Where the light of heaven disappeared, darkness replaced it. It seemed the day had ended down on Proda, and it was already nighttime. A vague sense of direction towards my faithful minion pulled my attention downward. Alongside the opposite edge of the wall, illuminated just barely by the streetlight, lay the corpse of Tewy.

Well, perhaps “corpse” was a little generous for the light pile of fur with red giblets of flesh and bones sticking out.

“Tew-”, I began to exclaim before cutting myself off. Although it pained me to say it, I may be getting desensitized to his death? Perhaps this time was an exception since the act was not committed within my presence. Would raising him again work when he was in such a state? Only one way to find out. “Raise Dead.”

Tewy's remains shifted around as they rearranged themselves. Bit by pit, as what remained of him seemed to settle into its final destination, the surrounding pieces began to grow. Short pieces of bone branched outwards, forming more and more of what was his skeleton. Flesh soon followed, a bubbling mass expanded and surrounded the skeleton, before finally a thin layer of fur seemed to form and finish the process. His rejuvenated form shook briefly before turning towards me and letting out a few excited squeaks.

“Heyy buddy,” I bent down and ran my hand over his soft back. “Looks like something got you while I was away, huh?” Tewy gave a light nod in response. “We'll have to figure something out before the next time.” As I let out a large sigh, a wave of fatigue suddenly hit me. Had raising Tewy worn me out that much? I checked my mana and, indeed, it did seem like this time around I had used more mana than normal to revive him. Perhaps as a result of needing to reconstruct more of his body. But even so, it seemed as though I had plenty to spare, is this just how casters feel in this world?

“Ah.” I had a sudden realization. It was nighttime after all, and since I had been reincarnated I had not gotten the chance to rest yet. The passage of time while with Quin was certainly a mystery. Let's find somewhere to end the day.

I checked my inventory, and sure enough, fifty silver was added, on top of the twenty copper I had received from killing rats. This should be enough to grab a night at some inn nearby. But where to find one? Gamer instinct told me that there should be one nearby the guild, so I head towards there. Traveler instinct told me I have no idea if any of these buildings nearby were an inn. But I did notice one familiar location seemed to still be open; the guild.

I headed on inside and walked up to a familiar looking receptionist. Luna let out the makings of a slight yawn before resuming her pose as I neared.

“Good evening,” she greeted, polite but tired sounding.

“Good evening. I'm still a bit new to this town, would you happen to know of any cheap places to stay at?”

She thought for a moment. “Well, for the lowest cost you'll not be able to beat 'Backer's Barracks'. That's located in the south-east corner of the town. It's a large building, you won't miss it. The next cheapest in price after that would likely be 'Gob Inn'. They're a bit down the road from here.” Luna pointed towards the wall.

“Goblin?”

“Gob INN.” Luna repeated.

“Ah, okay. I'll check out Backer's first then.”

“Is there anything else I can help you with tonight?”

“No, I'm good. Have a great-” I paused, remembering my... other? Main? Job. “Um, is it possible to open a request with the guild?”

“Depending on the request, certainly.”

“Could I open a request for a summoner? I'm looking to pay for some experience.”

“Oh.. I was informed that since some time yesterday, summons no longer grant experience when killed.”

“Ah, perf-, ueh- darn, that's too bad. Never mind then. Thanks. Have a good night!”

She perplexedly waved me goodbye as I set out in my search for this 'Backer's Barracks'. And I had gathered a lot of information just from that short period of time.

One, it looks like the fix worked. At the very least, if the guild is reporting that summons are no longer providing experience, the information is more than likely accurate since people could easily test and see on their own if they were suspicious. Two, I figured out where I could spend the night. There is definitely nothing more I want to do right now than get some rest. And three, Luna managed to confirm some of my suspicions about the passage of time. She said that since yesterday it no longer worked, meaning that between the time we released the patch and my arrival here, more than a day passed. It didn't really seem all that long though between the two from my perspective. My guess is that time passes in this world much quicker than when I'm with Quin. But what that exact ratio was? I couldn't tell.

I walked through the town before finally coming across a large sprawling complex. The layout of the entrance vaguely reminded me of the bathroom entrances at an airport or perhaps a mall. In the middle there was a small building where a person waited at the counter, the sign above reading 'Backer's Barracks', and then flanking the building were two entryways.

The signs above each of them containing the words “Women” and “Men” respectively. I approached the man leaning on the counter and asked how much a night costed. All rooms were priced the same. It was 30c for a single night, and they had a monthly discounted price of 7s50c.

My initial instinct was to go for the discount and save money in the long run, but I realized how stupid that would be having not even slept a single night here yet. Perhaps my modern life of sleeping on mattresses will be the bane of me tonight. I hand over thirty copper coppers and am on my way. Past the men's entrance, this place feels less like a building and more like a maze. Hallways twist and turn and there are tons of rooms. I was told mine would be near the center, where the men's and women's spaces connect.

There stands a single entrance way, flanked by both a man and a woman, who stare at me as I pass by. Apparently there is a rule in place where you aren't allowed to cross over to the other side unless a member of the opposite sex is there to receive you. I avoid looking at them any further. No, I am not some disappointed pervert, stop suspiciously eyeing me!

Finally arriving at my room, the entrance is a dull wooden door. I step inside and am greeted with a completely empty room, save for the beds. Although calling these six slabs of elevated rock with straw thrown about a “bed” seemed like an insult to mattresses. “Sigh...” I hope that healing potions fix chronic back pain caused by poor sleeping posture...

I try to pool the straw from all six together as best I can to create a small mound to act as a pillow, and then spread the rest out as evenly as I could across the stone's surface. There's no blanket, and nothing I could really use as one. I don't even have a cloak that I could lay on top of me. Guess I'll just sleep in my gear tonight. Thankfully it was all leather so although not as comfortable as what I was used to, still better than lying in my underwear.

As I lay down, I can feel the straw which I had amassed provide some level of improved comfort compared to the cold stone surface. Though with how easily the straw moved, I ended up still feeling spots uncovered beneath me. What is the absurdity of this world? Thirty copper coins for this room... the five rats I killed didn't even give that much. So I would have to kill about eight rats per day just to make enough money to have somewhere to sleep? And at this rest quality? Although, I suppose this place may have not been built for a loner such as myself. The five empty 'beds' spread throughout the room leave me to believe that a party starting out might pool their resources together to rent a single room. I suppose for six people, killing eight rats might be far more manageable. Gah, my shoulders. Never would I have thought a day would come where I miss the terrible mattresses from my college room dorm.