Ch-2 Part-1: A Rebeginner's Starter Money

"Yaawn.."

"Oh, you feelin' sleepy, lad?"

I was currently hitching a ride on a farmer's wagon whom I'd saved from a small gang of bandits in a forest.

He was headed back to his town after participating in a trade fair in a faraway city. It seemed that he earned quite a fortune in the trade fair, and so he became a perfect prey for hungry bandits.

"Mr. Hesub, I didn't know wagons can be so rocky."

"Ahh, that's because the road is not levelled properly here. Or could it be because of the wagon's wheels? Well anyway, I am sorry for making you sit above the wagon. Unfortunately my wagon's full of farming tools and grains, so..."

Yup, I was sitting above the wagon. Not that I didn't hate it, but it's irritating to have your head get brushed by the tree leaves a bunch of times.

"No worries, mister. I am also sorry for making you to give me a ride to your town."

"Ah don't worry about that. You did save me from those bandits from before. Could it be that you're an adventurer?"

It was quite awkward to be called an adventurer when I haven't even registered for a job in a guild.

In other words, I am jobless.

"Well, um.. I am planning to be one — I guess."

"Nowadays, young kids are all about going to adventures and save common people, aren't they? Haha."

That's quite the cliched thinking you've got there, old man. But it'd be better if i just leave it be.

"You don't say.." And with that, I continued watching the trees and the birds while lying down above the wagon.

Now then, it's the perfect time for me to go through my list about the changes I've noticed and learnt so far about this world.

The current year's 1478 in Magicafaria.

Which is really very astonishing because back in the beta version, it was 667.

In other words, it's been more than six hundred years since I've visited this world.

In our real world, 600 years would be enough for human society to develop into something advanced — unimaginable to the current generation. And yet, this world doesn't seem much different from before.

Wait, I might be getting ahead of myself, since I've only been hunting monsters for three hours in this forest after landing in this world. I still have the towns and cities to inspect.

Next in the list is the experience gained from defeating monsters.

Back then, even a beginner was able to reach Lv 5 just by defeating ten young jungle hounds of Lv 1 or Lv 2, but now I've reached only Lv 2 after defeating about thirty random monsters. Plus, all of them were of levels ranging from four to seven.

Seriously, what's wrong with the 'experience gain' setting of this world?

But those are the least of my concerns. My greatest concern was...

To not being able to use any magic skill properly!

Every time I tried to use a low caliber magic I learned back in the beta version, it stops in between. Furthermore, my body gets numb and dizzy after every try.

Thanks to this magic-nullifying gun and mini crossbow, I was able to survive the forest, but I don't know what'll happen later.

"This isn't the new life I desired. Whoever it is, please give me back my previous avatar." I mumbled dejectedly.

"Oh, laddie, look! The town has come into view!" I sat up and turned front to see the town I was headed to.

The town was well surrounded by dark-brown stone walls, with very few watch posts on the walls. The gate was wide open, as if they didn't had any fear from a sudden monster invasion or such. Guards outside the gate were inspecting people with wagons who seemed to be merchants and tourists from other regions. Few children were even playing tag near the gate.

The whole scenario felt as if this town welcomed anyone who visited here.

"Oh, Mr. Hesub, how did the trade fair go?" One of the guards asked the farmer, Mr. Hesub.

"It went way better than I expected, Rig!" Exclaimed Mr. Hesub happily.

"Wait, who's that girl with the messy scarf above your wagon?"

"Ah, is that so? I humbly apologize for my scarf being messy." I muttered.

"Oh, the laddie's name's Rayka. She was looking for the nearest civilization so I brought her here. And listen to this, she saved me from a gang of bandits and defeated them by herself!"

The guards had an amazed expression.

"Um.. hello..?" I greeted them.

"That's great, girl! What's your business in this town?"

"Um, I wanted to find a job at a guild so.."

"Oh, then you're at the right place. Welcome to our town, Riberfree!"

"Ah, yes. Um.. Thanks. Looking forward to my visit here." Riberfree huh, quite the odd name.

-Riberfree-

"Ah, laddie. Just wanted to ask you but what's with that huge bag you brought along with you?"

Mr. Hesub asked, pointing at the bag which had all my monster drop items and the equipments and clothes which I received from RifRits Entertainment.

"Ah, these are just some stuff for trade, I guess. Anyways, Mr. Hesub, are there any shops here dealing with armor or weapons or magic items?"

- - - change of POV - - -

"Good job everyone-! Come and collect your pay for the day."

The boss announced the end of the workday. I headed towards the boss to receive the pay, bowed and thanked him.

With this money, I'll go and eat some crysberry pie in the guild. Yes!

"You sure are energetic even after cutting down so many trees, Tia — despite being only the age of thirteen." My acquaintance from work said to me.

"You all are just being more relaxed and languid. Put your guts to it, and you won't feel lazy."

I am Tia Cezha, a player of AWA, and am currently living in a lodge located on the west side of Riberfree. After my lumberjack job, I headed to the Guild as usual to eat some freshly baked crysberry pie.

In the real world, I am a 7th grader who grew up living in a rich and protected household. Because of my strict household, I was never made to do household chores, and thus doing random works like woodcutting, construction, waitress, etc in this virtual world felt like a total new experience.

"Mmmm~! Crysberry pies are the best! Ms. Hefa, seconds please!"

I called out the waitress, Hefa, who stood ready with a covered plate.

"I knew you'd say that, so there you go."

The dish inside the plate unexpectedly happened to be an another serving of crysberry pie.

"Woah, as expected of big sis' Hefa! You know me so well... Nom,nom~"

I like this place. The people here are good and kind-hearted. The food made here is great. Plus, the existence of magic in this world is so wonderful.

Plus there aren't any other players here. It makes me feel like this town belongs to me only.

"Ah, Tia! I knew you'd be here. How'd the woodcutting work go?"

"Hmm.. it was fine, I guess. But one has to be careful when the chopped tree falls down, or he may get crushed, Kakah."

This boy here is Kakah, a human of this virtual world, and my first friend in this virtual world - also the same age as me.

He's a medium-tier swordsman specializing in wielding short swords, and steps outside the town to hunt for monsters nearby the town during the daytime. He returns before sunset and earns his living by selling the drop items received by defeating the monsters.

"Hmm, maybe I should work once in a while as well.. what do you think, Tia?" Kakah said, staring at his pouch full of earnings from today's monster hunt with exhausted eyes.

That much should be enough for him to live without working for two weeks, at the very least. Yet this boy wants to work more.

"With your level and skills, you'll face no problems with any kind of laborwork, I guess..."

"Okay then, Tia," He said, while standing up, completely energized, "I'll be looking forward to working with you tomorrow."

Despite not intending to crush his expectations, I said, "Ah, sorry, but I decided to take the day off tomorrow."

He quickly slumped above the table and glared at me grumpily, and said:

"You always do this. Everytime I suggest something we can do together, you reject them straight up. If that's how much this friendship means to you, then..."

"Ahh-aahhhh okay, okay! Let's do our best tomorrow, Kakah!"

"Yay!" He quickly revived back.

It was a miracle that I was able to befriend him. If he stops being friends with me, I have no other kids of my age in this town to talk with, anyway. No way I'm going to let that happen.

Then we both talked about our usual topics like the day's earnings, any funny incidents, future events, and more. Followed by eating dinner at the guild, along with hearing the thrilling and heroic stories of the adult adventurers seating nearby us.

"Ok then, I'll be heading to the weapon shop. Later, Kakah."

"Again? Haven't you earned enough yet to buy that crossbow? If you want, I can give you some money from my side."

"No, no, that won't be necessary. Because I finally have earned enough money to buy that."

_At the weapon shop_

"HAAH!?"

Having a shocked expression wasn't very common in shops dealing with weapons & magic items, since the ones who enter here in such shops to buy the equipments keep minimum information about the possible costs of the equipments. Well, this is only based on my own personal experiences..

But that's only when the shop owner does his job sincerely.

"Don't 'haah' me little girl. It's as I've said." The weapon shop's owner said to me.

"B-but, before you said that that crossbow costs 35,000 tyches, a-and now you suddenly said that its cost increased to 43,000 tyches..."

"Well, it can't be helped if its cost rose up. You just have to come back later with more money, little girl."

"B-but.."

"You understand?" The owner smiled at me intimidatingly.

"....Yes.."

I decided to leave the shop quietly, with my head lowered. I mean, I can't help it. I am terrible at negotiating so I just agreed to buy the bow at the price fixed by the shop.

But now, they increased the price of the bow. How can he do this?

As I walked out, the people looking at the weapons displayed inside the shop started to murmur. They must be probably talking about me, making fun of me internally - or so I felt from their mocking stares.

No matter which world I go, there will always be adults like them, won't there be?

.......

"Now... what's with the uneasy atmosphere here?"

As I was about to leave the shop, another girl entered the shop - dragging a huge, heavy bag.

"Uh.. you're a customer?" The owner asked the girl who entered.

"Hmm... More or less, I guess.."

The girl seemed to be around the age of 15-17. Her slightly unruly, brown hair went further down her shoulders. Her outfit looked like the ones beginner adventurers wore.

Meanwhile, I was the only one in normal clothing inside the shop - including the shop owner as well.

"So what do you want to buy, girl? We got pretty decent weapons here.."

"Oh, I am not here to buy."

"Hmm..?"

"I am here to sell."

Upon hearing that, I was surprised - unlike the others in the shop who seemed to be already aware of this kind of trade. I can't help it, since I've never seen someone selling their equipments before like this. This is too based on my experiences..

"Girl, do you have a sales permit?" The owner questioned.

"Heh... Mister, one doesn't need a sales permit to sell items to the shopkeeper."

Eh? Really?

"Mmm.. you seem to be experienced in this, girl."

"Is it? This is technically my first time, though.."

"Well then, what do you want to sell?"

Then the girl lifted up the bag she dragged all the way in, dropped it above the counter table, and said:

"Everything in this bag-!"

The owner took his time, slowly untying the simple knot which fastened the mouth of the bag. As he slowly untied it, the contents inside the bag started to release an enormous amount of magic.

"WO-WOAH!!"

The owner was astonished. Even I'd never seen him with that astonished expression before.

Upon noticing the owner's astonishment, the other adults at the shop too crowded near the girl to check what she had. They too were shocked. I too walked up to her to see for myself as well, and didn't believe the stuff she had brought.

Every weapon in the bag were strong and authentic. None of them seemed to be old or used before. Plus, all of them were crafted out of rare minerals and were infused with strong magic.

"Wow, girl, from where did you get these?" The owner exclaimed.

"Sorry, but I can't tell you that." The girl chuckled.

For some reason, since she had entered this shop, her smile hasn't wavered even a bit - making her even more intimidating in a different kind of way.

"To sell them all is such a waste, you sure about selling them?"

"Yes!"

"Selling them at the city would earn you even more, you really sure about this?"

"Yes!"

"Hey, girl.. you didn't hit your head, did you?"

"Nope!" Her smile stiffened a little here.

So the weapons she's selling are so much worth that the possibility that she could've hit her head arose?

"Oh well then, how much money do you expect for these?"

"Hmmm.. if I were to say, based on my little knowledge about them, I expect..."

I didn't know if what she said was a lie or not, but what I do know is that no one who knows about those weapons would sell them in a normal weapon's shop — like this, for example.

Then the girl said: ".. 500,000 tyches! Or something.."

I was shocked upon hearing that amount of money, but the other people inside the shop nodded their heads in agreement as if the amount of money was agreeable and obvious.

With that much, one can even buy a house in this town!

Subconsciously, I remembered that my total earnings till now sum up to 50,000 tyches.

I dropped on the floor, terribly regretting about comparing the money she would have compared to me.

"Hey girl, you serious?" The owner said with a puzzled expression.

"Come on mister, I even lessened the amount of money for these stuff. Plus, I'd never expect an average shop like this to have that amount of money to even spare."

Wait, what's she talking about? You mean that wasn't the actual possible amount for those weapons? If so, then why did the other people nodded their heads in agreement?

"Well that's true. Normally these would cost around 800,000 tyches - and our shop can obviously not pay for that.."

"800,000 tyches!! Even a minor noble family wouldn't possess that much money!" I literally yelled inside my head.

"Also I won't lower the amount." She interrupted the owner before he could've said something.

"But I don't have that much money on me currently. I will not be able to buy all of these."

"Really? You don't want all of them? Think again, mister. What'll happen when adventures will hear that this town - no, this shop has such powerful weapons? They'll surely swarm here and be prepared to pay any price.. and then you may earn even more than what you expect.. I am only willing to sell these for 500,000 tyches, but mister, with your merchant skills, you might even be able to sell them for a million tyches!"

This girl is totally trying to tempt the owner into buying the weapons. Furthermore, one million!! Even I have yet to see that sum of money back in the real world!

"But unfortunately I don't have that much money on me...." The owner replied in disappointment.

Then the girl looked around, glancing over every tools and weapons — simultaneously glancing over the other people as well, including me.

"Ok then.." she finished looking around and said, while pointing her index finger at the crossbow I wanted to buy, "what's the cost of that crossbow over there?"

..... Heh?

"Um.. that will cost you 43,000 tyches.."

"And how much do those two short daggers and those twenty mini knives cost?"

"Um.. 5,000 for each short dagger.. and 2,000 for each mini knive, so... that'd be 50,000 tyches."

"Alright then, give me that crossbow, the two short daggers and the twenty mini knives and I'll reduce the amount by 400,000 tyches."

Heh?!

Ever since coming to this town and noticing the crossbow, I'd worked very hard in earning money by doing construction work, serving meals at restaurants, cutting trees, aiding the farmers in harvesting, and much more.

And yet, this girl plans in buying that crossbow as well?!

Oh well, what's the worse that could happen? Might as well give up in buying that crossbow. And with that, I've lost the motive to work anymore to earn money.

The owner agreed to her idea and the negotiations came to a close. The transactions went well, and both sides looked happy with the result.

Whereas, I was probably looking unhappy. Goodbye, crossbow..

The girl who brought the crossbow then walked slowly towards me. I thought of walking away, but for some reason, my body felt heavy.

I couldn't move my legs. To be precise, I felt too tired to move them. Was it because of the overwhelming money exchange I'd watched just now?

It can't be helped. Even the past me who was unaware of the hardwork invested in earning money would've been slightly shocked after watching that money exchange.

The girl came closer, and as I rose my head up, she said: "You wanted this crossbow, right?"

Everyone else inside the shop looked at us, except the owner who was too busy in appraising the weapons individually.

"Uh.. ummm.." Not knowing what to answer in this situation, I mumbled.

"Don't worry, here! You can have it! I don't need any money for it." She said as she held the crossbow towards me.

"No, no, no, no. Y-You brought that weapon, so it's yours.."

"But I bought this to give it to you."

"..Um.. what?"

"Like I said, I am giving it to you, so it's yours now. Think of it as a token of acquaintanceship between us." She said with a wide grin.

I slowly extended my hands forward to accept the crossbow from her. As I received it, I thanked her sincerely.

"Hmm.. glad to know you liked it. My name's Rayka Miler. Just call me Rayka. What's yours?"

"Um.. T-T-Tia Cezha."

"Great! Tia it is, then!"

Both of us forged the beginning of a new acquaintanceship between us. Before I thought of her as intimidating, but now I thought that I might be able to get along with her.

"Well then I'll be go- what? Is there something wrong with my face or something?"

She asked as if my gaze was directed to her face. Well of course I did stared at her face - to be precise, I stared at her neck mostly. And as of the reason for me staring at her face and neck region, well...

"Um.. Rayka..?"

"What?"

I somewhat noticed it when she entered the shop, but now that I'm seeing it up close, I saw it even better.

"Um.. what's with that messy scarf?"

For some reason, her smile stiffened again.

[TO BE CONTINUED]

Back in the forest-

Bandit 1: That girl!.. O-Ouch, ouch, do it nicely!

Bandit 2: (Applying medicine to bandit 1's wounds) It's your fault to not have withdrawn back then. Also don't move!

Bandit 3: So... Shall we inform about this to the higher-ups?

Bandit 4: Yeah! And then let's get back at that girl.

Bandit 1: Mmhmm. We will depart for our base at Riberfree tomorrow in the morning!