First Quest

Vivian felt a bright and shining heat prickling her eyes and skin, causing her to slowly open her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was the sun's rays shining through a window and the clothes hanging on it.

Her brows knitted together.

The scenery didn't look familiar and the smell was different. On top of that, it was also a bit noisy but the voices were speaking in a different language and there wasn't the familiar sound of cars, trucks and motorcycles running. 

Where am I…?

She tossed to the side to look around her surroundings.

"Ugh…!" she let out a soft groan due to her body feeling stiff and there was a sharp pain in her neck, shoulder, elbow, ribs and hips.

"What the fuck...?"

"Why is my bed so hard…?"

Upon seeing the rest of her surroundings, her eyes blinked a couple of times before it finally dawned on her.

"Oh… Right… I'm in a different world…"

She slowly got up and sat down.

Pop.

Pop.

She stretched and her body made popping sounds.

She then tried to reach out for her phone from the side. But after a few taps, she stopped.

Tch.

She clicked her tongue.

"Right… I'm in a different world…"

She stared at the clothes hanging by the window.

I really can't tell the time…

But judging from the position of the sun and its heat, I'm guessing it's still morning…

And plus, no one has come here to wake me up...

I only rented this room for the night, after all...

She got up and got dressed.

***

As Vivian climbed down the stairs, she noticed that the main hall was filled with people having breakfast.

She left nothing that she owned inside her room and had her hair tied into a ponytail.

She dropped by the counter.

"Hi, good morning. I'm here to drop this off," Vivian said and placed the hotel key on top of the counter.

Just like yesterday, the black woman was sitting behind the counter and wiping herself.

She turned to Vivian.

"Good morning, too, Copper."

"I also left the bucket and cloth in the room."

"No problem."

"By the way, can I pass by the kitchen to draw water from the well?"

"Sure."

"Thank you," Vivian said and smiled before leaving and heading to the back.

***

Splash!

Vivian splashed her face with cold well water.

She didn't use soap because she didn't have enough money and was saving it only for baths.

She looked around her surroundings.

Vivian was standing near the well and there were other people around, both men and women. Most of them were here to do their morning routine just like her, while a few were here to cook.

Among the people who were here to do their morning routine, the majority of them had their own buckets or shared one and she had no idea if they owned it or if they borrowed it.

As for Vivian, she was using the bucket that was used for drawing water from the well and nobody seemed to mind so she just continued.

She took out her green stick and began discreetly cleaning her teeth with it.

Please don't bleed…

Please don't bleed…

Please don't bleed…

After cleaning her teeth, she scooped a handful of water and then spat it on the ground.

She let out a deep sigh of relief when she saw there was no blood.

She put her green stick away and headed back inside the tavern.

What about using the toilet?

For number 1, she decided that would just use it after breakfast because she didn't want to lose her appetite.

Meanwhile, for number 2, she plans to earn money to rent a room in a better tavern, inn or hotel later. She absolutely had no intention whatsoever of using the public toilet here.

***

Vivian sat down at one of the empty tables and waitresses approached her.

"Hi, what can I get you?" the waitress said and handed over the menu to her.

Seeing the menu, Vivian recalled that she couldn't read the words of this world, causing her to suddenly feel a little bit tired.

After all, back in her original world, the literacy rate was so high. And even if someone encounters a language that they can't read, there's always the phone to help them translate it.

It was only now she experienced how inconvenient it was not being able to read.

"Can you recommend me something that's a little bit light on the stomach but good enough to start the day for adventuring?"

"Okay, coming right up," the waitress said and then turned around to leave.

"Wait! Please wait."

The waitress stopped and returned her gaze to her.

"How much is it?" Vivian asked.

"3 copper coins."

"I see. Thank you."

"No problem," the waitress said and then left.

Vivian let out a sigh.

I really need to learn how to read…

Once I have a stable source of income, I'm going to hire someone to tutor me…

***

Vivian was walking down the street and on her way to the Adventurer's Guild building.

From afar, she could see that there were a number of people dressed in full gear waiting outside the entrance but she didn't think it was strange or anything.

She continued walking until she finally reached the entrance and stopped.

What the hell…?

There were already a number of people dressed in full gear waiting by the entrance to begin with. But when she saw the main hall, it was packed.

What's going on…?

Vivian turned to one of the people waiting outside the entrance.

"Hi, excuse me."

A man in his late teens with a silver-colored pendant around his neck engraved with the initials "II" wearing a set of leather armor and carrying a sword, shield and a dagger looked at her. 

"Hi, I'm new here. Can I ask what's going on?"

The man raised an eyebrow but then let out a chuckle after he noticed the copper-colored pendant engraved with the initials "I" around Vivian's neck.

"They're waiting for a new batch of Quests to be posted at the Quest Board, rookie."

"I see. Thank you," Vivian said and smiled before entering the building.

Vivian found herself in the main hall and she swept her gaze around her surroundings.

There were so many people waiting and chatting in the main hall that most of the people were standing.

However, she noticed a couple of interesting things.

At one corner of the room, she saw one of the boys that she met back in the forest. It was the suspicious one or the one with a mace. He was talking with a girl the same age as him who was carrying a spear and had a copper-colored pendant around her neck.

She saw another familiar face. It was the group of Gold Rank adventurers that told her to get out of the way yesterday. They were sitting down at the seats and talking with themselves and other adventurers who were also Gold rank.

She also saw the good-looking Silver rank group that shared a table with her last night. The boy was standing, while the two girls were sitting down. They too were talking among themselves and with other adventurers. But compared to the previous group, they were talking with Copper, Silver and 2 Gold rank adventurers.

And lastly, she noticed that a number of adventurers were gathered near a large board.

I guess that must be the Quest Board…?

"Make way! Make way!" a male voice shouted near one of the counters and there was a commotion.

Vivian turned her head to look at what was happening.

A group of adventurers were trying their best to let a woman dressed in the Adventurer's Guild personnel uniform carrying a stack of papers pass while simultaneously still staying close to her.

"Hey, stop pushing!" shouted a man.

A man got pushed away and almost tripped.

"Ouch! You stepped on my foot!" cried out a woman.

"Someone touched my butt!" a man cried out but his tone sounded like he enjoyed it, causing the adventurers around him to take a step away. Meanwhile, the adventurers behind them immediately inserted themselves in front like a snake.

The woman carrying the stack of papers continued walking until she finally reached one of the boards plastered on the wall. And once she began posting each paper on the board, the adventurers became even more lively.

"I can dibs on that one! I dare any to take that from me!" a man shouted as he pointed at one of the papers pinned on the board.

"Shut the fuck up! It's first come, first serve!" replied another man.

"Hey, stop pushing! I can't breathe!" cried out another woman.

"Then go to the back!" replied another man.

"Like I would!"

When the woman carrying the stack of papers was finally done posting and then left, all hell broke loose. So many adventurers gathered around the board and were pushing each other, causing some of the adventures in front to get pressed against the board. There were also a few hands ripping out the papers from the board.

Seeing the scene, Vivian's mouth was left open.