I knew what I was going to do. I just knew it. I may have been the weakest class, but Everlast Dynasty was not a game to be played solo. Some may have believed otherwise, but I sure as hell didn't. I was going to join a party of adventurers and beat the odds, and for that, I had to first buy some new weapons. I'll buy an iron bow and some arrows, I thought to myself as I made my way to the wooden door with a renewed sense of resolve.

Once out, I quickly hurried down the stairs and went up to the counter. The old woman flashed a kind smile and asked, "Have you made up your mind?"

Nodding firmly, I thanked her by saying, "Now, I feel like I can finally move on, and it was all thanks to you."

"Don't mention it. What would you like to buy?" I brought out my silver bow and placed it on the counter. It was time for business!

"How much is this going for?" She inspected the bow carefully, her eyes widening with amazement every now and then before she looked at me and asked,

"Where did you find this?"

"From the cave in the forest," I answered.

"Such high quality," she muttered, almost in a daze. "I'll give you two gold coins and ten silver for it!"

It sounded like a reasonable amount, so I sold it to her and collected the coins, thinking, My first money! I won't let it go to waste! "How much for an iron bow?" I asked, and it took her some time to answer, as her attention was drawn to the silver bow.

"Oh, that'll be 45 bronze coins." I dropped one silver coin on the counter, and she took it, returning to me 55 bronze coins as change.

"I'd also like to buy some arrows, please."

"How many?"

"90," I answered without hesitation. I could always come back and get some more, after all.

"That would be 90 copper coins." I dropped one bronze coin, collected ten copper coins as change, and walked out of the store feeling more pumped than I had ever been in my life. 

The fresh air, the morning sun on my face, and the bustling streets filled me with even more energy. Yes! I can do this! They called it the Unbeatable Game, but no one really knew that for sure. There must have been something we all missed, a key to help us unravel this mystery. I didn't know what it was, but it was a good start, one that I felt would open my mind up to more possibilities. Where did my confidence come from? Well, I wouldn't classify myself as one of the best players, but I was confident in my skills as a tactician. I even led one of the top guilds at the height of my glory, but stuff happened, and then... Let's talk about something else.

Oh, yeah! I know what I'm going to do! It was such a brilliant idea that I began to wonder why I hadn't thought about it before. I would go up to adventurers and tell them about my wonderful skills! After that, they'd definitely want me on their team! For a moment, I felt like I was him, but reality wouldn't be so kind to me.

"Um, we already have a sniper on our team," the paladin said to me softly. I was looking for a party to join at the tavern, where adventurers usually hung out. This party sat around a wooden table at the righthand corner of the room, laughing, eating, and drinking. They seemed so... inviting from afar, and they looked promising to boot, so I walked up to them and introduced myself, only to hear such terrible news.

"I'm so sorry about this," the paladin added, only making the situation worse.

"Um, okay, I-I'll just go over there." I tried to keep my voice cheery and my expression bright, but they could probably see through the cracks as many of them sent sorry looks my way as I turned and walked away. 

Later that day, I went back and approached a different group. One, two, three, four, seven warriors?! There were other classes as well, but it was still somewhat troubling. I introduced myself again and got turned down a second time. This time, their excuse was: "We already have a tactician on our team." But that was stupid because if they did, he wouldn't allow there to be seven warriors! I mean, axe fighters were good and all, but a delicate balance of different classes was needed for a great party! But I'm probably just projecting, aren't I? Not everyone shared my philosophy, after all, so I wished the party good luck and stopped by an inn to call it a day.