It might take Rin a lot longer to achieve her much-wanted sleep as attached to the door was a piece of paper. The paper which did nothing but hang haughtily right in front of her face made the girl heave out a weary sigh.

Guild Notice

Recipient: Rin

Subject: Eviction Notice

Adventurer’s Guild: Room #727

Purpose of Stay: Recovery

Removal: Effective Immediately

Notes: Please leave the key inserted in the door lock.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,

Adventurer’s Guild: Rellea Branch

‘Guess I couldn’t stay for free forever,’ she thought. Tearing the paper from the wall and storing it within her inventory just in case she would need it for formalities.

Letting out yet another sigh, she used her magic to create a chair in the middle of the hall and sat down to rest. Rin found herself to be just a little bit pissed about the circumstances, regardless, she was grateful towards the guild for the couple of days she had gotten to use the room and its facilities.

‘Alright then, let’s find an inn,’ she thought.

Whipping out her map, she traced her finger over the parchment and quickly found an inn. It was near the center of the city which meant that it would be but a short walk.

‘Willow Wood Inn, Cool.’

Hopping off the chair, she dismissed the magic and collected the mana back into her body. Rin took the elevator down to the ground hall, walked past several groups of people and swiftly left the hall.

Entering the street, she immediately spread out her aura as a chilly breeze filled the area. Her mana and her makeshift field of ice cooperating in unison to search for another pursuer.

Several minutes passed, but a smile soon appeared on her face as she wasn’t able to notice anything. This time, she knew for sure that nothing was following her.

Humming to herself, she started to walk towards her destination. Although now, without a tail, she was able to enjoy the city’s night. Looking upwards, cables stretched between the buildings carrying lanterns that filled the streets with splashes of colors. While the nightlife flourished.

As Rin passed the bar, she couldn’t help but hear its lively music along with seeing the constant flow of adventurers entering and exiting. Most were obviously under the influence of alcohol, and they seemed to be having fun. But that life wasn’t for her. It was fast-paced, and short-lived, unlike the lifetime of violence she had once already lived through. She couldn’t just give that up for a life of pleasure.

‘Meaningless,’ Rin muttered.

Continuing through the city, she was about halfway to the inn before a shopboard soon caught her eye.

[MagiTech Association]

The sign belonged to a little steampunk-esque shop that was nestled between two buildings. But the store’s industrial design hinted that it was likely an outlet for the association’s main production line.

Drawing closer, the girl peered through the illuminated glass window and caught a glance at several interesting items. Most objects displayed; Rin recognized from the subtle glow were made from lumicite—a common metal alloy that was especially known for its innate ability to act as a conduit for mana. While embedded into said metal were mana cores of varying ranks. Neon lines extended from each of the cores, running through the material and supplying a steady flow of power to each device for their intended purpose.

‘Interesting,’ she thought.

However, the most notable item displayed was something that she had already once seen. It was the orb-like device that people had used to communicate over long distances.

[Horizon Stone – 5G]

The item... was different from the rest. Intricate layers of the metal overlapped in a mesh while the neon lines—rather than running through, intertwined with the metal to form something that she had only seen once before.

'Did Malkorn develop this technology?’ she thought.

Knowing the man for his extreme intelligence alongside his prowess with metal, something as simple as a communication device was easily within his capabilities. However, that would be unlikely. There was no possible way that he would contribute something such as this to the world. No, his chaotic nature was more suited to the weapons of mass destructions such as the item she had used moments before her death. His final gift to her before she had sent him to the next world.

[Nova Cannon]

Frowning at the memory, she strolled into the shop as a bell heralded her welcome. Rin looked around the shop, grabbing any items she wanted. And as quick as she entered, she strolled right back on out with a slight decrease in cash along with two new devices

[Horizon Stone]

Allows users to communicate with others over long distances using saved mana profiles.

Contacts: 0/10

[Mana Powered Lighter – Prototype IV]

The second was a small metal device that would release a thin stream of fire whenever mana was supplied. This was especially useful to Rin as she planned to visit a dungeon the next day and a source of fire would provide more value than anything else she could buy. It would give her a source of light along with being another mode of destruction.

The only qualm she could see in the item was the intensity of the blaze. Testing it out, the more mana she supplied into the device, the stronger the blaze. But she wasn’t able to channel any more than a certain amount of mana otherwise it would implode.

‘Eh, it was only fifty silvers,’ she shrugged as simply gaining the power of another element far surpassed the asking price of fifty silvers.

Rin continued on her way through the city and finally, she made it to the street where the inn was located. Looking upwards, she saw that the inn’s building was quite large, almost rivaling the size of the guild hall. Yet there was a little bit of an odd sight. Around the entrance of the inn stood a massive crowd made out of humans, dwarves, elves and demi-humans alike.

‘What’s going on...?’ she thought.

Filtering her gaze over the crowd, they all looked to be of different groupings. Some seemed to be mere travelers, while others with shouldered weapons were most likely adventurers. Yet there was a single common factor between all the people, it was that their overall nature seemed to be of annoyance.

‘Is the inn closed?’

Not sure of what the situation was, the only thing left to do now was ask around. Walking closer to the building, she sought to find someone when her gaze was drawn towards a man near the edge of the crowd.

His frame was thin, and his head was covered by a cloak of black. From what she could see, there didn’t seem to be anything special about his looks, but his aura gave her a slight feeling of interest.

Raising a brow, Rin approached the man.

“Hey... mister,” she tugged the edge of his cloak. “Any chance you know what’s going on here?”

Rin thought the man surprised at her approach as he immediately spun on his heels around to face her. But that only caused the hem of his coat to float up, allowing a split second for Rin to catch a glimpse of an elegant sheath embroidered with runes attached to his waist.

Rin glanced up at the man, but what she saw was quite an unexpected sight. What met her eyes was a pair of viridescent purple eyes which seemed to faintly shine. His face was youthful, although a little hardened, while his hair was black and held a wild unkempt look.

[Swordsman – lv 54]

But when the man didn’t respond, Rin let a sigh.

“You heard me, right?”

At last, movement was seen. The man matched her gaze for a second, looked her up and down before his eyebrows curved into a frown. However, the look disappeared as soon as it came as he opened his mouth to speak.

“I heard you,” A light voice was released.

‘Is this guy...’ she thought, resisting the urge to send the man flying. ‘He's joking right?’

“...Okay,” she blinked. “Then are y—”

But before she could even let out another word, a loud voice erupted from the inn's entrance and filled the space.

“ATTENTION VALUED GUESTS!!!”

Immediately turning towards the voice, Rin saw a person with a megaphone in hand. It must’ve been an employee of the inn.

The voice stalled for a couple seconds, waiting for the turning heads of the crowd before once again speaking.

“I must apologize for the delay, but we regret to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, the Willow Wood inn is unable to accommodate the number of individuals. However, we have developed a workaround to ensure a comfortable stay for all guests.”

The representative paused once again as murmurs were heard from the crowd.

“As with our limited availability, it is necessary that each room is to be shared with at least one other person. In ten minutes, please be situated in a line in front of the inn alongside your designated partner or group. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding as we strive to maintain service for all our guests. Long live Rellea, city of the free.”

The inn’s representative re-entered the building as a rush of reactions were heard from the crowd. Grumbles were uttered, while cheers were spread. But unanimously, everyone knew that not one had misheard the speaker, and that the entire crowd understood the memo.

“Say,” Rin looked up at the man with a wide grin. “Roommates?”

The man stared at the representative’s fading figure before glancing down at the girl with a slightly clenched jaw. Although, he produced no further action and simply stood unmoving at her side.

‘Guess that’s a yes,’ she thought.

The two waited near the outskirts of the crowd as the masses began to shift into a line. And like the representative had said, after ten minutes, the doors to the inn opened.

Waiting patiently, the line was streamlined into the inn and soon it was their turn. A receptionist gestured for them to entry with their hand and the two entered the main hall. Welcoming the pair, the warm glow of a kindling fireplace spread a cozy feeling through their beings.

‘Pretty fancy.’

The two walked up to the front desk and a middle-aged female elf with brown hair looked their way with a smile.

“How can I help you?” the receptionist asked with a friendly tone.

“Hi, we would like a room please,” Rin replied.

“I guess that was obvious enough,” the elf chuckled. “Anyways, would you like a room overlooking the city, or something plain and mundane.”

Rin quickly glanced at the man next to her as he gestured for her to continue.

“How much will the price differ?” she asked.

The receptionist’s expression hardened before being immediately restored to the former professional look.

“I apologize for the prices as the rooms are in high demand due to the upcoming festival. But the room with the view will be 3 gold coins a night, and the one without, 2 Golds and 50 Silvers,” The receptionist said with a bitter smile. “If it is too much for you, another option that people had considered was to sleep alongside the maids in their chambers for a single gold coin.”

Rin sucked in a quick breath hearing the elf’s answer.

‘It’s fine, I can afford it...’

With her resources—

[Gold Coins – 23]

[Silver Coins – 61]

She would only be able to stay for eight days.

Summoning the payment into her hands, Rin was about to hand over the coins until a tinkling noise from the counter. She looked up and saw the man’s arm pulling away and in its place was a significant stack of coins.

“My, what a gentleman. She must be really special...” the receptionist revealed a knowing smile. “Anyways, here are the keys. Floor 26, room 5. And just a reminder, if you two decide to have any sort of fun together. Keep it down~”

Hearing the receptionist’s final comment, Rin averted her gaze while the man scowled, apparently not amused.

“Keum... Keum...” the girl coughed. “It was floor 26, right?”

There was no reply.

 

****

 

The elevator ride to the 26th floor was a slow and awkward experience. Not a word was spoken between the two as the only sound filling the atmosphere was the music coming through the tiny speakers.

Rin glanced up at the man. She saw that he was fairly handsome, but within the lighting of the elevator she saw something that she wasn’t able to see before. The man’s face appeared to be gaunt, with sunken cheeks and hollowed eyes.

‘Everyone has their story,’ she thought.

Deciding not to pursue the matter, Rin kept to herself as the elevator doors opened up. The two stepped out into a long hallway. A red carpet was under their feet, while hung up on the wall were elegant paintings, giving the inn a luxurious feel.

“Number five,” she muttered.

Looking across the hall, she quickly found the designated room and opened the door with the key. Inside, there was a single bed, a small countertop, a bathroom and finally a large window providing a beautiful view of the east side of Rellea.

Immediately, Rin headed into the bathroom to take a shower. She locked the door behind her before stripping down and allowing the hot water to run free.

A couple of minutes later, she stepped out and froze the water around her body as it dissipated back into her body.

‘Not too bad,’ she thought, pulling a shirt over her head.

The shower provided some relaxation and made her feel clean, but it wouldn’t be comparable to a good night’s sleep in a bed.

Stepping out, Rin saw that the man had already placed his belongings on the ground and was lying on his back, leaving the bed all to her.

‘How courteous.’

She walked over to the bed and tucked into the blankets. Slightly activating her aura which would let any disturbances in the temperature alert her. Just in case the man would try anything.

Although, she still wasn't able to shake off the feeling she had first felt from the man. It wasn’t hostile, it was just a little odd.

‘Oh well, maybe we can have a chat tomorrow,’ she thought, closing her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.