"Huh, so this is kinda like the appraisal process, isn’t it?" I remarked, as I held my hand out.

"Sort of, I suppose you could call it an update, it’s certainly not possible without going through the appraisal process first. What this does is add an extra enchantment to the Status Bar crystal embedded in the back of your hand, you see. There, it’s done. Now, I’ll just run some Mana into the crystal to make sure there’s no mistakes, and...good, there doesn’t seem to be any issues," She nodded, as my Status Bar popped up.

Let’s see here...during my appraisal, there was only one line displayed in the Status Bar; Attribute: Dark. And now, there’s two more lines there. Adventurer Rank: Gold, and below that, Kieph Town Guild.

"Great, guess it’s official now," I mused, as I shut off the Status Bar.

"Indeed. So, would you like to take a quest today?" She asked me.

"Hm...nah, I think I’ll rest up for today. I only arrived in town about a couple of hours ago, you see. I’d rather not overexert myself," I replied with a shake of my head.

"Wait, you arrived today? How did you travel, if you don’t mind me asking?" She responded in surprise.

"On foot, from Shagg Village," I answered...that’s another village near Marri Town, where I got my appraisal.

"Huh? From so far away?" She inquired in bemusement.

"Well, I’d rather not get into the specifics of my situation, it’s kinda messy. Let’s just say that I’m looking for someone. Oh, on that note, have you seen a guy who’s about five years older than me, with two-toned hair, orangish red on the right and light purple on the left, green eyebrows and golden eyes?" I asked her hopefully.

"Uh, let me think...hm, no, I can’t say I recall anyone who fits that description," She shook her head, after mulling.

"Oh, I see. That’s too bad," I sighed wistfully.

Well, it was worth a shot.

"Sorry I couldn’t help. Anyway, there’s a lot I want to ask you about, but prying like that goes against our policies, not to mention that I’ve got more work to attend to, so I should get back to my duties. Is there anything else I can help you with?" She responded, as she stood up.

"No, I’m good, I’ll just head back to the inn I’m staying at for now. Oh, wait, there is one thing...what’s your name?" I inquired, as I stood up and stretched my arms up.

"Hm? Oh, how rude of me...I have to admit, I was a bit thrown by the fact that someone so young wanted to be an Adventurer, introducing myself completely slipped my mind. My name is Rosary Farndrey," She replied with a smile.

"Cool, nice to meet you, Rosary. I did sign my name on that liability form, but I should properly introduce myself too...I’m Larrk Stryker," I responded politely.

"A pleasure, Larrk. I look forward to working with you during your stay in this town."

"Same. Though, do you mean that only as a receptionist, or as an Adventurer too?" I inquired slyly.

"Hm, stay in town long enough and you just might find out," She remarked cryptically, giving me a slight smirk.

She’s definitely the first person in this world for whom I’ve felt seriously attracted to...and just so we’re clear, very much in a lustful way. I don’t think I’ve ever had any romantic feelings for anyone, at least not yet...I mean, I hardly ever met anyone outside of that mansion in my old life, so it’s not exactly surprising.

I then left the Guild and headed back to the inn, feeling pretty high spirited. I’m officially an Adventurer now, awesome! Well, I haven’t actually done any adventuring yet, but still...I wonder what kind of quests they issue?

There’s a Labyrinth not too far from this place, wonder if I’ll be allowed to take quests in there? Hm, on second thought, I should pick more simple assignments to start off with, the Labyrinths are supposed to be really dangerous.

On the way back to the inn, I bought a couple of burgers and a pizza. All those duels have made me work up a bit of an appetite, and what better than some good old fast food?

On that note, I wonder what the history of cuisine is like in this world? I mean, it has a lot of the same types of food that my old world did, except for stuff made using meat from Magic Beasts, which is kinda rare and also super expensive.

Mainly because Magical Beasts are harder to hunt than normal animals, and they’re practically impossible to domesticate like cows or chickens or sheep.

Those animals see their own kind being slaughtered often but they don’t really care, but Magical Beasts have a strong kinship with their own species...if they see someone hurting one of their own, they’ll retaliate in aggression.

And if they are hunted, they’re quick to move away from that area and find a new place to live in. I’ve been looking around, but the few restaurants that do have some types of Magical Beast meat on their menu are way too expensive.

I mean, I can afford it, but I shouldn’t be shelling out so much money for a single meal, it’ll probably be suspicious. Maybe I’ll give it a try right before I leave this town, which’ll probably be, at the latest, by the end of the week.

As I arrived at the inn, I headed up to the room and entered after unlocking the door, before shutting it and locking it again. I doubt anyone’s just gonna barge in, but better safe than sorry.

I then opened up my Pocket Dimension, before Prysm poked her head out. She took a couple of sniffs as I set down the food, and then stepped out of the portal.

"How did it go at the Guild?" She asked me, as I shut the portal.

"Pretty good, I guess. Here," I replied, as I handed her one of the burgers. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

"Oh, thanks. Um, wait, isn’t there a fork and knife I can use?" She responded, as she stared at it in bemusement.

"Huh? What for?" I inquired, as I bit into my burger and let out a content sigh.

Damn, that’s good! The bun feels like it’s freshly baked, it’s incredibly soft and seems to have been glazed with butter. And the beef patty is thick and juicy, and delightfully tender too, with a slightly charred outside.

It’s delectably flavorful with a hint of spice to it, which goes really well with the sauce, a chilli garlic spread. Mm, and the pickle slices are great too, not too sour and with a slight crunch to them, complementing the crisp lettuce delightfully.

Hm? Ugh, tomato...that just ruined the bite. I let out a sigh as I lifted the bun and pulled out the tomato slice, dropping it into the paper bag. I should’ve told them not to put any tomato...I like ketchup just fine, and tomatoes work well as an ingredient in a lot of dishes, but I can’t stand a direct bite of tomato.

"Wait, you just bite into it like an apple?" Remarked Prysm incredulously.

"Wow, uh, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone comparing a burger to an apple, but yes...just bite into it like a sandwich. I mean, it technically is a sandwich, after all. What, do Nobles really eat burgers with a fork and knife?" I responded in disbelief.

"Well, I’ve only eaten burgers maybe three or four times, and my family always used forks and knives to eat them," She explained, as she tentatively took a bite, "Oh, this tastes different to what I remember. Like, the way it feels when I bite into it."

"You mean the texture?" I replied, as I got through about half the burger, set it down and reached for a slice of pizza, "What about this, have you eaten pizza with a knife and fork too?"

"Uh, yes, except for small ones as finger food at parties and stuff. And usually, it’s not all sliced up like this," She informed me.

Noble culture is seriously messed up. I mean, on top of slavery and mistreatment of Commoners, they eat burgers and pizza with a knife and fork!? Who does that!?

"Yeah, you’re gonna have to unlearn everything you knew," I mused, as I bit into the pizza slice.

Ohh, this is pretty good too, the dough has been baked to perfection, flaky and slightly firm on the outside, and amazingly soft on the inside. They’ve also piled on a generous amount of cheese on top, with an even spread of the meat and vegetables.

I picked off the olives, which I utterly despise, and continued chomping down. I can’t get enough...warm, delicious food of my own choosing after nearly three whole years. I needed this so much.

"So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?" She asked me, as she took a bite of her burger.

"I’m gonna relax and take it easy, I plan on taking on a quest tomorrow. Oh, yeah, I saw a movie theater while I was out, maybe I’ll give that a shot," I mused, as I mulled it over.

That’s right, I have the freedom to do whatever I want now, and no one can stop me. Yeah...no one can stop me.

"Ohh, that sounds like fun. Can I join you?" She requested eagerly, an hopeful look on her face as I met her gaze with a warm smile and then said...

"Hell no."

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