Shin's legs gave out as he tried to reach for the door. He caught himself on the frame, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the wood. The hunger wasn't a normal feeling. It felt like a physical weight in his stomach, pulling him down. His vision blurred for a second. He knew he had to get to the common room before he fainted.
He stumbled down the stairs, his boots hitting the wood with heavy thuds. He didn't care about being quiet anymore. When he reached the bottom, he didn't even look for a seat. He went straight to the counter.
"I need food," Shin gasped. "A lot of it. Please."
The bartender looked up from a stack of clean mugs. He saw the way Shin was shaking. He didn't ask questions this time. He just gave a quick nod.
"Take a seat, kid. I'll bring out whatever is ready."
Shin slumped into a chair at the nearest table. He felt like his body was hollow. A few minutes later, the man returned with a massive wooden tray. It was loaded with three thick slices of bread, a bowl of stew filled with chunks of fat, and a side of salted fish.
He grabbed a piece of bread and dipped it into the stew, shoving half of it into his mouth at once. He barely chewed before swallowing. The salted fish followed. It was dry and sharp, but it felt like the most delicious thing he had ever tasted.
The bartender stood a few feet away, watching with wide eyes. He had seen hungry travelers before, but this was different. Shin was eating with a desperate, animal-like intensity.
"Slow down or you'll choke," the man said, sounding genuinely impressed. "It looks like the sleeping princess is actually a sleeping monster."
Shin didn't respond. He couldn't. His entire focus was on the calories entering his system. He finished the stew and wiped the bowl clean with the last of the bread. He even drank the tea while it was still scalding hot.
Once the tray was empty, he felt the fog in his brain start to lift. The trembling in his hands stopped. He let out a long, shaky breath and looked at the bartender.
"Thank you," Shin said. "I really needed that."
Before the man could say anything else, Shin stood up. He felt the urge to get back to his room. The hunger was still there, lurking in the back of his mind, but it was manageable now. He climbed the stairs quickly, his mind already back on the book.
He sat on the floor again. He closed his eyes and tried to find that same tingle at the base of his spine. He visualized the "Core Resonance" and the heavy fluid in the air. He sat there for two hours, barely moving.
Nothing happened.
The air felt like air. His body felt like lead and the spark was gone. He tried adjusting his posture. He tried different breathing patterns. He even tried holding the wand while he meditated.
"Are you kidding me?" Shin whispered.
He opened his eyes and glared at the floor. The frustration boiled over. He felt like he had been tricked.
"Why give me hope just to take it away! What the fuck am I doing wrong?"
He threw a light punch at the air, his black hair falling over his face.
By the time the afternoon sun hit the window, Shin was bored and restless. He couldn't just sit in the room and stew in his failure. He decided to go back out.
He was still terrified of the man with the axe. He kept his head down as he walked through the streets. He stayed close to the walls of the buildings, his eyes darting toward every large shadow. He didn't want another beating.
He eventually found himself back in front of the Adventurer's Guild. He took a deep breath and pushed the heavy doors open.
The noise inside was a wall of sound. The air smelled of sweat, leather, and expensive incense. He walked toward the center of the room, feeling small and out of place.
A group of men sitting at a table nearby stopped talking. They looked at Shin's clean, pale face and his messy black hair. They noticed his bruised eye from the day before. One of them let out a loud, mocking whistle.
"Look at this. Another fresh noobie," the man laughed.
"He looks like he's never held a dagger in his life," another one added. "He probably thinks monster hunting is like a storybook. He'll get himself killed before he even reaches the woods."
Shin's heart skipped a beat. 'Monsters?'
He knew this was a fantasy world, but the word hit him differently coming from people who clearly dealt with them every day. He hadn't seen a monster yet. He had only seen buildings and magic. The idea that there were creatures out there that could kill him made his stomach turn.
He ignored the laughter and walked up to the long wooden desk at the back of the hall. A girl was sitting there, sorting through a pile of parchment.
She had bright blonde hair tied back in a neat ponytail. Her eyes were a sharp, clear blue. She wore a simple but high-quality white blouse with a leather vest over it. She looked professional and completely unimpressed by the chaos in the room.
"Can I help you?" she asked without looking up.
"I... I want to join the guild," Shin said.
She finally looked up, her gaze lingering on his bruised face for a second. She didn't laugh like the others, but her expression was flat.
"Are you applying as a solo adventurer?"
"Yes," Shin replied.
The girl shook her head and set down her quill. "I'm sorry, but guild rules state that all new applicants need to be part of a party. You need at least two people to register for a basic license. It's for your own safety. We don't send kids out to die alone."
Shin blinked. "A party? But I don't know anyone here."
"That's not my problem," she said, her voice neutral. "Come back when you have a partner. Next!"
Shin turned away from the desk. He felt a wave of hopelessness. He walked back toward the entrance, the laughter of the other adventurers following him out the door.
He stood on the street, the cool evening air hitting his face. He had no friends.
'I'm stuck,' he thought.
He started walking back toward the inn. He thought about the people he had met since waking up in this world. The girl at the desk was right; he wouldn't last a minute against a monster. He needed someone who knew how this world worked, someone who wasn't a total stranger.
As he reached the front door of the inn, he looked through the window. The bartender was behind the counter, laughing at a joke one of the regulars told.
The man was big and he was strong. He knew about the Iron Fang and the local streets. And he had already given Shin a book and food when he didn't have to.
A crazy idea started to form in Shin's head.
'He said he wasn't interested in magic,' Shin thought. 'But maybe he's interested in something else?'
He pushed the door open and walked straight toward the counter.