down hard across my back.

Thud—

I sprawled flat ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the floor.

A monster.

It was the first time in my life that thought had ever crossed my mind. I turned my head and looked up at the thug boss. His eyes were murderous. He drew the sword from his waist.

"You're the one who pulled a blade first."

"No!!"

Aera's cry rang out as the boss's sword came for me.

Is this how I die? Like this?

"Stop!"

The voice from outside the door froze the boss's blade mid-swing. I looked toward the sound.

Aiham was standing there.