System Change

Earlier that morning…

Thomas rolled over and stretched. He couldn’t remember the last time he had such a comfortable sleep. After some time, he willed his eyes open. Instantly, all he wanted to do was close them again and go back to sleep. He had nothing to do today, so it really wouldn’t matter if he slept in.

Before deciding to resume his slumber, he checked his system clock. To his surprise, it was already well past the time he usually awoke. Then he remembered that there was a free breakfast, made by an offshoot of the Crown Restaurant no less, waiting for him below.

Finally, after weighing the pros and cons of sleeping versus eating, he decided to get up. The outcome was close, but he knew that breakfast was not served throughout the day, so if he went back to sleep, he would miss out. Thomas didn’t know if he would be able to forgive himself if that happened.

He threw the blanket off his lazy body and saw something fly through the air. Walking over to the floor where the item landed, he realized it was the keycard for the room that he and Derek was staying in. Thomas looked over to the unkempt bed on the other side of the room. When did Derek wake up? I didn’t hear him at all.

Thomas then looked at the small room with the tub inside. Remembering what occurred the previous night, embarrassment fell over the boy’s face and his cheeks turned a bright shade of red. Thomas looked down and realized he was only wearing a pair of lower undergarments, and to make things worse, they were on backwards.

He rushed to the bathroom to relieve himself and wash his face. He was tempted to hop in the tub again, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he had until they stopped serving the free breakfast. Surely, they will keep serving until noon, at least. He thought and hoped.

After making himself presentable and putting on his best set of clothing, Thomas stored the keycard and left his room. Before rushing down to the lobby, he knocked on the doors to the others’ rooms. There was no answer from either of them. Either they all woke early, or they are also still sleeping. Thomas sighed and headed downstairs.

Once downstairs, he cautiously approached one of the dining tables in the hotel. He wasn’t actually sure what to do. He was used to the service from mediocre inns and eating at bars. Luckily, a beautiful girl saw his hesitation and came over to greet him.

“Are you a guest at the hotel?” The woman asked.

“Uh… yeah.” Thomas squeaked out. Looking at the garb the woman was wearing, it was safe to assume that she was a worker at the hotel. “Is breakfast still being served? Or did I sleep in too long?” He asked.

The woman laughed. “There is still an hour left until noon, so you are right on time. Please, have a seat.” She pointed to an empty table.

“Thank you.” Thomas sat down.

“What would you like to drink?” The woman asked as she handed him a menu.

Thomas browsed the options, his eyes stopping on ‘coffee.’ Isn’t that what Derek sold to the Crown? Derek had told him about his business with the Crown, but the boy had yet to try the beverage. If it was already on the menu at a hotel such as this, then it had to be quite popular. “I’ll have the coffee.”

The woman’s eyes furrowed. “The coffee? Are you sure?” She asked.

“Yes?” Thomas answered cautiously. Why would the lady be so hesitant about him ordering coffee? Thomas couldn’t understand.

“Very well.” She said. “How do you take it?” She asked.

How do I take it? What does she mean? Thomas wasn’t sure of her question. Maybe they serve beverages differently in a hotel like this. Accepting that as the reason, Thomas answered. “In a cup.”

The woman’s lips tugged into a smile and she used her hand to cover her mouth. Doing her best to keep herself from laughing, she spoke. “Of course, it’s served in a cup.” She moved her hand away from her face, revealing a bright smile. “I assume you’ve never had coffee before. It can be served plain, or with sugar, or cream, or milk, or a combination of different ingredients.” She explained. “Some people even enjoy it with mint or ale mixed in.”

No wonder it’s so popular. Thomas thought. His embarrassment over his answer was brief due to all the different ways the beverage could be prepared. “I guess I’ll just try it regular.” Thomas said.

The woman nodded. “Please look over the menu and I’ll be right back with your drink.” She turned and left.

When she came back, she sat a cup of a black liquid in front of Thomas. She also sat a small plate with sugar cubes and some cream on the table as well. She smiled. “Just in case.” She said.

Thomas nodded. When asked for his order, he ordered the ham and eggs, as it was what he was most familiar with. While the waitress was away, he tasted the coffee.

He was happy he had put some points into his Endurance stat, because the drink was piping hot. If not for his stats, he wouldn’t be able to taste his upcoming meal, no matter how delicious it was. After the bitter taste of the coffee, he worried that he still would be unable to taste his meal. How can people drink something like this?

After his first drink, he eyed the sugar and cream like treasure. He began frantically mixing them with the coffee, taking a sip after every cube and every small bit of cream he added. By the time he was able to get the bitter drink tolerable, it was gone.

“Well, well. It looks like you rather enjoy the coffee.” The waitress appeared, holding his food. “That’s surprising, as most younger gentlemen such as yourself don’t seem to have much of a taste for it.” She sat the food before him on the table and picked his now empty cup up. “I’ll get you a refill. Please, enjoy your breakfast.”

Thomas did enjoy his breakfast. It was delicious. He also found the perfect combination of cream and sugar to make the coffee tolerable for him. If he had to, he would rank it towards the middle of the pack of the different teas he tasted while in Torith.

It was still before noon, and Thomas didn’t have anything to do. He didn’t know where anybody was, and he was alone in a new city. So, because of all of that, he decided to do the one thing he knew how to do. He would go to the Adventurer’s Guild to train.

Before leaving the hotel, Thomas got information about the Adventurer’s Guild in Savannah from the nice waitress. It actually wasn’t too far away from the hotel. As one of the main buildings in the city, or in any city in Cydaria, it was usually in a very populated place. Which, in Savannah, just so happened to be near the hotel.

Thomas left the hotel and made a beeline to the guild. It wasn’t in the direct center of the city like the hotel or restaurant was, but it was close. It was only one row back, and, like all Adventurer Guild buildings, it was huge.

Thomas walked inside and was relieved to find that the layout of the guild was almost identical to the one in Torith. He only hoped the prices would be the same. Thomas got in line behind a couple of people. After a short time, he approached the desk and the woman behind it.

“Welcome to the Savannah Adventurer’s Guild. How may I help you today?” The pretty brown-haired woman greeted him.

“Ah… yes… I’m new to Savannah and would like to rent a training room.” Thomas answered.

The woman nodded. “We can do that. What tier room would you like?”

“Tier?” Thomas asked.

“You must have come from a guild from a sub city.” She said. “At the main guilds, we have different training rooms available, among other things.”

“Oh… um… I don’t think I need anything special.” Thomas answered.

She nodded. “Very well.” She said. “What is your weapon of choice?”

“Why do you need to know that?” Thomas was confused.

The woman frowned. “Even if you are going to rent one of the lesser training rooms, I still need the information to find the one that would suit you well. I wouldn’t want to put a tank class in a room with only ranged training, you see?”

“Oh…” Thomas replied. “I use a spear.”

The lady nodded and jotted something down on some paper. “Would you like a room with a mixture of close and midrange training?”

Thomas thought for a second. He had no idea what the room would consist of. He did need to work on his midrange fighting, though. He nodded. “That would be good.”

“Alright. Let’s see.” She wrote something else down, then shuffled through the papers. “Room 37 should suit you well.” She said. “The price is 27 gold an hour. Would you like to pay by the hour or upfront?”

Thomas did his best not to show his surprise at the price of the room. I could train for two days in Torith at the price of one hour here. He thought. Thomas hesitated to say anything. He had enough money for a few hours, but he hated to use it. As he was preparing to buy one hour of training time, and rough hand gripped his shoulder.

Thomas’s eyes followed the hand all the way up to a grinning man’s face. He was dark-skinned with a completely shaven head. He had brown eyes and a small vertical scar on his left cheek. He was built like Derek. He was a little taller than six feet, with very toned arms. The most surprising thing about the man, however, was the coal black badge pinned to his arm.

“Can I help you?” Thomas asked in a low voice. If he wasn’t mistaken, this man was an Onyx Ranked Adventurer.

The man’s smile grew wider. “I couldn’t help but overhear that you use a spear.” He said. “Spears are typically used by lowly guards and soldiers.” He continued. “There aren’t actually that many adventurers that choose to wield a spear of their own volition.”

Thomas nodded. He had seen many spear users in Torith, but they were mostly part of the guards. From what he gathered, it was because basic spears were easy to mass produce with little need for metals and time. Because of this, many adventurers had an innate dislike for spears and preferred to use other weapons.

“It is especially rare to see a youngster like you already using a spear. You wouldn’t believe the amount of people I see avoid using the spear, even though they are obviously best suited for the weapon.” The man explained.

Thomas blushed. Did he not do the exact same thing that the man was describing? What does an Onyx Ranked Adventurer want with me? He wondered.

“Sorry Judy.” The man apologized to the woman behind the desk. “I’m taking your customer from you today.”

The woman frowned. “Whatever.” She said, then looked back at Thomas. “Be careful.”

Be careful? What’s going on? For the first time in a long while, Thomas wished Silvi was with him.

“C’mon kid. Let’s see what you got.” The unknown man pulled Thomas behind him as they disappeared through the training doors in the Adventurer’s Guild.