The Inn

"This ain't it chief..."

It really wasn't, Tobias was left feeling sour and weak after his fight with the thugs. He still didn't have any money, and it was almost dark out. All Tobias wanted to do was research the so-called blessing that he received, but that wouldn't be a priority until he had a place to stay.

"I refuse to be homeless!"

Luckily, the thugs he had defeated had loot drops! Well, most people would refer to them as "pockets." Once he received his loot, consisting of a combat knife and 23 copper coins, Tobias ended up leaving the bad part of town. In his words,

"I won't be able to progress unless I have a place to stay..."

So, Tobias set out in search of an Inn! One problem though, although he could speak the language of this world, he couldn't read it. Tobias ended up searching until what seemed to be midnight, entering random places, and asking things such as: "Is this an inn?"

Although Tobias could have asked where an inn is located, the thought didn't even cross his mind. If he was reading a novel and the protagonist did this, he'd probably be screaming at the screen!

Luckily, he chanced upon an inn before things got dangerous. The exterior of the inn was simple, made of wood with a large green sign on the front, and wedged between two other buildings.

The inside, however, was much less normal. The first impression that Tobias had of the interior could be summed up with the word "unpleasant."

"Yuck..." he muttered.

Every table within the main area was a dust breeding ground, there were bottles of liquor laid across the floor, and food stains had littered the vicinity. Aside from the area around the reception desk, which was as clean as it gets, the place was horrible.

Even so, Tobias continued forward and arrived at the reception desk.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

The only reason Tobias was certain of the fact that this was an inn was: if it was clean it would resemble every single fictional inn he had ever seen.

"Err, a customer...?" a deep, raspy voice had called out.

After a series of heavy footsteps, a man came out from the door behind the reception desk.

Having seen the man, Tobias already gave him a nickname in his head, "King Kong." He looked to be two hundred centimeters tall, his arm muscles were easily the size of an eight-year-old child, and his aged hair protruded from his nose, eyebrows, and chin.

'Although his legs seem to be a little stubby...'

Noticing that Tobias started daydreaming after taking in his appearance, the man retorted in disgust, "Look, I know my plaid flannel is a bit too tight, and my jeans a bit too baggy, but you shouldn't judge someone based on how they look. Unless you're here for a room, leave!"

Tobias immediately let out a flinch in response. The man he was staring at had to be a seasoned warrior, Tobias wasn't a wimp!

'Yeah! I'm not a wimp, his killing intent is just a bit too strong!'

Upon receiving weak confirmation of his manhood, Tobias then did his best to look the man in the eyes and give a confident response.

"I'm here for a room!"

Tobias expected the inn receptionist to suddenly become amicable and start listing room prices, following the typical cliche. However, he just looked a bit confused.

"Have you not heard the rumors regarding this establishment of mine?"

"Nope!" Tobias responded.

Internally though, Tobias was ecstatic.

'This man is definitely a major character! Rumors regarding his establishment? Ha! Such a cliche storyline, I'm one-hundred-percent sure he is an innocent, kind person now!"

The receptionist seemed to get a bit nervous at this and ushered Tobias over to a stool by one of the tables.

After clearing the table of dust and taking a seat by the very same table, he said, "Young lad, come take a seat and I'll go ahead and explain..."

Tobias took a seat and perked his ears, hoping to gain some useful information from this conversation.

"First off, you can call this old man 'Andro'"

"Got it, you can call me Tobi."

Tobi had been Tobias's nickname in the other world. He decided to use it in this one too, he had been a big fan of the show 'Boruto's Dad,' and loved a character that went by the same name.

"Okay, kid," Andro said with a chuckle, "I might as well tell you the rumor first."

"Spill it."

Taking the time to clear his throat, Andro was sending signs out to Tobias that this was gonna be a long talk, which Tobias figured he should prepare his mind for.

"So you see... this inn has existed since ancient times, renovated and remodeled a ton, sure, but it had been the first home to many heroes over the centuries. I inherited it at the age of twelve, we ignore my age. Anyways, as I was saying... this inn was first created when this city was a village, during the Awakening Age."

Before Andro could keep talking, Tobias quickly asked a question.

"What is the Awakening Age?"

"Uh..."

The expression Andro had after hearing the question screamed of "are you an idiot?" Tobias couldn't help it though, he hadn't taken alternate world history in school.

"The Awakening Age is the era that began after Prometheus, the Lord Titan, gifted humans the almighty power of Magic."

Although astonished, Tobias kept his mouth shut and kept listening.

'Didn't Prometheus give humans the gift of fire? Is that the major difference between our worlds?'

"Anyways, after the Awakening Age, this inn was formed by the strongest of magic users. 'Theos the Glorious,' in an attempt to make a safe haven for soldiers during war times. Ever since then, this inn has been passed down in Theos's family and is considered a neutral territory even though it is within a different country's walls."

Tobias sighed, and asked, "So? What does that have to do with rumors regarding you?"

"Well..."