Travel

As the joy of being in the other world again faded, he began to look around.

"What is this place?" it was different from the city he had been in before.

Stopping a passing man and asking him where he was, he learned that he was in the village of Mud Bottom, a few hours' walk from the town of Victory where he had been before.

Luck explored the village and found a few small inns but no shops where he could exchange goods.

At the entrance to the village, a group of people gathered talking caught his attention.

"It's a five-hour walk to Victory Town, are you ready Alec, Alice?" said a large man with a shield slung across his back.

"We are ready captain, let's go and collect our reward from the adventurers' guild." Said the man with a bow on his back.

"I wouldn't have come all the way here if the reward wasn't good, your robes are dirty." The woman looked at her robes with disgust.

When he heard that a group of three adventurers were going to the town of Victory, he approached them.

"Are you going to the town of Victory?"

The big man who was supposed to be the leader of the group of three looked at Luck suspiciously.

"Yes, we are going to Victory Town, what do you want?"

"Will you take me with you?"

The muscular man looked Luck up and down. Luck carried no weapons, no staff to show that he was a sorcerer. He was well-dressed like a merchant and did not seem to pose a threat to his group.

"Three gold pieces."

"Three gold pieces?" Luck didn't understand what the man was saying.

"The price for escorting you to the town of Victory is three gold pieces."

Luck's eyes widened "3 gold pieces? Are you trying to rob me?"

When he heard that he was being asked to pay 3 gold coins, 45 thousand dollars, for a 5-hour ride, he could hardly refrain from swearing.

"Take it or leave it, it's up to you." The man looked like he was going to turn around and leave.

"Can't you give me a discount?"

"You should look for another group to go to Victory Town, maybe you'll find one tomorrow."

Luck gritted his teeth. "Deal, but I'll pay you after we get to Victory Town." 

"Okay, let's sign a contract." The muscular man pulled out a sheet of parchment. 

"What contract?"

"An adventurer's contract, of course. So you can't cheat us and run away." 

"If you leave me in case of danger and run away? Are you trying to force me to pay money with a contract?" Luck asked skeptically.

"You can write your terms in the contract, adventurers who break the contract will be hunted by the adventurer's guild, you have nothing to fear."

After the terms of their agreement were written on the paper, both sides signed it.

According to the agreement, Dean - that was the name of the muscular man - and his team were responsible for taking Luck safely to the town of Victory, while Luck had to pay them 3 gold pieces after arriving in Victory town.

Sometime after the deal was signed, the group set off for the town of Victory.

During their journey, they were attacked by several monsters, but the trio managed to kill them in a well-coordinated manner.

While Dean was busy tanking the monsters, Alec was shooting arrows at their vulnerable spots every chance he got, and Alice was using her magic to keep her team safe by attacking the monsters trying to get around Dean.

All this teamwork was done without speaking as if there was telepathic communication between them.

Having seen the corpse of a monster like a lava lizard before, Luck had thought that monsters were like animals that were easy to slaughter like in his previous life, but after seeing the ferocity of the monsters he witnessed during their journey and the incredible strength of the adventurers, he felt like a sheep in a pack of wolves, oblivious to everything.

If he had faced any of those monsters alone, there would have been only one end awaiting him - death.

'I must find a way to protect myself'. Monsters were not the only danger for him, monstrously powerful people were also a source of great danger for him.

He couldn't resist an adventurer who wanted to get his hands on the spices in his backpack, which were worth tens, maybe hundreds of gold coins.

For the first time, he felt helpless and vulnerable in a way he had never felt before.

He was relieved when the walls of the town of Victory came into view at the end of their journey, his tense journey was coming to an end, and it was time to earn money.

Soldiers at the town's gateway were checking the identities of people coming in and out.

After Dean, Alec, and Alice passed through, it was Luck's turn.

"Show ID." Said the officer in charge of inspecting people.

Luck timidly said, "I lost my ID." 

"Where did you lose your ID, what is your job?" the soldier asked, looking Luck up and down.

"We were attacked by a monster on our way here from the village of Mud Bottom, I was scared and fell to the ground, I must have dropped it there." He pointed to the mud staining his pants as proof.

"I'm also a spice merchant," he opened the transparent bag in his bag and showed the soldier a handful of salt.

The soldier seemed to believe Luck, "Okay, come around the corner anyway and we'll get you a new ID."

Luck was confused because he didn't know what and according to whose records they were going to issue him a new identity in a world where he didn't even exist until now.

He doubted that this world he was in had a civil registration process like his previous world, but otherwise, he would have been in trouble.

Soon a soldier came up to Luck with a card-like object in his hand.

"Register your identity."

Luck looked blankly at the soldier.

"Drip your blood in the snow and finish your registration, I don't have all day!"

The soldier handed Luck a knife.

When Luck took the knife from the soldier's hand, his hand began to tremble, afraid of the pain he would feel if he cut himself.

"Don't be a coward." The soldier snatched the knife from Luck's hand and before Luck realized what had happened, he cut the tip of his finger.

When the blood dripping from the tip of his finger fell onto his ID card, it began to change.

The biggest change was that the previously coal-black card was now milky white with Luck's portrait in the left corner.

His first name, last name, and age were visible on the card.

"Okay, your card is white, you can pass."

As Luck entered the town, he noticed that someone in blood red had been captured and taken somewhere by soldiers.

"Where are they taking him?" he asked Dean.

"His card is blood red, he must have committed some major crimes," Dean explained nonchalantly.

"A person's card is linked to their mana. As long as you commit a crime, they mark your mana in a way that shows you are a criminal. The redder the color of the card, the more serious your crimes are." 

Noticing the confusion on Luck's face, Dean said, "You don't even know that? Every time I explain something, you always have this stupid look on your face."

"Hahaaha" Luck just scratched his head in embarrassment without saying anything.

"Whatever." Dean shrugged his shoulders in a way that said he didn't care and kept walking.

"When are you going to give us our money?"

"As soon as I sell my stuff."

"As soon as you sell your stuff?" Dean's eyes widened in surprise.

"You made a deal with me without any money?"

"Yeah, I didn't have any money on me when I made the deal with you."

"How do I know you're gonna make enough money on the stuff you're gonna sell to pay me, don't even think about walking away from our deal?"

"I'm not thinking about running away from our deal, I just can't pay you right now, I'll pay you today, the day you bring me to the city of victory, as our deal says."

"What's the difference?" Dean sounded angry.

"The difference is obvious. I'll find you at the adventurers' guild before sundown." Luck turned and walked away.

He went no further than the clothing store where he'd won his first gold coin.