Meal

"State your name and purpose, please." A guard asked. 

"Vega, Kiran, I'm just here to rest up for a while." Vega clarified. 

"Vega? Weird name. But whatever, go through," he yawned. 

Passing through the town's main gate, he was finally able to catch sight of the actual interior. 

With its open, symmetric paved streets and Renaissance-style buildings on each side, Cleargate seemed well-developed.

[You've entered the city of Cleargate! Your current exploration rate of the planet Livian has reached 1%.] 

[Your class, Novice Vagabond (Unique), begins to resonate with your exploration rate. Congratulations on completing the first Milestone in the Vagabond class. ]

[+10 levels, 10 gold coins, Skill 'Wanderer's Dilemma'.]

In an instant, a surge of power coursed through Vega's entire being. He felt a cold, invisible energy move throughout his body, awaiting his command. 

[Name: Vega Kiran

Age: 19

Level: 10

Title: True Earthling (Unique)

Class: Novice Vagabond

Species: Human

Strength: 8

Constitution: 7

Dexterity: 10

Intelligence: 8 

Wisdom: 12

Charm: 8 

Unallocated stats: 100

Skills: Wanderer's dilemma, ???

Bloodline: ???]

For the first time since being kidnapped into this new world, he opened his status screen. 

Considering that he had already been here for an hour or so, it seemed ridiculous that he hadn't opened it till now. 

The first thing that 99% of other players did was check their status when they awakened at their starting point. But the ignorant Vega chose to wait only till now. 

Looking at the blue window, Vega didn't really know exactly what anything meant. He had no concept of how long it took to level up just one time. 

Although he knew what his stats stood for, he didn't know what the numbers after them represented. 

He did see that he had 100 unallocated start points, so without much knowledge, he invested about 16 points into every stat besides wisdom, in which he invested 17 points. 

[Strength: 24

Constitution: 23

Dexterity: 26

Intelligence: 24

Wisdom: 29

Charm: 24

Unallocated stats: 0]

Except for Wisdom, which was only doubled, he effectively tripled his other stats. 

The cold energy that had been coursing through his body was now assimilated within himself. 

Instead of that chilling feeling, a warm sensation began to rise within his body and mind, causing a sense of ecstasy. 

Vega had to shake himself awake to get out of the trance he almost fell into. It seemed he'd have to be careful with leveling up, the feeling of it was simply too addictive. 

What currently caught his attention, though, was the new skill he received from completing the first milestone of being a Vagabond. 

[Wanderer's dilemma (Unique passive): Life gets boring, doesn't it? Doing the same thing over and over again every day. The life of a wanderer, though, is filled with excitement at every turn.]

The description was vague, but Vega certainly didn't like what the skill description was implying. Excitement and trouble go hand in hand, he just hoped nothing would happen too soon. 

"Um, excuse me, sir..." A small girl asked. 

Looking down, he saw the figure of a child in brown rags. She was frail, and covered in dirt; it was apparently clear that her situation wasn't the greatest. 

"What's up?" Vega asked with an inviting smile. 

"I was, um. Wondering if you could spare some change for me…" she asked. 

"Oh yeah, of course," Vega replied without thinking. 

He reached into his back pocket only to realize that his wallet was gone. That's right, he wasn't on earth anymore. 

Looking through his inventory, he saw that he gained a pouch containing 10 gold coins from his class milestone. 

He certainly had enough to give one to the girl, but even he knew that it would probably cause some issues. 

Handing a gold coin to a little girl who had no means of protection would basically set a target on her back. 

"Um, I don't exactly have any spare change on me right now. Do you know any good restaurants?" Vega asked. 

"Oh… If you're looking for a good restaurant, the Moonlight Tavern is pretty good, I've heard." She answered. 

"Sounds perfect. Could you take me there? I'll buy you anything you want from the menu as a reward, how about it?" Vega asked. 

In an instant, her dim eyes brightened with the shine of a thousand suns, and without hesitation, she started pulling him through the streets of Cleargate. 

It took a few minutes of walking through the winding streets before they stumbled upon a humble restaurant in the backwaters of the town. 

Much different from the area near the main gate, this part of town was a lot dirtier, with old shabby houses and dirt streets. 

He was honestly worried that he was about to get robbed, but the restaurant seemed legit, and although it was the shabby side of town, he rationalized the girl bringing him here due to her not knowing any other restaurant. 

Entering the tavern, he was met with a cozy sight of wooden tables, and chairs filled with customers who were enjoying their food after a day's work. 

Seeing as it was only the two of you, the little girl led you to the bar area, where the both of you sat down. 

"You said I could get anything from the menu, right, mister?" She asked. 

"You have my word," Vega responded. 

In all honesty, Vega wasn't sure about the worth behind his gold coins, but reason demanded that it must've been substantial. He just hoped it was at least enough to pay for their meals. 

When a server came around, the girl hurriedly ordered a dish of "Braised and roasted scronge" and "Hindberry juice." 

Vega, on the other hand, only ordered some water, he had gotten pretty thirsty during his hour-long walk here. 

"So, what's your name, little miss?" Vega asked. 

"Lily. What about you?" she asked while swinging her legs. It was clear she was impatiently waiting for her food. 

"Vega. Have you eaten here before?" he asked. 

"Only once or twice, I think. I only ordered the cheapest things, though," she said excitedly. 

"Speaking of which, just how much does your meal cost?" He asked. 

She paused for a moment, before nervously replying, "It's 80 bronze coins…" 

"80 bronze, huh. Alright, not bad." Vega responded. 

Bronze was usually the lowest denominator of currency, so Vega sighed in relief that he could pay for the meal. 

"By chance, what currency do you use here?" Vega asked. 

She looked at you with some confusion before her eyes opened in realization. 

"Are you from the south, Mister?" She asked. 

"Maybe, how could you tell?" He lied. 

"Your skin color, of course! I thought it was a tan at first, but when you asked about our currency, I knew you weren't from here." She said proudly. 

"That's pretty smart of you, kid. But I still need to know about your currency." He clarified. 

"Well, first we have bronze coins, then silver, gold, and finally platinum. Each subsequent metal is 100 of the previous one. So 100 bronze coins equals 1 silver, and so forth," she explained. 

Vega made sure to note that down in his mind, before thanking Lily. They talked idly for a little while, with him asking questions about the town. 

After a while the server came out of the kitchen, holding a large bowl of meat, vegetables, and what seemed to be bread. 

As soon as the bowl hit the table, she dug into her meal, stuffing her face with food. Although Vega didn't know of her living situation, it was clear from her thin structure that she was malnourished. 

It made him feel good that he was able to help someone in need. Despite that, though he wasn't a saint, after this he would probably never see her again. 

Although the bowl of food was larger than her head, it took her only a few minutes to eat everything on her plate. 

Vega was almost worried that she'd choke, but the mug of hindberry juice must've helped her get everything down smoothly. 

Seeing as it was nearly time for the two of them to depart, he called over the server to pay for their food and leave. 

"Your total comes out to about 85 bronze coins," he stated. 

Without a single thought, he brought out a single gold coin from his inventory, hoping the restaurant had enough change to give him. 

It took only a few moments, however, for her to register the coin, and a few moments later to snatch it from his hands, rushing out the door. 

It took a little bit of time for Vega to realize what had just happened. 

"Did I just get fucking robbed..."