Arcadia— Heroes Of Relics
Updates every 10:00PM UTC+7 Centuries ago, a mysterious meteor descended upon the Earth. Instead of wiping all life forms on the planet, it terraformed the Earth, transforming both living and non-living things alike. This event was called the Great Meteor Fall. Monsters and Beasts appeared and proliferated on the land, causing a shift to the ordinary lifestyle people once knew. Humans also underwent changes thanks to the meteor. Some were granted supernatural powers, and some were granted strength. With these changes, mankind concluded that life will never be the same. The rise of adventurers and guilds was only a few things brought about by the change. Those who wielded great power became prominent figures. But this was just the beginning. The ground zero of the meteor, where it descended, became the territory of a powerful entity known as the Dark One. No one knew where he came from, but rumors said he was inside the meteor when it landed. The energy levels in ground zero were so potent that an average human wouldn't be able to survive it. As such, only high-ranking adventurers could enter it with great difficulty and survive. However, no one came close to the fortress of the dark One, built on top of the meteor itself. As years passed, the monsters and beasts became more powerful, and the adventurers struggled to keep up. But there was no real threat. The Dark One didn't seem to care for Earth's inhabitants, or maybe he was in deep slumber, awaiting his awakening before he invaded Earth. It was foretold, however, that the Dark One was close to awakening, and the powerful monsters and beasts were a clear sign of it. Backed into a corner, the countries were forced to rely on forbidden technology to combat the upcoming invasion. Messing with the space-time continuum, mankind was able to summon influential and powerful people from the past. They became known as Heroes of Relics. These heroes partied up and became Earth's last line of defense against the oncoming invasion. Albrecht Stein was part of the Heroes of Relics. However, he was kicked out of the party since they no longer needed a porter. His only particular skill was spatial storage space, and he was just an additional headcount, so they kicked him out. Just like the other Heroes, he was transported to the future with the sole purpose of defeating the Dark One. But now that his purpose was gone, he decided to live a quiet life in the countryside. That is until the final countdown was issued, and the world's destruction drew near.
A Visit To The Guild
The bath and dinner were more or less uneventful. Since the Rosethorn family already knew Albrecht's identity, they didn't have any questions for him.
However, they did ask about his past, and Albrecht hesitantly decided not to talk about it. Right now, he's got a new start in life, and he didn't want to be reminded about his time before he was chosen as a member of the Heroes of Relics.
After the dinner, the Rosethorn family insisted on him spending the night, and since he wanted to save as much money as he could, he obliged. It was just one night, anyways, and he was exceptionally exhausted.
"If you need anything, my room's right in front of you. Just give me a call." Yulie bashfully said after airing out the mattress of his bed.
"Thanks," Albrecht muttered just as Yulie slowly exited the room. To say that the kiss was imprinted in their minds was an understatement. Although it was by accident, it was both their first time.
Creak~
With the door closed in, Albrecht opened a couple of windows as per the System, and he took a good look at the rewards he got from the Silverback and Black Gem Wolves' subjugation.
[Saddim's Touch (Unique, S-Rank)— active skill, allows the user to hold certain objects without touching them. Allows unwieldable weapons to be wielded by the user. If an enemy was touched, there's a 50% chance that a deterioration status will be placed. This rate increases exponentially the stronger the enemy is.]
[Item: Keyboard From The Past (?-Rank)— a keyboard from the past. An ominous dark energy emanates from within the item. No one knows its uses.]
[Item: Mirror On The Wall (C-Rank)— a mirror on the wall, place it on a wall, and receive a random reward.]
[Item: A Tattered Slipper (D-Rank)— a tattered slipper used by mothers in failure management. Legend says it had been thrown at a young child hundreds of times.]
[Item: Coin of One and Zero (S-Rank)— it's a coin with the number 'one' and 'zero' printed on each side. No one knows its uses.]
[Item: Silverback Wolf Fur]
[Item: Silverback Wolf Meat]
Despite the fact that he physically got the entire carcass of all the Silverback Wolves and Black Gem Wolves, the System still gave him extra rewards. This in turn doubled the amount of fur and meat in his inventory, and he wasn't complaining.
He could always sell the surplus of fur and meat whenever he needed additional money. At the moment, he opted to keep all the items since his spatial storage space has the ability to keep everything as it was as if time had stopped inside it.
"Still... why did I get a mirror and a coin from this quest? And a keyboard? What is this quest all about?" Albrecht scratched his head as he collapsed on the bed. There was still a lot of stuff he didn't understand about the System.
"In hindsight, I have plenty of time to understand the System while I figure out what to do. I've made my way to this city, and there was no way I'd waste such a good opportunity to start anew and work my way up from the bottom."
With a satisfied smile on his face, Albrecht pumped a fist in the air. Of course, he still felt a modicum of regret after his banishment from the party. But right now, he felt more at ease than he was before. A sense of accomplishment filled him as he was reminded of his encounter with the Tri-Horn Minotaur.
"I should get some sleep," Albrecht muttered to himself as he leaned to the side of the bed, blowing the firelit lamp out before he got his well-deserved shut-eye.
— — — — —
When it comes to dealing with beasts, kingdoms have it easy. Adventurers gather in kingdoms, after all, and they work in prestigious guilds where the pay is pretty good. Hence, it is common knowledge that kingdoms have more adventurers compared to independent cities or villages.
Because of that, the independent cities and villages outside the kingdom allied themselves with each other, creating a community of interconnected guilds.
Whenever a city needs some assistance with a beast or monster subjugation, they could just request from the guild of a neighboring city or village. It would have been five to ten times more expensive if they posted a mission request on guilds inside a kingdom.
"Hey, did you hear? The Heroes of Relics are trying to conquer the second outer layer of Ground Zero."
"It's only been three months since they conquered the first outer layer. Are they going to make it?"
"I bet fifty silver coins that they won't make it. Other kingdoms are trying as well. Perhaps one of their parties would succeed before the Heroes of Relics did."
"I heard that the Heroes of Dragonia are attempting to conquer the second outer layer as well."
"Why don't they just help each other? This is seriously a stupid competition."
It was early morning in the city streets of Caharsa, and Albrecht decided to visit the Caharsa Guild with Yulie. At first, he wanted to update his rank as an adventurer, but after thinking about it, he decided to take up another quest for the day.
As a change of pace, he thought about choosing an herb collection quest, or maybe an escort quest. This was technically his first day in the city, and he wanted to take it easy. After all, fighting against a Tri-Horn Minotaur and a dozen Silverback Wolves wasn't the definition of taking it easy.
"Welcome to the Caharsa— guild master!" The receptionist exclaimed, bowing down at Yulie as she entered the guild. All the adventurers who were present also stood up, stiffly bowing down towards Yulie in greeting.
"Good morning. At ease, you don't have to do that every single time, you know." Yulie chuckled as she led Albrecht to the bulletin board where quests were posted.
Albrecht felt goosebumps running up and down his back as he noticed the angry stares of the adventurers around them. It was understandable though since he was a new face in town, and he was acting all giddy with the guild master.
Ignoring the stares he unnecessarily garnered, Albrecht skimmed through the quests posted on the bulletin board. But before he could choose a quest, the door to the guild slammed open.
A child barely seven years old rushed inside the guild, panting as he was out of breath. "PLEASE! OUR VILLAGE... OUR VILLAGE IS BEING ATTACKED BY AN ADAMANTIUM GOLIATH COBRA!"
A series of gasps could be heard amongst the adventurers. Even Albrecht, who clearly heard the scream of the pleading child, gasped in utter shock. He knew exactly what an Adamantium Goliath Cobra was, and there was no way he would want to run into one.
Wow, that's as cliche as it could get e__e
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