The Golem Adventurer - Chapter 10 Home

Dusk had set in by the time we reached the Moonlight Inn. The galley on one end of the room was filled with adventurers, merchants and workers drinking and eating by the soft light of the hearth and candles. The sounds of laughter and rambunctious conversations that filled the air were cut short as me and Tessa entered. The room paused as they all looked at us before a sudden cheers broke the silence.

“Raah~! It’s the golem adventurer!”

“I saw that fight with the Guildmaster! Who knew your fist could fly off like that!”

“Hey~! Can you flip some skirts with that skill for me!? Haha!”

I waved half-heartily at the crowd. A hint of nostalgia and worry waved over me when I saw how merry they looked. If they were all dressed in khakis, I’d feel like I was home again.

Home…

“Oof! I’m starving, Arlan. Let’s get a room for you and order some dinner.” If I had a face, Tessa would’ve seen me looking despondent. But I couldn’t. She kept her cheerfulness around her, still excited over my new look.

We walked over to the check-in counter to talk to the innkeeper.

“Good evening Miss Tessa, Mr. Golem. Did you need something extra for your room tonight?”

I stepped forward to address the older lady, “I’m actually looking to rent a room. And a meal for the both of us.”

“Well I can rent you a room, Mr Golem but a meal? Aren’t you…?”

“I can eat, yes. Don’t ask, please. Just tell me how much.” Irritation at having to explain myself every damn time is starting to leak out of my voice.

“Ah, well the room is 10 silver a night. It comes with breakfast each morning but lunch and dinner is a separate fee of 5 silver each.”

I quickly pull out two of gold coins and put them on the counter. “Here’s for the room and meal tonight and for the next nine days.”

She takes them hurriedly and hands me a key with a number on it.

“Y-You can just sit down wherever you like and I’ll tell one of the barmaids to bring you both your meals.” I think my tone of voice was picked up by the Innkeeper. Even I could sense she was getting uncomfortable at my presence.

Keeping myself in check I say my thanks and walk towards an empty table. I sat down as Tessa came over and sat down in silence. Cheerful Tessa went back to worried Tessa.

“Arlan, are you alright? D-Did I say something wrong… ?”

“…No. No I’m fine. Just, seeing everyone here laughing and having a good time reminded me of home.”

“Your previous life right? When you were a soldier?”

“Yeah… I guess even in another world, people can still act the same.”

“You’ve never told me much about it, you know? About your previous life, other than how you died that is… ”

“I still feel it you know. I can’t feel anything in this body but I feel it in my spirit, if that makes any sense. The feeling of being torn in half when that explosion happened and my consciousness just going away.”

We sat there in awkward silence. Even the crowd couldn’t dispel the mood surrounding us.

It was then that Tessa beamed up suddenly like she caught fire, “Oh! How about you tell me!”

I re-balanced myself on the chair at her sudden exclamation, “Huh? Tell you what?”

“Tell me about your world! You’ve seen how this world is? How is it different? I wanna know!”

“Haaah, well. Alright. You know how we don’t have magic over there, right… ?”

I told her about Earth. The various countries, our history, our technology. Told her about the things humans achieved, like going to the moon and using satellites to explore the planets. Cars, airplanes, computers and the Internet. Even as our food came and we ate, I kept going on. The weapons we’ve created that could destroy the planet in seconds… but also the amazing things we’ve made as well. Philosophy, books, movies, music. I blurted out everything I could think of and Tessa just seemed to hang by the edge of her seat, like she wanted to eat everything I told her.

In the end, her face was the picture of astonishment, “To think you came from a place like that!”

“Yeah, you can see why I was so much in shock when I discovered how things were in this world.”

Her face became sullen again, ” …You miss it. Don’t you?”

“I guess homesickness got me bad.”

“But it’s strange, yeah? Even though the way things work is different here, there’s still a lot of similarities.”

She looked over at the window panel, staring at her own reflection, “Like looking at a distorted mirror. It’s still you but what you see isn’t the real you. And it’s the same for the person on the other side.”

“I’m the distorted image that crossed over. A fish out of water.”

“But you’re not alone, Arlan. You’re here with us. WIth Master and Kleid and Jude. And me.”

For the first time since we’ve met, her face was dead serious.

And for all the sincere smiles she’d shown me, I wanted to show her mine, even if it was in spirit, “Yeah. I’m not alone.”

And with that, the warmth returned between us. I’m Arlan now, for better or worse. And these are my comrades now.

“Speaking of… where are Kleid and Jude? Are they staying here at the Inn, too?”

“Unlike me and Master, they have homes here. Kleid lives with his family who helps farm the lands outside of town. Jude stays at the orphanage he grew up in as a caretaker.”

Hina and Tessa were master and apprentice mages from the country to the south east. Tessa had spent a good few months here to receive practical training with the Adventurer’s Guild while Hina came just a month before to check on her progress. It seems Hina wanted her to get more worldly experience and to put her skills to the test.

Tessa explained a bit more, “Most Master Magicians from the Academy have different syllabuses when it comes to training their apprentices. Lady Hina says it better to know the world before you could become a master, otherwise you’d never appreciate your talents.”

“Do they pick their apprentices?”

“Yes, Lady Hina is very picky with who she teaches. She’s not very popular with the other Noble Houses there because of that along with her teaching methods, especially since there’s more prestigious Masters available. My family is a minor House but somehow they’ve managed to convince her. Unfortunately they didn’t tell me how. She was the only Master who wanted to teach me.”

Money. Her parents must have dropped everything they own on Hina to get her to agree. I feel kinda sorry for Tessa’s parents.

And as if she could hear my thoughts, Hina walks through the door of the Inn. She noticed us as Tessa waved at her Master and walked in pace.

Hina sat down right next to Tessa, “Ah, good to see you both here. Arlan, you’re looking more proper now. A bit… simple though.”

“Well, my fashion sense is a bit different compared to here. I don’t think it would translate well.”

“Yes, you’re a spirit from another world, correct?”, Hina seemed to be contemplating, lost in thought.

An odd minute passed by before she spoke up again, “Right, I also had a talk with the Guildmaster and explained your circumstances. For now, you’ll receive the Guild’s approval. You’re free to work as an adventurer with no issues and be treated as such.”

“Well, that’s good right?”

“Of course, but the fact that your core is still a valuable prize still needs to be considered. The easy solution is for you to rank up and get stronger. When you showed us your [Status], we now know you can level up and grow. Though for whatever reason you’re level capped to 10 but you’re stats are already at a level similar to someone at B-Rank. If you could get to that cap, you could potentially reach A-Rank strength wise. That includes continuing your training in martial and magical skills.”

“Do I really need to be that strong though? I mean, I took down those privateers with no issues, right?”

“There are far worse things out there than bandits. You’ll need to prepare for the worse case scenario, always. Besides, I don’t think it’s too much for you to just “get stronger”. And the Guild will cover you even more if you achieve a higher rank. Not to mention the pay. The higher rank requests pays much, much more than a basic F-Ranked request. You’re 500 Gold reward from today won’t cover you for a permanent home without a steady income. Here or anywhere else.”

Hina was laying the truth hard on me. Even so, I feel there’s nothing I can’t really handle. At least, the goals are achievable from what she says. I just gotta keep working.

“There’s one last thing, Arlan. It’s about… well, you.”

I was a bit puzzled, “What about me?”

“There’s something I’d like to examine about you but I’ll need help to do it. I’ve asked a trusted friend to come here tomorrow for that.”

There’s an inexplicable feeling brewing from deep inside me, “Could you tell me what it is?”

“It’s another thing when I saw your [Status]. I think it’s best if she explains it to you tomorrow. I don’t think it should cause any issues but it’s better to be safe in case something unforeseeable happens in the future.”

I wasn’t quite satisfied but I could tell Hina wasn’t going to let up, “Fine. If you say so.”

“Well, I’ve been walking around all day and I’m quite tired. I’m going to return to my room for rest.”

Tessa gets up enthusiastically from her seat, “Arlan, let’s continue our training!”

With that we go our separate ways from Hina. We headed to a small grassy park in the area to practice my magic. Tessa taught me a few more spells along with a bit of tier 2 magic that she knew. It seems I couldn’t just copy things like chants on the fly. Just like regular casting, I need to know the “intent” or meaning of a chant before I could cast it. With her, it was easy to pick up but I don’t think I could catch a new spell from a stranger out in the street or in the middle of the fight.

She also explained a bit more about the adventurer’s guild to me. How I would start at the prohibitory F-Rank before I moved on to E-Rank after a few requests, as proof I was serious about joining the guild. Rank ups were given based on requests done, performance and my general disposition within the guild. So do your work and don’t be an asshole to clients and other guildmates. Nothing unreasonable so far. No worker’s compensation though for injuries related to the job unless stated otherwise. Insurance doesn’t seem to be a thing here. Not like it matters to me in this body and [Regen].

With the moon high in the night sky we decided to end it here and retired to our rooms. I waved goodbye to Tessa as I entered my cabin. It was quite spacious. Rustic but better than some motels I’ve had to stay at. I undressed and laid down on the bed, an actual bed for the first time, and told Oracle I was going to sleep mode. The night passed quietly as she kept vigilance over my body.
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