From Real to Realm

Thanks to the herd earlier, the caravan had no reason to linger within the checkpoint. While a proper meal appealed to everyone, they were only a quarter of the way through the day’s travel. The herd also made their schedule a bit tighter compared to before. Sitting in one place for half an hour didn’t help.

Things really leveled out from there, though. The weather was perfect, a bright sun arcing through the sky with minimal cloud coverage. A light crisp breeze rustling through the tall grasses on either side of the road. Fall was in full swing, or at least this world’s equivalent of the season. Each day, it felt a little colder.

“How much longer till winter hits us?” Val asked, turning to Ainz and Thais.

Thais tapped his chin. “A couple of weeks, maybe?”

“Does it snow a lot?” she asked.

Thais tilted his head side to side. “It varies. I think last year we got absolutely covered.”

Ainz nodded. “All caravan travel ground to a halt. Couldn’t get any traction on the roads.”

“Year before that, I don’t think we got much,” Thais finished.

“Sounds about right,” Ainz said, turning to Val, eyebrow raised. “But you’ve lived in Phylandair all your life, right?”

Val nodded, realizing where this was going.

“Then how do you know so little?”

There was no accusation in the question, just true curiosity.

Val sighed. “Roughly a year ago, I was in a coma with some magical illness the doctors couldn’t figure out. When I finally woke up, I had lost all of my memory.”

Thais and Ainz’s eyes were wide.

“I spent six months in rehab, working to regain what strength I could.” Val looked down at her hands. “It wasn’t easy.”

Things would be so much easier if I could just tell the truth.

“Well, considering I’ve seen you fight. I think you’ve made plenty of progress,” Thais said, patting her back. “Must’ve been hard on your family.”

Val sighed again. “Yeah, it was. Can we… can we not talk about it? I don’t like being looked at with pity.”

Thais opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. “Sure, not a problem.”

The rest of the trip was slow and quiet. Val didn’t talk much more after telling them about when she woke up. It was a common tactic she used. The less they talked about it, the less likely she’d say something contradicting. Neither of them asked about it or brought it up again.

The weather held up, but as the sun sank lower in the sky, that crisp breeze started getting a bit chillier. As the sun got lower in the sky, Val noticed something in the distance. Off to the right side of the road was a handful of glowing objects a few hundred feet away. When she focused, she noticed antlers.

Prism stags, maybe?

“Almost there,” Thais said, pointing.

Val turned away from the glowing elk in the distance, following where Thais was pointing. Not far in the distance, they could see the blur that was Phylandair on the horizon.

“Thank god,” Val said, sitting up. “I can’t wait to sleep in my bed again.”

By the time the caravan finally reached the main gate, the sun was beginning to set. The air had started cooling more rapidly, and the shadows were stretched along the ground. The shadow of the wall loomed over everyone as they waited their turn to be searched.

When they reached the gate, it was much of the same. Papers and badges were checked, and the cargo was searched. It was more thorough this time as well. Only after checking the contents of every crate and barrel were they allowed back into the city.

“Finally,” Val said. “We’re home.”

Ainz chuckled. “We’ll be dropping you off at the guildhall. Then we’ll make our way through the city on our own.”

Thais grinned. “Easy job, good pay. Can’t ask for more.”

Thais wasn’t wrong, Val realized. They were gone for five days with minimal issues.

“What was the pay again?” she asked.

Thais spent more than a few seconds adding it up. “Well, one crown per day, so that’s five crowns there. Three crowns with safe return of everything, so that makes eight.” He mumbled a few more numbers. “We’ll probably get an additional crown or two for hazard pay since we did have to fight. Hopefully ten crowns total.”

Val relaxed. “You’re right. Good pay for an easy job. Hell, I’d be fine with the eight, but won’t say no to ten. So when do we get paid?”

“Once we’re able to return to the concord’s yard, they’ll send the payment to the guild,” Ainz said, snapping the reins. “Check in with the guild clerk tomorrow around lunch. I’m sure the coin will be ready by then.”

Val knew the job paid well. However, she was curious how the dungeon differed in terms of income.

“Say, Thais, what kind of income can the dungeon offer?” she asked.

Thais turned to her with a thoughtful expression. “Well, most of your coin will come from monster parts. Either grab a request from the board or just harvest what you fight. Specific requests offer more coin than just selling directly to the guild.”

Val pondered for a moment. “That’s it, though?”

Thais shrugged. “Sometimes you’ll get a request to clear out an area within the dungeon. The monsters down there group up sometimes and can be a real pain in the ass. The guild sometimes pays you for clearing them out.”

Val sighed. “So there’s no real way to know how much we’d be making?”

He shook his head. “Each week is different. One week, you could easily make a dozen crowns; next week, you’re lucky to make one crown a piece. That means you have to be smart with your funds.”

Ainz chuckled. “I never pegged you for someone who understood frugality.”

Thais shot him an unimpressed glare. “I’m not an idiot, I just like fighting.” Then he turned back to Val. “The best source of coins is elites and bosses.”

Val raised an eyebrow. “Bosses?”

Thais nodded. “There are four total as of right now. The Ashen King, The Hollow Sentinel, The Faceless Choir, and The Gravespeaker.”

Val leaned in a bit more, now more interested. “I’ve heard of the Ashen King. Some other adventurers mentioned him when they were walking by. What floors are they all on?”

Thais chuckled, waving his hands. “Hold on a moment. You’re too low level to even consider taking any of them on.”

Val rolled her eyes. “No shit. I still want to know where they are.”

After a few seconds, Thais sighed. “Fine. Ashen King is on floor four, Hollow Sentinel is on floor nine, Faceless Choir is on floor 13, and Gravespeaker is on floor 19.”

“Has anyone been deeper than 19?” she asked.

Thais nodded. “Lowest floor is 22, but it’s barely been touched. No one really knows what’s waiting for us on that floor or lower.” He chuckled. “Hell, we don’t know how much lower the dungeon goes beyond floor 22 either.”

Val digested the massive news she was just given. Thais likely didn’t realize how much Val didn’t know about the dungeon. Even up until now, she barely had a grasp on what could be waiting for her below.

I’ll need to do some research.

“There’s the guildhall,” Ainz announced.

Val looked up to see the large, intimidating building ahead of them. The first time she saw it, she was scared of what it had in store for her. However, the sight of the building was enough to fill her with excitement now. Was she still scared? Of course, but it wasn’t enough to stop her from wanting to do more.

When the caravan pulled up to the main gate, only the adventurers hopped down. A few of the guild guards replaced them to make sure the wagons got to where they needed to go.

“It was a pleasure riding with you,” Sturman said, nodding toward everyone. “Maybe we’ll work together again in the future.”

Weyland and Thais shook his hand while the girls gave him a small wave. Sturman smiled and snapped his reins to get moving once more. One by one, the wagons started heading down the wide street toward wherever the Gilded Concord’s headquarters were.

“Well, that’s all for us,” Weyland said, stretching. “Everyone’s free to head home for the night. Check in with a guild clerk tomorrow, and they should have your coin.”

“I’m grabbing a celebratory drink!” Thais said, wrapping an arm around Weyland’s neck. “Who’s joining us?”

The girls looked at each other.

“I need to get home,” Val said. “Maybe another time?”

Amarisse waved her hands in front of her. “One round turns into twelve with you. I’ll pass for now.”

Cera shook her head. “I’m not a big drinker, I’d rather go home and rest.”

Thais looked a little upset, but then smiled. “Not a problem. It was fun!”

With that, he pulled Weyland along. Val almost felt bad for him as he protested being dragged along to drinks. Weyland would likely be hungover in the morning.

“Alright, time to head home, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Val asked Amarisse.

“Wait.”

Val turned around, facing Cera. “What’s up?”

Cera was standing there, looking at them. “You said you didn’t have a healer anymore, right?”

Amarisse shared a glance with Val. “That’s right,” she said. “Why?

Cera twisted her face in thought. “Our level gap is too big… but maybe I can convince them to let us group together.”

Val raised an eyebrow. “What level are you, exactly?”

Cera looked up, surprised. “Oh, I’m level four, Bronze 2nd Class.”

Amarisse nodded. “She’s right. We aren’t supposed to group with anyone more than two levels above us max.”

Cera stepped forward. “I think they’ll let me. I’m a healer, not a fighter. I’ll need to ask, of course, but once I know more, I can let you know?”

Val had no issues with Cera joining their party. Then again, Cera knew about what Val was packing. Keeping her close meant Val might be able to keep that secret on lockdown a bit longer, though.

“I have no issues with that,” Val said, turning to Amarisse. “You?”

Amarisse shrugged. “Not really.”

Cera’s face lit up in excitement, but she quickly subdued it. “I’ll let you know as soon as they give me an answer.”

With that, the girl rushed off into the guildhall. Val didn’t know how long it would take for such a request to be heard. Maybe she’d get an answer in a day? A week? Who knew.

“She’s a bit shy, but I think she’ll do well,” Val said, walking down the road with Amarisse.

Amarisse glanced at Val. “I get the feeling she’s only shy around you for some reason. Could be my imagination.”

Val shrugged. “Who knows, I am pretty fucking hot.”

Amarisse laughed, slapping Val on the arm. “Someone’s really cocky.”

The two of them walked side by side down the main road. Amarisse seemed happy to just be back in the city, while Val was curious what awaited her at home. After walking together for a handful of minutes, Amarisse stopped.

“Well, I live this way. Why don’t we check in with Stormveil tomorrow?”

Val nodded. “That works out; we can check in with them after we’re paid for the escort.”

“If we’re lucky enough, they might even have a team we can fill in on,” Amarisse suggested, smirking. “I think we’re both itching to get back in there.”

Val chuckled. “You’re damn right. I’ve been ready.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she said, waving as she started walking.

Val watched for a few seconds as Amarisse walked further down the street. Even now, she was feeling overtly thankful to have a friend like Amarisse. Without her support, Val would’ve probably struggled more than she already has.

Val started walking toward The Weeping Wagon. Lynesia was probably already waiting for her. Originally, Val expected Lynesia to be sitting at the guild gate waiting. However, Val told her it could take five days, but it could have taken longer. It was also late; the sun had already set well behind the walls. Soon, Val was pushing through the door into the lobby area.

“Well, I’ll be,” came a familiar heavily-accented voice.

“Hey, Marxus,” Val said, smiling.

“I was beginnin’ to worry, lass,” he said, setting his book down. “Been almost a week since we last saw ya.”

Val nodded. “Yeah, an escort job to another city. Good pay, too.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re not going to ditch me now that you’re flush with coin, are ya?”

Val stopped in her tracks, a bit confused. “I didn’t plan to, why?”

Marxus held her gaze for a second, then chuckled. “I’m just pullin’ yer leg.”

It wasn’t the kind of joke Val expected. “Don’t worry. You’ve done more for me than I could ever ask for. I doubt Lynesia and I will leave unless we find a house in the future.”

Marxus whistled. “Already thinking that far ahead?”

His wife shuffled out of the back room. “Quit givin’ her grief. It’s sweet she’s already thinkin’ that far ahead.”

Marxus smirked. “Well, I’m pretty sure she’s upstairs waiting for ya. Better head on up.”

Val nodded. “See ya around.”

Without hesitation, she started heading upstairs. After being gone for five days, she wanted a kiss, a long, warm bath, and to relax in her bed with her love.

“Lynesia?” Val called out after opening the door. “I’m home, finally.”

There was no response.

“Babe?”

Val walked through the apartment-style room. When she finally reached the hallway leading to the bathroom and bedroom, she could smell Lynesia’s body wash. However, when she reached for the bedroom door, it was locked.

“Take a bath, get cleaned up,” came Lynesia’s voice from behind the door. “Once you’re done, I’ll be waiting in here.”

Val tilted her head, a bit confused, but decided to play along. “I’m looking forward to a dozen kisses after I’m clean.”

As Val walked away, she barely made out what Lynesia said behind the door.

“Oh, you’re getting a lot more than that.”

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