Arion stood frozen in the marketplace, staring at the young man kneeling before him, begging to become his disciple. Behind them, a massive bull lay snoring peacefully. The crowd was silent, watching him as if he were a mythical figure descended straight from the heavens.
"Stand up," Arion finally told the young man—not because he wanted a disciple, but because the situation was unbearably awkward.
The young man took it as a conditional acceptance. "Yes, Master! I shall rise and follow your silent teachings forever!" He stood, his eyes shining with blind devotion, then stepped back into the crowd as if he had become Arion's unofficial bodyguard and guardian of his reputation.
Arion felt a headache forming. He gripped Liura and Kalin's hands tightly. "The day off is over," he muttered, dragging the two children along, cutting through the crowd that parted for him like the sea. He fled back to the quiet of his new home.
---
Once he closed the door behind him, Arion leaned against it, exhaling deeply.
"Brother, is that bull your new pet?" Kalin asked innocently.
"No, Kalin," Arion answered with defeat in his voice. "That bull is a symbol of how my problems keep growing bigger."
He stepped into the living room and sat down. He needed to understand his financial situation. So much had happened so quickly. He pulled out the pouches of coins he'd earned and started counting.
"Alright… 100 copper from selling the wolf meat and three days at the inn… so 40 left. 1,000 copper from the guild mission. Then… Lady Isabella's reward." He opened the fancy wooden box. It wasn't just a handful of gold coins. It was stacked. Twenty full gold coins, gleaming like tiny suns.
"Twenty… gold coins?!" Arion whispered in shock. "One gold coin is worth 1,000 copper… that's 20,000 copper!"
He added the 1,000 from the guild and the 100 from the butcher. "So the total… 21,040 copper."
Then he remembered the house. "That broker Barnaby sold me this house, which is worth at least 15,000 copper, for just 3,000 because he was terrified of me. So I 'earned' another 12,000 copper from that deal alone."
Arion stared into space. Just days ago, he'd worried about the price of potatoes. Now, he owned enough wealth to buy an entire street back in his old village.
But the first thought that came to mind wasn't luxury—it was responsibility.
"Elian's debt."
She had saved their lives. She was the first person to treat them kindly in this new world. Repaying that debt was his top priority.
---
Arion left Liura and Kalin to play in the garden and went straight to the town clinic. He expected to find Elian, hand her the money, and feel relief at fulfilling part of his promise.
But when he stepped inside, Elian wasn't there.
Instead, a young girl stood behind the counter, arranging small bottles. She looked a few years younger than Elian, with long honey-colored hair tied in a simple, neat braid draping over her shoulder. Her skin was clear, dotted with a few freckles across her small nose, giving her a natural, innocent look. Her eyes were brown, large, and gentle like a deer's—holding a shy, curious gaze. She wore a simple healer's vest, and though she was slender and graceful, her movements had an adorably awkward touch as she organized the bottles.
When she saw Arion, she flinched slightly, nearly dropping a bottle.
"Ah… welcome, sir," she said in a soft, quiet voice. "How can I help you?"
"I'm looking for Healer Elian," Arion said calmly.
A worried look crossed the girl's face. "Master Elian… isn't here. She received an urgent message from the royal capital a few days ago and left in a hurry. She said it was extremely important."
"Will she be back soon?"
"I… I don't know, sir. She didn't say."
Arion sighed. He had wanted to repay the debt directly. He looked at the girl, who watched him with clear nervousness. "What's your name?"
"Lina, sir. I'm Master Elian's assistant."
"Alright, Lina." Arion pulled out a small, heavy leather pouch and placed it on the counter. "This is for treating us. Master Elian's kindness will never be forgotten."
Inside the pouch were two gleaming gold coins.
Lina's brown eyes widened in shock. Two gold coins? That was 2,000 copper! Enough to cover the clinic's expenses for six whole months! Their treatment hadn't cost even a tenth of that.
"S-Sir! I can't accept this!" she stammered. "This… this is far too much! Master never asked for anything!"
"It's not a payment. It's a debt," Arion said in a tone that brooked no argument, then turned to leave.
Lina watched his back as he walked out, then looked at the gold in her hand. She didn't see it as repayment of a debt—but a generous gift from a noble-hearted man. "My goodness," she whispered to herself. "The rumors were true. His heart is as pure as the gold he gives."
---
Arion left the clinic, feeling a bit of the burden lift from his shoulders. But he knew his problems were far from over.
"Money is good. A fake reputation opens doors… but it also attracts trouble," he thought as he walked through the street. "I've survived so far on luck and misunderstandings. But luck will run out. I need real strength—strength that doesn't depend on what people think."
He looked at his status window. Level 3. Strength 16. Agility 12. He was stronger than before but still weak compared to the real dangers of this world. "Rank A? What a joke. I can barely beat a serious Rank D guard."
He made his decision. He would return to the Adventurer's Guild—but this time, he would be smart about it.
"No more Rank A or B missions. I'll pick the simplest quest possible. An E-rank job. Kill a few rats, gather some herbs. Anything dull and safe that lets me level up slowly—and for real."
He entered the guild carrying his new resolution. Ignoring the awestruck stares, he walked straight to the quest board, passing by the dangerous tasks marked with ominous red skulls. His eyes searched for one thing only: the simplest, most trivial job available.
He found it.
[E-Rank Quest: Clear the Guild's Storage Room of Parasitic Spiders]
"Perfect!" Arion thought with relief. "Spiders. I can't possibly fail at this, right?"
He grabbed the request slip and turned to head for Serena—only to bump straight into Guildmaster Valerius, who was waiting for him with a look of suspiciously exaggerated joy.
"Arion! Thank the gods you're here!" Valerius said in his deep, booming voice. "There's been an incident. A catastrophe that no one in this city can handle but you!"
Arion stared at the spider-killing quest slip in his hand, then at the guildmaster's panicked face.
He felt like the entire universe was conspiring just to see how far this absurdity could go.
"Don't tell me," he whispered in his mind. "One of the spiders is the size of a house?"