Chapter 1: And so it Begins

"Oh God"

The inquisitors might call me a heretic and watch me burn in a stake if they heard me utter god's name in vain, but when I think about my current situation and the most certainly perilous and unknown journey ahead of me, I really don't care at this point.

As I stand here in a bar full of dwarvs, mercs and a few drunk men and women fist-fighting each other in the middle of the bar, while everybody else cheers in drunken reverie, wondering to myself what went wrong in my life that led me to this place. I even see some people in the corner gambling on the fight and to be honest, I'm quite tempted to even join them. How and why it started is a mystery to me but the bigger question is why are the owners of the bar letting it happen? Well, the mystery didn't last long because as I look closer, I see that the owner is the one fighting his customers. How do I know he's the owner? Well if you look closer, there's a badge that says owner pinned to his clothes and I'm amazed how it didn't fall off despite him brawling like a barbarian. How it came to be I will later find out in the future, but I will come to regret it in the future.

Though I did see some things or more specifically some people in the dark recesses of the bar in which I probably shouldn't have seen if I wanted to keep my neck intact, so I smartly ignored them and made my way to the counter. I looked at the menu and marveled at the novelty it had to offer, not because I thought the food was delicious but because I couldn't understand anything due to me being a foreigner so I just assumed it was all delicious.

Hearing that the constant shouting and hurling of insults was finally dying down, I looked back into the situation and saw that the owner was finally looking the part of him being, you know, the owner. He broke up the fight and promptly removed himself from the situation. If breaking apart the fight means throwing his opponent to the side of the bar and getting his bet money, then yes you could say he broke apart the fight.

He approached the bar and quickly went behind it to pour himself a drink and gulped it down as fast as I was being teleported to this continent, and trust me it was fast. He noticed that there was new meat in his establishment and promptly introduced himself.

"Hey kid, the names Frank, I run this fine establishment and I bet ya I have seen every face that comes in here and out, and you kid, I haven't seen."

I took a closer look at the owner of this "fine establishment" and i secretly analyzed him, a round and pudgy figure you would expect of a bar owner but short in stature surprisingly, given that he threw a man twice his size just recently, messy black hair with a rough unkempt beard that might make you think he didn't shower for a few days, though judging by the scent assaulting my nose, my guess is probably right. He wore a cheap linen shirt with brown pants to match. But that's not what stood out for me, it wasn't his physical appearance that just blended in with the environment nor his rough and tough attitude which people might think they owed him money or something. No, it was his dark brown eyes that seemed to contain endless wisdom, pushing me to lean in and look closer and drown in its sorrowful depth.

Suddenly, I felt a scorching pain at the top of my head, like someone just hit me with the blunt end of a sword. I turned to the owner and angrily asked.

"What did you do that for!?"

"Come closer again and a jab to your head will be the least of your worries"

Calming myself, I realized that I actually came closer to him to look into his eyes more, leading me to feel even more pain in my head, remembering that I'm not at home and can't just come closer to a stranger without them pulling a knife and sticking it to my throat, now that I think about it I'm actually lucky he didn't stab me, what a kind person.

"Sorry about that Mr frank"

"It's fine kid, just don't do it again, now as I was sayin, who are you, and why didya come to this place?"

Bewildered by his question, I looked around the bar and saw that I wasn't the only one new to this place and i certainly wasn't the most suspicious person there, heck if I peer closer i can even see dark-clothed people whose faces are hidden by a mask, with a dagger strapped to their sides and their swords leaning against their table. I quickly turn back to the owner for fear of attracting their attention.

"Well Mr. Frank, I'm confused, why am I the only one getting interrogated when there are other people who are most certainly more suspicious than me. That's unfair"

"Kid, I gotta fucking ask, are you blind?

Even more stunned by his question I say.

"No? I'm confused. What does that have to do with me being suspicious?"

Frank replied.

"Kid, you don't seem to notice but your being observed by every person in the bar, it's not that I'm the only one suspicious of you but everyone here in this dingy is suspicious of you, i'm surprised you weren't kidnapped or interrogated by the imperial guard on the way here"

Stunned by this sudden revelation, I look around and notice that everyone is indeed looking at me, with eyes that seem to be asking "Who's this punk?", well almost everyone except the people fighting in the middle of the bar.

Hit with this sudden realization, I begin to panic inwardly but quickly suppress and try to show a calm front. My Teacher always taught me to be calm in various situations, and luckily I remembered it and secretly thanked him.

"I'm confused, there's no reason for people to be this suspicious of me just because I'm new"

Mr. Frank, probably noticing that I am a bit panicky, smiled and said.

"Kid we're not idiots, we can clearly see the reason why you look so suspicious, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out"

I panic even more and start to wonder what the reason could be. Mr. Frank probably noticed I was deep in thought and was slightly amused by it.

"Kid I'll give you a hint, it's your clothes, I swear it seems like you got kicked in the head by a dragon"

Enlightenment finally dawned on me and remembered that I'm in a different continent, which also means their clothing style must be different. I was in too much of a rush to run away and completely forgot a change of clothes. Well, to be fair I never expected to be teleported to the western continent, I need to be prepared more next time sigh.

"Ah so that was it, so what now?"

Mr. Frank and the people in the bar overhearing our conversation were a bit bewildered by my response, and just as Mr. Frank was about to respond. I hear a slightly deep and chilling voice in the corner of the bar.

"What now? Good question kid!"

He stands up and slowly makes his way across the bar and unluckily towards me, though the drunk that accidentally bumped at his shoulder had it much worse, the dark-clothed man simply smiled and gently patted the man's shoulder, and the drunk promptly passed out with his eyes showing complete whites and crashed to the floor. Whether he was dead or Alive, no one knows.

He continues to make his way towards me and I see that his every step is soundless and soft, seemingly out on a stroll at the local park and yet why do I feel like death itself is the one coming to me?

He sits beside me and orders 2 beers, probably one for me and one for himself. He starts to analyze me and I didn't want to be beaten so I started analyzing him too.

Clean, smooth, and a bit ruffled pitch black hair that seems to blend in with the shadows, but with pale blue eyes that you would expect to stop him from blending in the dark properly, but taking into account the fact that he incapacitated a man by simply patting their shoulder, it's most likely the opposite. A Rough short beard which I would like to mention, is taken care of more than Mr. Frank. And of course a dagger by his waist and a sword leaning against the counter, oh and dark fitting clothes of course.

He hands me a drink and though I was curious about what beer tasted like, there were more pressing matters at hand, like why he sat beside me for example.

"Hey kid you must be curious why I interrupted your little conversation"

"Ah yes, I am."

"Well what happens next is pretty simple really, I ask you questions and you answer truthfully, or else, well let's put it this way, everyone at the bar has been itching to hit something ever since frank emptied their wallets clean."

I look around to see what he meant and I already regret it. Everyone at the bar, even the drunk brawlers, is staring at me like a pack of wolves that have been starving for weeks. I look at Mr. Frank with a tinge of hatred to be honest, though I quickly retract it or else I might get hit in the head again.

"I'll be completely honest Mr um, I'm sorry I didn't get your name"

"Pleased to meet you kid, the names Samuel, and I will be your humble interrogator this fine evening"

Feeling a bit nervous and terrified, I think again about the question of how the hell did I end up here. I should've listened to my sister when she advised against my decision. I sigh and think about all the decisions that led me to this, but my thoughts were cruelly interrupted before I could continue.

"First Question kid, what's your name?"

"Ah Its Cosmo, Cosmo le Strange"

"Okay now Cosmo, judging by your obvious long silk robes that I'm pretty sure isn't locally sold and your childlike aura, we're guessing you're not from here."

"Yup, I'm actually from the eastern continent, I ran away from home and I originally planned to just go to the neighboring dynasty and start figuring things out there but due to reasons even I can't even understand, now I'm here"

"What do you mean you can't understand, did you get teleported or something?"

"Oh! Mr Samuel, you must be a prophet, yes I was actually teleported while I was running away, I just planned to stop by the neighboring dynasty before I continue my journey but somehow while i was running away from my pursuers, I saw a brief flash of light and then I ended up outside the bar, how I got teleported I have no idea but what's important now is that I'm free!"

Mr. Samuel and the others made a strange expressions after they heard what I said. Mr. Frank looked at me like I was a lost puppy, I knew that look because that's usually how my sister looked at me when I did something wrong while Mr. Samuel was deep in thought about some things, though I would eventually find out.

Huh strange, I seem to hear some betting going on in the corner, and if i heard correctly they are betting on whether i would last a week, i even see Mr frank joining and saying that i wouldn't last a day. I tried to hide my sadness but it was too late since Mr. Samuel already noticed.

"Don't listen to them kid, you'll be fine, I think, just look on the bright side, at least you didn't get teleported in the demon realm."

"Yes! You have a strangely good point Mr. Samuel"

I listened to his advice and thought, yeah I'm actually lucky I didn't get teleported in the demon realm, I heard from father that it was extremely dangerous there and that demons were all cunningly vicious that weren't meant to be trusted.

Maybe it's for the best I was teleported here instead of just running away to some city in my continent, there was a good chance I would eventually be caught by my parents, and my god if I go back home after running away, they would ban me from eating desserts for a week and wouldn't let me out of their sight. Though I do love my parents and would do anything for them, I also need to live my life, I also want a life that I can call my own, that is not decided by my parents and solely decided by me.

Sure I can always inherit my father's position and become the family head, but there's no substance to it, there's no meaning to it if it isn't taken by my own hands, by my hard work. I was always given everything I wanted in life, always taken care of, and loved so much that it was almost suffocating, but in a good way. I am indeed thankful for all of it and I would never forget to display gratitude to my parents but to live a life where everything is given to you and you do nothing to earn it. I've lived my whole life like that and I just felt empty.

It may be given to me but ultimately it is not mine, it's from my parents, the ones who worked very hard to achieve the level of success that they have, to have sacrificed so much so that I can live a comfortable life, It's time to repay them.

Though my way of paying them back will certainly receive condemnation for it, I knew from the start that if I said what my dream was they would certainly steer me far away from it, that they certainly protect me from all the harm that can be inflicted on me. Well enough is enough, I want to live my own life, far away from all the riches and power my family has, far away from just being given things to me because I exist.

I want to live a life where everything I earned is because of my hard work because I sacrificed a lot and went through pain and suffering for it, it is the only way to live a fulfilled life of which I can be proud, and it cannot be achieved if I already have it all and yet not built by my own hands.

"Hey kid you ok?"

I awoke from my deep thoughts and remembered that I'm still in the bar. I thought of something and suddenly it hit me. No, it wasn't a plate that flew to my head, it was an idea.

"Yup iv decided"

"Decide what kid? By the way, you good kid? You seem to be bleeding from your temple right now"

I stand up and look towards Mr. Samuel and Mr. Frank, they show a confused expression towards my behavior but I ignore it. I looked at both of them and said,

"PLEASE LET ME WORK FOR YOU!"