The second I leave the guild I spin around and do a little dance in the street and almost get run over by a cart transporting apples in the process.

  “Haha! I did it!”

  Afterwards, I quickly run back to the docks. It’s a bit of a shady area but thankfully there isn’t much crime. Rhaast the Human that took me in is currently working at butchering some fish. He looks kinda shabby as always. He’s wearing a blood stained apron and some cheap clothes that are probably already a decade old. He’s on the burly side of things and a bit short with a scruffy beard and oily hair. Despite us not being related by blood, people do tend to say we look alike. Probably because of the clothes and hair color. We both have chestnut colored hair and a bit of a weathered face. I’m taller than him though and have more of a lean muscular build.

  Glancing at me while ripping out some fish guts on the back porch and throwing them in a soup pot he grumbles, “So? How did it go?”

  “I got in! I even got to see an Elf today!”

  Continuing to work without looking at me he answers, “Oh? That’s pretty rare, although I guess you’re more likely to see one as an adventurer. When do you start working?”

  “Tomorrow morning. I’m supposed to be there at sunrise.”

  “Hmm, at least they have a good work ethic there. Anything else interesting happened?”

  “Yeah I got a new name!”

  Sounding a bit offended but not changing his expression in the slightest, he asks, “What for? The one we gave you not good enough?”

  “Oh, well turns out it’s not actually a name. Apparently it means something like ‘I want to go home’.

  “Huh, that is a shit name then. So, what do you go by now?”

  “Thoma Ahad.”

  “What’s that one mean?”

  “Uhhh, 'Lost One' I think.”

  “Thas fitting then.”

  He then hands me a bucket full of fish and says, “Sit down and help me with prepping. You don’t have to help me at the market today, you need to sleep early.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yep.”

  The next day, I wake up bright and early and get to the guild shortly before sunrise. Even though I’m early, there are a lot more people around than yesterday. Most adventurers here seem to be Human but I do also see a few Beastkin around, like a burly man with a bandana, an orange striped cat tail, cat ears, cat eyes and slightly hairy arms of the same pattern and a woman with gray wings, a seagull like beak and gray feathers instead of hair. As for other races, there seems to be a Dwarven cook handing out meals while wearing a slightly stained leather apron and a chef's head. His beard is gray and so long he almost trips over it a few times on the way. Everyone seems super busy...

  A little less confident than yesterday, I walk up to the reception but get pushed to the side by some burly bald guy, wearing leather armor and carrying a real sword.

  “Out of the way newbie, people with quests get to go first.”

  He then walks by me, slams the paper down on the desk and finishes his business.

  When he's done, he pats me on the shoulder and gives me a rough looking smile, “Now you can go.”

  He then walks to meet up with a group of adventurers in the back and leaves while I walk up to the receptionist from yesterday.

  She gives me a kind smile, “Sorry, about that. People with quests get to go first, it’s so we get the administrative stuff out of the way quickly. You’re a bit early, so just sit down at an empty seat, the guildmaster will get you when she’s ready.”

  “Alright, thank you! What’s your name by the way?”

  “Sarah Gordon, but you can just call me Sarah.”

  “Alright, thank you Sarah! For yesterday too.”

  “Just doing my job, haha.”

  I then sit down at an empty seat where I have a good view of the crowd. There seem to be some people fighting over the papers while others who already got their papers laugh loudly and eat some breakfast. Overall, it seems like a rough but warm place. One of the people that was standing behind me then walks up to me, sits down right next to me and puts his arm around me.

  The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  He has a red mohawk and is wearing leather clothing, “Look buddy. I’m just gonna warn ya, since you’re new and all. Sarah is my girl. Not only are you too young for her, you're way out of your league, an average looking guy should go for an average looking gal, you hear me?”

  “Okay, thanks for the advice!” I say cheerfully as I lean into him.

  Looking disgusted he yells, “Bro, what are you doing!?”

  “You’re hugging me, right? I’m just hugging you back.”

  He then pushes me away and stands up kind of angry, with an embarrassed look on his face, “You xxx or something?”

  “What does xxx mean?”

  “Like you got the hots for guys or something?”

  Cogging my head, I ask, “I have no idea what you mean but my Uni is not so good so maybe-”

  He pulls at my collar and stares me down angrily, “Tsk, You trying to play dumb or something?”

  I can then hear the guildmaster’s voice behind me in a kind yet authoritative tone, “Let him go Jared. The kids an xxx, he didn’t even have a name until yesterday.”

  Looking at me with a weird look, he lets go of my collar, get up and puts his hand in his pockets, “Oh, so that’s why you’re such a weirdo, you shoulda told me earlier. Sorry bout that, just don’t like, go hug random guys, you hear me?”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s weird!”

  “Okay, thank you Jared!”

  “Yeah, whatever.”

  As Jared shambles off to a group of people with other crazy hair styles and the same clothing, the guildmaster offers me her hand, “So, Thoma Ahad, are you ready?”

  “Yes ma’am! Just one question, what does xxx mean?”

  “It means someone who forgot most of their life or can’t remember it.”

  “Oh yeah, I guess I am an amnesiac then, thanks for explaining!”

  Putting her hands on her hips, she chuckles, “Don’t worry about it, just let your Uli take care of it, haha”

  “Sure! What’s an Uli?”

  Still seeming carefree but giving me a bit of a strange glare, she asks, “Isn’t that what you called me yesterday?”

  “I did?”

  “Yep, when you said goodbye to me yesterday.”

  “Oh, sorry I don’t remember that, was it a bad word? If so, I’m sorry.”

  Her weird glare disappears as she answers, “Nope, it means auntie. In Elvish it's an endearing term for an older woman. Feel free to call me that, it’s been a while since I’ve been around my xxx. It feels a bit nostalgic, haha.”

  “Okay sure, thank you Uli!”

  She then smiles and points at the place where all the papers are hung up, “This is the quest board. Whenever a new quest comes in, it gets posted there and people can take the paper it has been written on and accept the quest at the counter.

  Quests are related to rank. You are allowed to take quests of your rank or ones that are one above or below your rank. The quests here go up to C-Rank. B-Rank and up quests are upstairs in the lounge for veteran adventurers. For any quest that’s ranked E or above you will need to put down money when you accept it, the amount is specified on the quest. If you fail that quest you lose that money and the quest gets reposted one rank higher with the reward increasing by the deposit you put down.

  If however, we or the quest giver make a mistake and give a false description of the danger level or difficulty of the quest, then you won’t have to pay the money. I want to make it clear though that if at any point you think it’s too dangerous to finish a quest then please, don’t think about the money and come back here instead of risking death or injury. Many rookie adventurers like you that go and do the job for the money end up worse off because they think they need to complete every quest.”

  “Okay Uli, I will make sure that I don’t value money over my life.”

  She nods her head approvingly, “Good, that’s one of the most important things you need to learn when you start off. Now then, as I mentioned before, on the second floor you will find the lounge for veteran adventurers as well as the xxx room. If you get recommended for a xxx to the next rank or there are complaints about you, you will be sent to that room to discuss things. On the third floor you will find my office as well as xxx rooms for higher ranking quests. We also have a bar here as well as 24/7 kitchen service. Also, after you finish a quest you get a discount on your meals for the day.”

  “Really!? That’s amazing.”

  “Yep, haha,” Leaning over, she whispers in my ear, “Some say, there are higher ranking adventurers that just do quests so they can eat gourmet food for cheap in the veterans lounge. Whether that’s true or not you’ll have to find out for yourself.”

  After giving me a wink, Uli leads me out the backdoor where I can find what looks like a huge training ground, with some people currently doing laps, shooting at dummies or reciting magic spells.

  “So cool…”

  “These are the training grounds. They’re a good place for self improvement and you’ll usually also find higher ranking guild members here willing to help you out if you have questions or give you advice on what you can do better.”

  “Do you also do that, Uli?”

  “Do what?”

  “Give advice. If you’re the guild master that means you must be one of the best right?”

  Mustering me up and down, while thinking she says, “Hmm…I suppose I could. I am quite busy though, so how about this? I’m going to give you a training plan. If you follow that until you become a D-Rank I’ll train you, but I warn you, it’s going to be tough, you won’t be able to complete it for the first month or so but as long as you keep on working to your limits you’ll get there.”

  “You’d do that for me!?” I exclaim excitedly, hug her and add, “Thank you Uli! I’ll make sure to work hard!”

  She seems to be put off by me as she gently pushes me away, “You are…Quite the hugger, aren’t you? Look it’s okay if you do it with me because I know your circumstances but you’re not nearly cute or handsome enough to do that with others. In the future, always ask for permission first before you hug someone, okay? Otherwise people will get mad at you.”

  “Okay! Thank you for the advice Uli.” I say with a wide smile.

  “By the way, Thoma Ahad, how much Elvish do you speak?”

  A bit confused, I answer, “I don’t speak any Elvish.”

  “I see… Well then, let me introduce you to your new party leader. Before I do though, do you have any xxx against beastfolk?”

  “What does xxx mean?”

  “It’s when you think other people are worse just because they are a different race than you.”

  “Oh, yeah I don’t think I have any prejudices.”

  “Perfect, she’s only two years older than you so, you should be getting along swimmingly.”