13. Bromance*
Astaria walked out into the market square that was bustling with activity, taking in a breath of the fresh air and feeling more at ease than yesterday. Instantly recognising where she was, she thanked her good fortune that Gerald had led her to such a convenient inn that was located right next to where she needed to be.
Looking around, market stalls lined the outside of the large square, thrumming with activity as the locals went about their daily business. The majority of these stalls were filled with food, local handicrafts, and clothing. Around the outside of the square a mixture of stone, wooden, and lath-and-plaster buildings, all at least two stories high.
In the centre of the square was a large fountain featuring the statue of a knight, mounted upon a rearing steed, his lance pointed to the sky.
Checking the ti on the system, she could see that it was now 10:13 am, and so she made her way towards the fountain, the previously planned eting spot with the rest of the combat group.
As she walked closer, the nervous lump that had ford in her stomach grew with every step from the anxiety over eting her friends given her current situation. A part of her wished that nobody was waiting, however, her hopes were dashed as she arrived before the statue and heard a voice call out from her right.
“Chester… is that you?”
Hearing her old na called out, she turned around to see a tall man with slightly ssy black hair, wearing a long black coat over a white shirt and breastplate. His boots were covered with tal plates while his black trousers were left exposed. A bow could be seen slung over his shoulder while a quiver hung from the right side of his belt.
Feeling the anxiety once again grow, Astaria spoke, her voice low with slight embarrassnt.
“Yeah… kind of awkward, huh?”
With a shake of his head, Ben answered her greeting.
“No kidding. Your luck must be completely fucked with all the crazy stuff that’s happened to you recently.”
Sighing, Astaria raised a question to Ben, curious to find out what else he now knew.
“Well, I guess you’re not wrong. I assu you spoke to Fortuna since you were able to recognise ?”
Raising his hands in exasperation, he shared his experiences so far.
“Yeah man, that completely threw off. I was speaking to that guide lady till she suddenly stopped moving and that goddess descended all dramatic-like. She said that since I already knew that you had co back to the past, she would skip explaining that, saying that because of the ti travel your body and soul needed to be changed or sothing. So crazy god stuff, that’s all I understood from her brief explanation.”
Shaking his head, he continued his explanation.
“Anyway, she told that I should stick with the plans we had and that I would know who you were as soon as I saw you since you had been turned into an earth shatteringly beautiful girl. I won’t lie, I cracked up listening to that but seems she was not joking around. Dude, it must really suck.”
Astaria's shoulders slumped as she responded, a defeated tone entering her lodic voice.
“You have no idea. I was in complete shock and ended up just moving on without thinking about it too much. By the ti I got to do so grinding, I ended up going kinda berserk rembering so horrific things from the Upheaval, spending 6 straight hours slaughtering goblins till I was exhausted.”
Walking up to Astaria, Ben gave her a supportive hug. She recalled the past where the only tis when Ben had given her a hug was when she had really needed it, like when her parents had passed away. To her, this hug ant a lot as she knew Ben could see how shaken she was, the situation making her quite emotional as she let out a few tears at how blessed she was to have such a friend.
“Hey man, sounds like this whole thing got to you pretty bad. But you know I got your back, so give a holla whenever you need to vent.”
After a short mont, Ben pulled away, noting the few tears on her face. The mont was disturbed by a whistle from one of the onlookers who was paying attention to the beautiful girl hugging a guy, causing Ben to shoot the guy a sharp glare before looking back.
“Hey man, I never knew you were this easy to get so tears from, you good?”
Quickly wiping her eyes while feeling quite pathetic that she let her emotions out after becoming sentintal, she replied.
“Sorry, I guess it’s a mixture of relief and reassurance. I guess I felt a bit lonely, but knowing you are the sa as ever took a weight off my shoulders. Plus, I guess the new body might be having sowhat of an effect on .”
Sighing, Ben looked her in the eye.
“Hey, you rember what I said back then, we’re brothers, you have had my back through my own shit and I have yours. And from what few things you told about what happened in the future, that never changed. What kind of guy would I be if I got all weird with you over so fuckery the gods sent your way?”
Wiping a few more tears away, Astaria tried to calm the welling grateful emotions in her heart.
Placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, Ben asked a question to move the conversation from the sensitive topic.
“So, what’s next? The others have already gone on ahead, are we going straight to catch up with them?”
Shaking her head, Astaria explained her plans given the change in the situation.
“Not just yet, I first need to register at the guild, sell so drops, and get myself so better gear and a horse.”
Giving a nod while thinking, Ben pointed towards the guild.
“Ah, that’s right, you ntioned you were exhausted last night. Right, let’s get going then.”
Starting to walk to the other side of the square where the guild was located, Astaria noticed she was gaining a lot of attention from the people nearby, but she focused her attention on the conversation with Ben in an attempt to ignore it.
“Oh, I need to add you and ssage the other guys… here.”
Rembering this, Ben opens up the nu and looks at the na tag above Astaria’s head.
“… and done, you get that?”
Seeing the notification, she accepted Ben’s friend request.
“Yes, all good.” She replied with an ok gesture.
Seeing her na, Ben comnted with a raised eyebrow.
“Astaria huh? Yeah, definitely suits your beautiful new looks. You’re going to cause a lot of chaos in other guy's hearts, you know.”
Holding her forehead with her right hand she sighs in exasperation.
“Ugh, I would prefer if you didn’t remind . Seems the gods changed into a beautiful woman in hopes of getting so entertainnt.”
With a face scrunched in displeasure, Ben comnted, his opinion on the matter clear.
“Damn, that’s ssed up. I guess Fortuna told you? She didn’t give the impression she would ntion such things.”
Laughing, Astaria responded while rolling her eyes.
“The goddess of luck is not fickle; she is just an airhead.”
Scoffing a laugh, Ben shook his head.
“Well, that explains a lot. Guess I should complain about that ti I was trying to get a tank drop from loot boxes last year. Like I spent over £200 and got nothing!”
Hearing Ben's complaints Astaria gave a quip in amusent.
“Heh, that’s because you were praying to RNJesus.”
Laughing, Ben opened the door to the guild as they arrived. Glancing around, the guild looked the sa as she rembered, resembling a typical fantasy guild. There was a restaurant and bar to one side of the main reception and the notice boards to the other.
Walking up to a free receptionist, Astaria gave a respectful greeting.
“Excuse , but may I register?”
With a smile, the receptionist lightly bowed.
“Oh? Another new adventurer? There are quite a few appearing these days. Are you one of the Immortal Warriors?”
Astaria nodded in affirmation.
“Yes, I am.”
Pulling out a piece of paper ready to start the application, the receptionist asked a question.
“I see, I assu you will want to explain how the guild works?”
Already expecting the question, Astaria smiled and causally waved her hand in dismissal.
“It’s alright, I already know the gist. Adventures take on requests and get paid for the trouble. Requests vary from killing goblins to finding cats. The more you contribute and the higher your level rises, the higher your guild rank. That should be everything right?”
Raising one eyebrow, the receptionist leaned forward slightly, clear intrigue showing in her expression.
“Oh, that was so concise! Yes, you are perfectly correct. There are penalties for failed requests, and there are also requests made to specific adventures. The guild will give rewards for handing in any proofs of subjugation and purchase any items and treasures you may wish to sell.”
Nodding at the ease of this registration, the receptionist put a glowing white orb on the desk.
“Do I need to explain this to you?” The receptionist asked with another raised eyebrow.
With a slight chuckle, Astaria answered with a cheeky smile.
“Not at all”
She placed her hand on the crystal, causing her basic information to pop up on a screen above the crystal ball.
[Astaria]
Age: 20
Gender: Female
Race: ???
Class: Mage
Lv 10
Seeing the information now presented to her, the receptionist exclaid in surprise.
“Wow, Lv 10 already?! I heard that the Immortal Warriors arrived only yesterday?”
Quite surprised herself by the revelation since she had not bothered to check her status yet, Astaria spoke with a contemplative expression.
“It would seem so. I sort of went and massacred a bunch of goblins yesterday. I killed…”
Pausing to check her inventory, she revealed the staggering number.
“A total of 350. Hmm, I did not think I killed that many.”
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