New Beginning Part 3

"Was this wolf a demon?" Joshua asked himself. Deciding there would be no answers if he didn't seek them out, he stood up and attempted to free his blade from the wolf's skull. He placed one of his feet at the base and pulled as hard as he could while wiggling the blade back and forth.

As the blade was liberated, he fell back again landing on his backside. His sword in front of his face. He did not know if it was the waning hours of daylight or what, but his sword appeared a tiny bit longer and it seemed that some of the rust had been removed. One of the cracks on the guard had been fixed as well.

He stood up again and dusted himself off. With now having eleven points of strength, he was able to lift the wolf with a bit of ease, still it was nearly the size of his body. He grabbed the front to legs of the beast and slung it behind his back. He was resolved to make it back to the city before darkness fell.

He arrived as the last hour of twilight faded. The city guards stopped him.

"What is this?" A guard asked. "Is that the demon of the woods? You actually killed the demon of the woods? How is this possible? Many have tried and all have failed."

"It was a difficult battle." Joshua said, not wanting to just say it was dumb luck that the wolf fell perfectly on his blade and killed itself. "In the end it was just no match for me."

"Impressive." The other guard said. "You are going to want to take that to the adventurer's guild. There is quite the bounty on that one. In fact, allow me to escort you, you can never be too safe."

"Thanks." Joshua said. "I would appreciate the help."

The two of them then walked to the adventurer's guild, to the stares of the citizens that remained on the street. The guard opened the double doors to the guild.

Joshua carried his wolf carcass and placed it on the counter. "One demon of the woods." He said as he put it down. "I understand there is a reward for this one."

The girl behind the counter was shocked and amazed that this boy of skin and bone was able to slay a beast that had haunted the city for over a year. "You kill it yourself? Really? Are you even a registered adventurer?"

"I am not." Joshua said. "I was hoping that this would be a good way for me to get my foot in the door."

"Completing an A-ranked mission before even joining would definitely make a name for yourself." She replied. "I just can't believe the horrors this beast has caused is now over. I have sent too many good men to their deaths over him, each thinking they would be the one for the prize.

Well, let's get you registered. Please give me your status plate."

Joshua placed his ID on the table and slid it over to her. She picked it up and looked it over.

"So, you have a skill named demon slayer." She said. "No wonder you were able to succeed where so others failed. I didn't even know a skill such as that existed. Are you really only level ten? I thought most young adults were at least in their thirties and that wolf has killed adventurers over level seventy.

Your stats are weird though. Normally when you level, whatever you were doing at the time causes an increase in the associated stat. It seems like you get plus one to all stats on level up, so your level is very misleading."

"That is good to know." Joshua said. "I honestly had no idea."

"Here is your guild card." She said, sliding it to him. "You will be starting as a D-rank hunter, congratulations. Normally a new blood like you would start at G-rank, but considering you're a-rank completion, you get an earlier promotion."

Joshua picked it up and looked at it.

"It will allow you to take on any quest of your wish from the board as long as it is C-rank or below." She explained. "Please refrain from attempting any more A-rank quests, I would not like to see someone with your potential to die early."

"I will thank you." Joshua said.

"As for your reward, here is part of it." She slid a pouch of coins over to Joshua. "Ten gold coins."

"How much is a gold coin exactly?" Joshua asked. "I have never seen one before."

"Oh, that's normal for a low birth peasant." She said. "One gold coin is worth one hundred large silver coins which are each worth one hundred silver coins."

"So, this reward is one hundred thousand silver?!" Joshua asked, surprised. "Seriously that much?!"

"Yes, it was a high paying quest because of its dangerous aspects and the length of time it was posted." She explained. "I would strongly recommend you invest in better equipment. Tattered clothes and a rusted sword won't get you very far."

"I will." Joshua said. "Thank you. I will be back tomorrow for another quest."

[I can't believe it! I am special!] He thought to himself. [But this amount of money isn't enough. I need to increase it. In stories and games, the best way to make a large fortune even larger is using it to invest in businesses. They get a boost in income and in return you get a share of the profits from then on out. It is always best to set up that passive income early in an adventure so that it pays the most money.

Still, I need to at least give one of the gold coins to my mother so that she can move out of that pervert's basement. She should be able to live on that coin for a year or two comfortably. I will be able to make way more money by then.]

Joshua walked home with the money held tightly in his hand. He did not want to risk losing his valuable earnings to any thieves or bandits.

He arrived home to find his mother working hard over the kitchen fire, preparing a stew with whatever scraps she was able to collect from the lord's meal.

"Welcome home baby." His mother said smiling, stirring her iron cauldron. "Did you have a good day?"

"I did." Joshua said. He walked over to the table near his mother and placed a gold coin down on the table. "Some would say I had a very good day."

"I-i-is that a g-g-g-gold coin?!" His mother said, gasping. "How in the world did you get one of those?!"

"I am an adventurer now, mom." Joshua said. "Having this much money is nothing to an adventurer. I want you to be able to live happily and free from this lord. I want you to be able to eat fresh good food, not just scraps from the lord. Please allow me to take care of you as you took care of me."

"Sweety!" His mother yelled, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tightly. "You are the best son any mother could ever ask for. Sweet, caring, and financially stable, there is nothing else a mother wants in a child. I am proud of you."

Those words could not help but move Joshua's heart. In his past life he was always a disappointment to his parents. To hear his new mother say who proud she was, caused his heart to flutter.

"Thank you." He said as he hugged her back. "Find a new house tomorrow, okay? And never work for this lord again."

"I will son." She said. "I will!"

The stew finished and they sat down to eat the last scrap soup they would ever ingest. After dinner they retired to their beds and slept until the rooster's crow.