Alari felt certain he had died for a second time. However, when he awoke and looked at his skin, the olive complexion and scrawny, malnourished build remained. As he shifted, a sharp agony lanced through his core, and he gasped in pain.

  “Try not to move; I’ve only partially healed you,” a feminine voice said, though she sounded more stern than sympathetic.

  “Where am I?” was the most intelligent question Alari could come up with in his addled state.

  “We brought you back to the inn you were staying in last resting,” she explained.

  Alari ignored the pain as he turned to look at the person who had saved his life. She was tall, with wavy honey-blonde hair, fair golden skin, silver-blue eyes, and wore an expensive blue satin dress with silver embroidery. While she might have been considered slender on Earth, her well-manicured appearance and full frame made it clear she wasn’t starving. Alari thought she looked familiar, but it took him a moment to recognize her as one of the adventurers without her armor.

  “How is he?” a gruff voice asked. Alari turned to see it was the adventurer who had noticed him. He was tall and wiry, with salt-and-pepper hair and stubble just past a shadow.

  “With a full day's rest, he should make a full recovery,” the woman answered succinctly. “Now that my help is no longer needed, I will be retiring to my room.”

  “Could you come down to the common room in a few minutes? There is something I want us to discuss as a team,” the adventurer stated.

  She looked at the man, then over Alari, then nodded. “I trust you to decide,” she said before turning and walking out.

  “What’s going on? Who are you?” Alari asked, his mind still hazy.

  “You were accosted by bandits on the road to Lanika. Our group took care of them, and Lia healed you. Unfortunately, given the severity of your injuries, she wasn’t fully able to heal you, so we brought you back to the inn,” the man explained.

  Alari could hardly believe it; they must have been just around the bend since they had arrived in time to save him. He also doubted healers were common, even among adventurer teams.

  “Then I guess I owe you my life. Please extend my thanks to Lia and the rest of your party,” Alari said sincerely.

  “Don’t thank us just yet. Lia’s services aren’t cheap; she usually charges twenty gold to heal life-threatening injuries, and she isn’t known for charity,” the man said with a straight face.

  Alari’s jaw dropped. Did they really expect him to pay that kind of money? That was more than an ordinary person made in a year. Sure, it would only take him a day to transmute that much wealth, but they didn’t know that.

  “You are welcome to the coins that the bandits took, but I don’t have any more than that,” Alari said after a moment’s consideration.

  “You aren’t upset about losing the wealth you accumulated? I expected that to be a significant sum for you,” the man said, studying him closely.

  Alari realized his mistake. He really didn’t care about the few coins; he could create more, but a normal person would be destitute if all their possessions were seized.

  Alari did his best to act nervous and, in a meek voice, said, “I’d rather not have a group of adventurers angry with me, and you did save my life, so I think some amount of compensation would be fair.”

  “Unfortunately, that won’t be sufficient. If you can’t pay us fair compensation for services rendered, then you will be forced into indentured servitude,” the man said in a severe tone.

  Alari panicked and blurted out, “I can get you your coins.”

  For the first time, the man seemed shocked. He tapped his chin, considering the information before a grin returned. “Can you now? Unfortunately, we have somewhere we need to be, and cannot wait around for you to repay us. If you cannot provide fair compensation immediately, then you will still be forced into indentured servitude. However, I don’t want to see a young boy sold into slavery, so I’m inclined to offer an alternative.”

  “What do you want?” Alari asked angrily.

  “I have a talent that gives me a rough idea of the capabilities of others, in terms of total system points. Imagine my surprise when I noticed a newly awakened peasant boy with more points than anyone his age. So, I’m curious about your talents.”

  Alari wanted to lie, but his mind was still fuzzy from the injury. Instead, he settled on a partial truth. “I awakened a mage Class.”

  “Fascinating. What spells did you unlock?”

  “I have the Identify spell, which allows me to measure the properties of an object,” Alari explained, revealing what he considered his most innocuous spell.

  “That could be useful,” the man muttered to himself. When it was clear Alari wasn’t going to volunteer more, he brusquely added. “Well, what else?”

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  “Why would I tell you all my spells?”

  “Listen, kid. I’m trying to give you an opportunity. The delve we were going to attempt allows six people to enter. Unfortunately, for us, but fortunately for you, we haven’t been able to fill that slot. So, if you have enough useful spells, you could join us to work off your debt.”

  While Alari wasn’t thrilled about being conscripted, it would give him an opportunity to learn a bit about the world with at least nominal protection. Given his luck, it was worth considering.

  “Why haven’t you been able to fill the slot?” he asked.

  After a long pause, the man spoke, “Our group has a bit of a reputation. Not bad, per se, but more lax than a typical team…”

  Alari interrupted, “What do you mean by ‘lax’?”

  “Most adventuring teams, at least the successful ones, are run like a military unit, because that's essentially what they are. The vast majority of adventurers are talented soldiers who have completed their term of service and realized there is a more lucrative opportunity for them in delving. Occasionally, a team will have a noble groomed to be an adventurer from a young age. Our team is more of a collection of talented individuals with diverse backgrounds. As a result, we’re a bit less rigid in our approach. You’ve also met Lia; she is one of two women in our group.”

  “Why would having two women be a problem?” Alari asked, genuinely confused.

  The man smiled, “I’m glad you think that way, but it's an uncommon sentiment; most men don’t consider women capable of being adept fighters or mages. Lia also has a reputation for not allowing anyone in her party to take advantage of others.”

  “Really?” Alari said flatly.

  “You might not believe me, but Lia’s rate is fair; if she didn’t charge that much, she would be spending her time healing a myriad of injuries rather than delving. What I was referring to is a bit more insidious, but it is unfortunately all too common.”

  Hearing the sadness in his last statement, Alari decided not to press the issue. “Anything else I should know?”

  “How much do you know about delving?” the man asked.

  “Assume I know nothing.”

  “Spread throughout the land are tears in space known as rifts. They are essentially portals to a pocket dimension, typically infested with monsters. The exact terrain can vary wildly: from vast open plains to narrow underground corridors. Once a team of adventurers enters the rift, the portal will close, and the only way back is by absorbing the core. People delve into them because they often contain incredibly valuable materials and items, usually correlated to the level of danger within. Also, rifts need to be delved every so often, or else the dimensional space might stabilize and integrate with reality. Depending on the area where the rift is located and the monsters within the rift, it can be cataclysmic. So, the Adventurers' Guild offers bonuses to delve into certain rifts. There are also bonuses for information on unexplored rifts. Our team tends to go for those two types of rifts because they are quite lucrative. Of course, there is also more risk.”

  Alari pretended to consider the information. In truth, he had already made up his mind. Just like magic, the differences between worlds called to him. Becoming an adventurer was also an effective way to launder his newly acquired wealth without drawing too much attention to himself.

  “I might be interested,” Alari hedged.

  The man smiled. “If you want to join, I need to know all your talents. Then, I will need to convince the others,” he explained.

  Alari did just that, divulging his entire character sheet. The man’s eyes went wide on multiple occasions, but he didn’t say anything. Alari didn’t mention all the use cases for his abilities or the knowledge he had from his previous life. The man, who introduced himself as Elias, required a demonstration of each ability. He complied, using a small amount of mana to showcase each of his spells.

  “Are you the son of some archmage in hiding?” Elias asked when he was done.

  “My parents work a field a day's walk from this village,” Alari explained.

  “That doesn’t make any sense. Mages are extremely rare, and all of them gained the Class through rigorous studying before awakening. I also have never heard of the Artificer Class. There is something you haven’t told me,” the man concluded.

  Alari just shrugged. “I’ve told you every talent I have.”

  “Well, it's not like we don’t all have our own secrets, though I suspect none are as big as yours. It shouldn’t be an issue convincing the others, given the versatility a mage can provide.”

  “Isn’t Lia a mage?” Alari asked.

  Elias shook his head while chuckling. “Good heavens, no. She definitely does not have the temperament for it. She purchased an innate ability, but it's less effective than mastering arcane casting. It also cost her more points than any of your spells, and doesn’t give her the ability to unlock more potent abilities.” After his explanation, there was a pause before he added, “Why don’t you get dressed and meet the others?”

  Alari nodded, and the veteran adventurer stepped outside to give him privacy. Unfortunately, the only clothes he owned were torn and bloodstained, but at least someone had attempted to clean them. When Elias saw him, he didn’t comment on his appearance. Instead, he just kept a watchful gaze on him, as if expecting him to fall at any moment.

  In the common room, the three remaining adventurers sat around a table. The big man, the one who had been wearing the plate armor earlier, smiled at him and motioned for him to sit. He raised a hand and shouted, “Barkeep, an ale for my young friend here.”

  “I’m good with watered wine,” Alari responded. The man shrugged, and when a tankard was brought out, drank it himself, the foamy beer getting into his beard.

  Across from him was the shorter woman in the dark cloak. She sat perched on the chair, leaning forward, almost in a crouch as if she were a cat about to pounce on some unsuspecting prey. She spun a dagger in one of her hands absent-mindedly, like it was some kind of fidget spinner, while in the other hand, she rattled a cup with dice. She, too, smiled at Alari, but hers was mischievous, as if she were about to take advantage of him.

  “Care to play a round?” she asked. The big man emphatically shook his head, turning the woman’s ire on him.

  The last person was a man only slightly older than Alari, with dark skin and a clean-shaven head and face, a rarity given the availability of quality razors on Ouras. He looked Alari up and down, as if assessing whether he was a threat. He gave a slight inclination of his head in greeting, then returned to inspecting his arrows, which dominated the table he had taken over.

  Elias explained his proposal: that Alari would join their group if they all agreed. He then nodded to Alari, who explained his spells in the same way he had with Elias. This time, instead of demonstrating, Elias simply vouched that it was true, and that seemed enough for the others.

  When he was done explaining, Elias asked, “So, does he join the Silver Blades?”