The First Day - Part 2

After stepping thru the doors he heard them close behind him softly. Roux took a deep breath as he prepared himself mentally for the struggle ahead. He had to come up with a plan.

A plan. Wait. Mora didn't tell him where anything actually was. She pointed out a few buildings that at this current point in time were of absolutely no help. She gave him no map. No direction on where to stay or how to get more money. She didn't even give him any other clues to finding a class.

What was he supposed to do go door to door and ask what each building was for? Wander aimlessly until something made sense? Absolutely not he would just end up worn out and tired and being honest, lost. That sounds like a good way to end up dead.

Roux took a few steps down towards the street but veered right to prevent himself from getting in anyone else's way. People were constantly leaving the transfer building and most of them seemed to know exactly where to head. How did he end up with the guide that seemed more obsessed with going to the tower than doing her job. 'Transfer specialist my ass' Roux cursed in his head.

After a few mins of watching everyone leaving the building he still was not any closer to a clue. Dropping his head down towards the ground Roux let out an overly dramatic sigh and began walking forward. In the end he decided to take the route of wandering. He refused to come across as helpless before he even started.

As he walked he took in the city of Ineco around him. It was both medieval and modern at the same time. The roads were made from stone blocks creating a fairly even surface. A few times while looking around Roux had almost stumbled so he was trying to pay close attention to his steps. There was no mud or waste anywhere like one saw in movies. The structure of the building was even and well made. Clearly skilled craftsmen had taken their time when making and planning this city.

He would randomly see stalls set up selling different types of foods, clothing, and accessories. The clothing ranged from comfortable everyday wear similar to earths casual styles to modern space age like stuff. He even found a stand selling what appeared to be loin cloths. When it came to accessories, that was an even broader spectrum. There were so many things he had never seen or heard of before. While gazing at a few stalls to closely he was chased away for blocking real customers. Apparently the clothing he had chosen to wear was giving him away as a newbie.

While walking thru the streets the sheer number of different races and species was beyond measure. However the one thing that really impressed Roux was that although everyone was so different he hadn't seen anyone treating others differently. The only reason for this would be a common goal. He could tell by the way Mora looked at the tower that it wasn't just a simple thing. It carried an almost fanatical energy with it. He could clearly see that among many of the people as they bartered over items and prices.

As Roux continued to walk he started to take notice of the signboards hanging over the doorways and in windows. Luckily he could read the writing on them. The single language of the tower area really made an all inclusive environment. It also made his life much easier. This meant he didn't have to go door to door questioning everyone.

After about 15 mins of wandering he ran into his first inn. The outside structure seemed similar to the hotels of his time only on a much smaller scale. Reading the placard above the door he found out that this was 'The Snooty Raven'. After he had finished reading this something dawned on Roux. He had yet to see any animals wild or domesticated. How could a bustling place like this have no birds or cats or dogs roaming or flying around.

Deciding to knock one of the important matters of his list he decided to go inside and see the prices for rooms.

As he came into The Snooty Raven he was taken aback. The outside was definitely not this nice looking. He would compare it to a 4 star hotel in his previous world, yet from the outside it would have been considered a dump. The inside had a freshly polished looking floor. Lights all around giving off a very home like atmosphere. They even had a lounge with multiple couches and tables.

Swallowing his surprise Roux headed over to the desk. "Hello Sir and welcome to The Snooty Raven. Would you be looking for accommodations this evening?" The human like man behind the desk sounded just like most any front desk receptionist from earth would.

"Yes, how much is it for a night?" Roux asked politely feeling more comfortable than ever in this setting. It was truly the first thing that seemed earth like since he had arrived.

"Of course. It is 15 silver per night or 1 gold coin for a week." The receptionist said matter of factly as if this was nothing. Roux had paled upon hearing this. Although with 'Snooty' being in the title of the hotel he should have guessed it wasn't going to be cheap.

"Ahh...sorry that's a little too much for me." Roux didn't even hesitate and high tailed it out of the hotel. Roux continued his search walking down the street that got closer and closer to the Infinite Tower. He had come across 3 different hotels all nicer than the last and equally more expensive. With this Roux had decided to back track. Clearly he was heading in the wrong direction for his budget.

After almost 2 hours of walking he was near the edge of the city limits. Things were clearly on the cheaper end but by no means were these slums. He found a cozy looking building called "The Cuddly Saytr Pub & Inn". This place appeared to be primarily an eating and drink establishment with rooms available as well.

Upon entering he found out he was quite right. The entire first floor was laid out like a bar and restaurant. There were no receptionists to check in with. Even now it was nearing 6pm so the place was bustling with business. He made his way thru the various groups till he got to the bar itself.

Behind the bar was what appeared to be a female Minotaur. She was at least 8 feet tall with another foot worth of horns. She had a leather top with no sleeves. Followed by a leather pair of shorts. Roux could see her muscles stretching the material to its limits. This was not a bar he would want to get rowdy at with that being the bartender.

"Excuse me!" Roux waved his hand in an attempt to get the others attention. The Minotaur glanced his way and nodded her head towards the end of the bar before walking in that direction.

When he arrived at the end the Minotaur wasted no time asking questions "rooms are 20 coppers a night or 1 silver a week. Gotta buy food separately." Roux had gotten used to this in the last few hours. He clearly was not someone who had spent time in The Infinite Vale before. He looked like a total outsider and he understood that now. While walking earlier in the day he had noticed that a lot of the items being sold gave boosts to specific attributes. His as far as he could tell did not.

Not wanting to offend the Minotaur Roux hastily answered "a week please. What foods available?" Roux had opened his inventory and withdrew 1 silver coin and offered it to the Bartender.

"Nothing you'll understand but most humans like it. It'll be another 10 copper. 5 copper for beer or water, 10 copper for something stronger."

"I'll take something to eat and water please." Roux had to pull out copper for the first time since coming to the world. While looking at his inventory he focused on getting copper and watched it turn into 8 silver and 85 copper. 'Thank goodness that worked I really wasn't sure.' Roux handed the other 15 copper coins over. He then found a seat at a table near the wall.

From his position in the room he could see that the majority of patrons were humanoid to some degree. He did see a mostly crab like creature that didn't seem to be mixed with humans in any way. There was also a bird type creature that had tentacles for the lower half of its body.

Roux began to speculate as to why this might be. His only guess was the difficulty in transferring worlds. The human race of earth had been around for thousands of years before making this discovery. It was safe to say in that aspect it would take most other sentient beings a similar time frame.

After about 5 minutes of waiting while thinking to himself a young man approached with Roux's food and drink. The cup used for his water appeared to be made of something similar to plastic but it was definitely different, although Roux couldn't put his finger on just why. The plate however was very clearly wooden. This didn't bother Roux much as the food on the plate definitely looked of a more wild variety.

There was a small cooked animal with 8 legs. It resembled bot a fish and squirrel at the same time. On the side was roasted greens although Roux really couldn't guess what they were again. However, all of this smelled delicious. Roux hadn't eaten anything since he left earth and had been wandering Ineco for hours. That doesn't even include the time he had spent dealing with Mora or stuck in between worlds. Even if that second one didn't move time physically it was beyond mentally draining.

Taking the first bite of each Roux was stunned. He hadn't had anything so good in his life. The taste was a combination of so many foods and spices that he couldn't even begin to describe it. Roux tried to hold himself back and look reserved as he continued to eat. Within minutes he had completely cleaned his plate. He even found himself picking the bones clean.

As he was still looking over the bones for anything remaining the Minotaur woman came over. Grabbing a chair from the table next to him she sat down and asked for Roux's identification card.

Without any hesitation he had opened his inventory and handed it to her.

"Firstly..." she said while looking down to the card, "Roux, is it? You shouldn't just hand any random person who asks for it your ID card." Roux was confused. If he wasn't supposed to do that why in the world would she ask for it. Did she expect him to tell her off when he had already paid for food and a room.

"I'm not sure if your just a little slow or you really don't know but if you lose this card you will not be able to enter the Infinite Tower till it's replaced. My guess is you only have your started silver as well." She continued to explain as she flipped the card over to look at his physical stats "it costs 1 gold coin to replace it and you won't make that kind of money quickly unless you're climbing."

After she said this she pulled out a scanning device and used it on his card. After she had put this device back into her inventory she handed the card back to Roux.

"You're in room 402. I'm Zara if you have any issues or need anything while you're staying here ask for me." With that she grabbed Roux's empty plate and cup and headed back to her spot behind the bar.

Roux was actually becoming annoyed. Every person he seemed to meet today was messing with him in some way. It all started with that stupid scientist. Then he had met the Tower obsessed Mora who left him in the dark with almost everything. Finally he meets Zara who decided to teach him a lesson by making him look stupid.

Thinking of all this Roux decided the first thing he needed to do after resting tonight was to make sure he got as much information on how things worked as soon as he could. Not wanting to be left looking like a lurker in the corner of the bar he had headed upstairs to his room.