Emerald Apartments

11:00 AM, Outside East Ferrous Laboratories, 

Artis leaned against the building of the lab looking at his ID card and the key to his new temporary home. 

'I am officially an Adventurer...How did I even get here...All I wanted was a stable job with my sister and now...I am all alone now with an unstable job that could get me killed if I take a wrong step in the wilderness...Heh, I cannot believe a few days ago I was enjoying my time on ship training under Captain just for fun, and now...I feel like this world is punishing me for all the mistakes I've made in my life...'

Thought Artis as he let out a self-deprecating laugh as he flipped the card in his hands, 'But I won't let the world mock me. If I have to go through hell to find my sister, I am ready to go through it. I will level up and reach the Enlightenment Tier if I have to but I will save my sister and give my payback to the Renascitus group.' 

Sorting out his thoughts, he got up and started heading towards his new apartment he would be staying at, but once again, he knew no direction where to head next. 

"..." 

'Oh come on! Not again! Professor gave me the keys but no directions. Where do I go next?' complained Artis internally. 

He, again decided to ask for directions by walking around the City and exploring it further. 

Now that it was 11:00 AM and about to be afternoon, more people were in the streets going around for their own business. 

The kids were running around playing with a football, street vendors were selling their items to their customers, people wearing business suits were going for their jobs, and some people wearing strange costumes were roaming around the streets. 

Artis approached one of the people and asked for the address of Emerald Apartments. 

"Excuse me? Can you tell me where Emerald Apartments is located?" 

The man stopped as he signaled toward the west and said, "Keep going straight until you reach a turn. One of the buildings there will have green concrete as decorations. That place is the Emerald Apartments you are looking for." 

Artis looked in that direction, faced the man, bowed his head, and thanked him. 

The man acknowledged the nod and went to do his own business. 

Now that Artis knows where to go next, he quickly started walking towards the Emerald Apartments not bothering to stop and sightseeing the City. 

...

"Come and try our delicious roaster oyster!" 

"Hot and fresh Ingian soup!"

"Fresh fish from the port for just 5 grands!"

"Cakes and cookies make a perfect morning! Come and try it!"

"Vegetables freshly plucked from Stokeburn Village. Cheap and fresh!" 

...

The mobile hawkers who sold vegetables, fruits, and meat shouted along the streets as the people rushed to the stores to check it out. Some of them would stop and carefully compare before the purchase. Others would impatiently wave their hands rejecting the offers as they were busy with their own work. 

Artis observed such scenery as he continued to walk rejecting the vendors and making his way towards the Emerald Apartments. 

He proceeded forward until he reached the turn and stopped at the junction and looked around for the building that had green concrete. 

"Hmmm. Now where is this place?" 

Artis continued to walk around and observed many apartments with different color strip concretes on them. One had orange concrete, one had blue, one had magenta, and one had a light blue concrete strip. 

Artis understood immediately that Emerald apartments was in this location and soon began walking around here to find a building with green concrete strips. 

And just between the red building, Artis found the building with Green concrete. 

"This is the correct place right?" 

As no one was around him for some reason, Artis shrugged his shoulders and entered the apartments. 

The moment he entered the apartment, he was greeted by a strange sight when he entered the main lobby. The main lobby was covered with green color. The walls, tables, sofas, and even the attendant's uniform were of green color. 

"What in the..." muttered Artis as he went towards the main reception and asked the attendant if this place was Emerald Apartments. 

The attendant looked at him and nodded, "Yes. This is the Emerald Apartments. What can I do for you?"

Listening to that, Artis sighed in relief and said, "Yeah. I'm looking for room no. 602." 

"Oh. Are you the brat- I mean, the kid, Professor Javier was talking about?" 

'Brat?' 

"Don't worry, your room is on the 6th floor and the Professor has paid the rent for the first 2 weeks. So, you can go to your room and live however you want." finished the attendant. 

"Wait a minute, 2 weeks?" asks Artis confused. 

The attendant looked at him before responding, "Yeah. The rent for the first 2 weeks. In East Ferrous, the residents pay their rent weekly, instead of monthly basis. Because, every day, new residents come here to stay for a limited amount of time which hurts our business as a whole. So, we charge our residents every week if they want to live here. Oh, and since you will be on the 6th floor, your rent is 75 grands." 

'75 Grands? I have 0!' 

Artis nodded, understanding the situation as he took the elevator and went to the 6th floor. 

On the 6th floor, there were 4 rooms on the entire floor. The entire apartment consisted of 14 floors as Artis looked up above the door that read the number "602." 

He unlocked the door with the keys to greet a fully furnished room that had 2 rooms, a single bed, a bathroom, a kitchen with utensils, a fridge, and few stools and tables. 

They were all Green in color!

The first expression that Artis had for this room was that it was big. It had a bathroom, a kitchen, and a bed. This place was not a bad place to live and he understood the high rent he has to pay every week. 

'But still...75 Grands? I don't even know how to earn that much! I hope the Adventurer gig pays me well!' 

As he checked the room and looked outside the window, he could see the Tranquill Haven Pier from his floor and the ocean with a clear sky. 

Looking at the pier and ocean filled Artis's mind with complicated thoughts as he looked away from the ocean and went to explore his room further. 

As he entered his bedroom, there was a small box attached with a note on top of his bed. 

'Here is your uniform that you will be wearing starting tomorrow onwards. Use it well. 

-Professor Javier' 

Artis read the note twice as he started at the box and opened it. Inside it was a green jacket and a white T-shirt, a smartwatch, and a leather waist bag.

"..." Artis had no words to say as he did not like the color scheme of his new uniform at all. 

"Why is everything Green?" 

Sighing, he kept his new clothes in a chair and went outside to see what he would eat for tonight's dinner.