Marco walks into the house and is greeted with the intoxicating smell of his favorite food. He rushes toward the dining room and finds his seat just as the kitchen doors open and the sisters walk in and with them numerous stone pots float through the air, delightful sizzling noises follow them.

  “Family, welcome to our dining room and be welcome to our table.” The pair of sisters intones as usual. “Enjoy this meal in celebration of Marco. He passed his Adventurers test and swore his Oath.”

  A small cheer goes through the dining room and people start to grab the sizzling bowls of food. Marco grabs a bowl, a small skin of [Salt] protecting his palm from the heat, the smells are tantalizing and the contents of the bowls is colorful and looks delicious.

  The bowl of bibimbap is a hot stone bowl filled with thinly sliced tofu, hot crispy rice, sauteed carrot, spinach, and shitake mushroom all coated in a sweet sesame forward sauce. Other side dishes dot the table; pickled radish, chili marinated cucumber, and seaweed salad.

  Marco grabs a small amount of every side dish and eats his first bite of bibimbap, the sweet and spicy dish is a dance of flavors and textures. Soft fluffy rice mix with a layer of crispy rice from the hot stone serving bowl, tender tofu and perfectly cooked crunchy carrots.

  Marco fails to contain the moan of pleasure that escapes, his favorite food executed perfectly by the pair of chefs. He is flooded with memories of days spent in Koreatown surrounded by friends and enjoying delicious food.

  He quickly finishes his meal, accepting congratulations from others at the table He thanks them all between bites of delicious food and makes a note to find Oren later to today to express his appreciation of the training and to tell him how easy it seemed to be.

  He exits the dining room after a good meal surrounded by friends, smile plastered on his face. He decides to go back into town having received his Adventurer money after speaking with Samirah, enough that he should be able to purchase some armor before House Ivory goes for their shift on the wall.

  He finds a shop that sells the type of armor he wants and walks in. The sign above the door proclaims Clark’s Customs, the bell above the door jingles and a male voice calls from the backroom, “One minute! I’ll be out shortly.”

  “No problem! I’ll just be looking around.” Marco says gazing around the store. Mixed armor hangs from hooks on the walls, in every color of the rainbow. Cloth armor is what Marco thinks he will prefer, light and movable with space for him to summon his [Salt Skin].

  A slender human man exits the backroom, “Apologies for the wait young man.” About six feet tall with brown hair and eyes, age lines having appeared around his eyes in his advanced age.

  “No problem. My name is Marco and I am looking for some armor.” Marco introduces himself, “I think I’d prefer cloth armor with leather on crucial areas and space to summon my personal armor spell.”

  “I see, I can definitely work with that. I am Clark, owner of this store.” The older man says. “Let's begin with your measurements, please stand over by the mirror.”

  Marco moves across the store and stands in front of the triple set of mirrors. Looking into the mirror three Marcos stare back at him, he listens to all the directions that Clark gives. Arms up, legs spread, bend, stand, jump and every conceivable other direction to move his body.

  “Now, Marco what are you thinking about colors and style?” Clark asks pulling out booklets of colors, fabric types, and illustrations of previous work. Marco flips through the choices, in the books before him, deciding on a dark gray color with black leather for the joints and wrists.

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  The style that he planned to go with being a pair of black pairs with a dark gray shirt designed to fit under [Salt Skin], long sleeves but the top layer splits shortly after the waist, a secondary layer of a slightly different color falling in a panel down to the top of his thighs. A thin black leather hood, elbow length gloves reinforced with black metal plating with matching boots. A warm cloak designed for the colder months completes the outfit.

  “It will take me a day to complete this order and I will need payment up front.” Clark says. Marco pays the agreed upon amount and leaves the store, a couple of hours having passed while Clark took his measurements.

  Marco heads back to the House, hoping to find Oren and discuss the training he went through. He wants to thank Oren first and foremost as he found it super easy to pass the tests laid out by the Adventurers Guild and he didn’t think that would have been the case if he hadn’t trained under Oren.

  He arrives home and asks several people to try and locate Oren but no one knows where he is. Marco shrugs, walking back out the front door to bask in the gardens and absorb some sun, he smiles to himself thinking about his accomplishment of the last few days.

  He wanders the hedges and flowers but freezes when he sees a tendril of [Dark] that is packed full of Mana. He reaches out with his Mana senses and touches the tendril; Marco is blasted backward into the nearest hedge and Oren is suddenly in the garden with him and standing over his prone form.

  “That is one of the funniest things I have seen in recent years.” Oren says in his bland voice a slight tone of mirth present. “You should know better than to touch unknown Mana by now.”

  Marco rolls over to his stomach and pushes himself to his feet, “I’m happy to be of amusement. I was looking for you.”

  “Oh? What does the mighty Adventurer need from an old man?” Oren asks, the smile giving way his teasing.

  “Old man my ass. That test was way easier than one of our sparring sessions.” Marco says, “I appreciate your training, I don’t think I could have passed without your tutelage.”

  “You started on this world with a High Affinity score, this means you have vastly more Mana than the usual Copper that would be taking the test.” Oren explains. “This gives you a huge advantage, paired with your unique Circulation and combat prowess. I imagine you just walked right through the obstacle course with those physical buffs of yours.”

  Marco nods and follows Oren as the older elf begins to lead the way through the bright garden. Golden sunlight shoots through the clouds and bathes the world in its radiance, Marco enjoys the golden rays as they walk through the garden, talking about little things and nothing of substance.

  They eventually enter the manor once again, the place full of frantic energy as people complete their last-minute preparations for their journey to the wall. All Family members are required to make the trek to the wall, housekeepers will keep rooms in the barracks clean and tidy, gardeners will tend the wall’s gardens, and Adventurer’s will push back the tide of Undead.

  Marco spends the rest of the day lounging in his room flipping through the books that Ben gave him long ago. There is nothing tremendously exciting about the books on politics, local policy, and local powers but he enjoys reading for the sake of it.

  The day fades and night begin its dark reign, Marco puts his books away and stands up before walking into the bathroom and getting ready for his evening shower. He removes his salt crusted Adventurers clothing and steps under the hot rain of his shower.

  Marco thinks about the upcoming adventure to the wall and his status as a sworn Adventurer. He looks forward to taking his first Copper job, hoping its something cliche like the stories from back home, rats, slimes, or the like. He smiles as he works shampoo through his brown hair, about three inches on top and kept short on the sides.

  Rinsing his hair under the hot water he sighs in relief and relaxation as the hot water washes away the sweat, dust, and grime from his body. He spends way too much time in the shower, just enjoying the warm water and feelings of relaxation.

  He finally shuts off the water and steps out, drying himself with the fluffy towels that House Ivory has. He decides that he will take his first Copper job tomorrow, allowing him a few days to complete it before its time to go to the wall.

  Marco grabs his normal sleep clothes, dark blue this time and slips into bed luxuriating at the feeling of the soft comforter and soft sheets.