"I'm not even close to halfway to Wilhelmshire. I'm tired, and it's really hot"

It was the hottest day since I have been here. I need to rest in some shades. I need a drink. I only have money. So I walked a little bit toward the forest shades, and I hear running water. There must be a river nearby. I walk deeper into the forest, something I know is a bad idea after that whole fiasco when I was a kid. I have no choice, I have to survive. As I walked toward the sound of water, the nearest one I could find is a creek but it will do. I set up a makeshift camp beside the creek and drink the water from the creek. After my thirst has been cleared, I sit down beneath the tree. I was thinking, is there any way to be stronger? More destructive power to my fighting? Or to protect me in a fight? Whenever I fight, I keep getting injured. I have nothing, so I better play with magic instead. I try to summon fire and fire them in the direction of the creek. Juggle fire and maybe play with the wind. I wish I knew what is holding me back.

"Wait. Holding me back...maybe...what happened when I ran..."

I channeled my fire magic in my left hand and wind to my right, but I don't release them. I hold and concentrate the magic in my hands until my hand is filled with dense, concentrated magic. Once I feel enough magic in my hand, I throw a punch from my left hand and release the magic. As the magic is released from my fist, a small explosion erupts from my hand. I am astonished by my newfound power, so I tried to punch it from my right hand. A powerful burst of wind is released from my hand, making a loud "Bang" noise once I released it. How about using kicks? I channeled my water magic to both my foot and released them. The jet of water propelled me upward in a short burst. I was on air for about 5 second, next, I tried using my wind magic on my right leg and made a sweep kick when I released the wind magic. It released a sharp wind blade that cuts through a tree. How about ground magic? I repeat the process and punch the ground, releasing a small crater and a mini earthquake. After that last magic demonstration, I feel tired but fulfilled. However, the magic demonstration attracts the local predator. Mainly wolves. Let's put this power to a test. I punched the Goliath bear with my explosive fist and sliced the wings of Roc bird with my wind kick. However, I was too busy to pay attention to my surrounding I was surrounded by a Bipedal pig. I can't call them orcs, since I met orcs before. That lady back in Havila's Adventurers guild. Bi-pigs? No, that sounds ridiculous. I'll simplify it. Porcs. They look tough, so I better use ground magic. I coat my fist with ground magic and punch one of them in the face. Oh boy, they explode. Only the legs remained. So I continued fighting until none of them remains. Now that they are dead, I feel really hungry, and the sun is setting. I set up a firepit and tried to de-feathered the Roc Birds, skinned the wolves with wind knife and roast some of them and store some in my inventory storage for the future.

"Hahah... That was tiring. In the end, I haven't eaten anything today. I have a lot of unused stuff. I better buy a waterskin in Wilhelmshire. For now, let's eat"

I ate the wolf's meat first. They are a bit leaner than steak. Gamey. The Roc taste like chicken. And The Porcs? I don't want to touch them, so I threw them away. The meat is fine, just a bit tasteless. Once I have my meal, I roasted several others for the road, and take off. However, I feel a bit weird. I feel more powerful. Something inside me is flowing. No. Overflowing. Like a glass full of water and the water keep spilling because the water keeps pouring. So I test my mana management and direct my magic to my foot. I stack and separate 2 different magic, wind and fire. So I tried running as fast as I can with compressed wind magic and propelled my jump with compressed fire magic. I jump very high and far, I can see a lot from up here. This sprint jump is really fun, and I'm not even tired. I repeat this method several times until I reached Wilhelmsburg at night. I feel tired, but not verily. As if a car with a half tank of gas. I know I need to enter Wilhelmsburg, but I can't risk getting arrested here. I need to slip past the guard. Since they are heavily guarded tonight, they must have known I would try to enter the city tonight. Let's go through my options here. Climbing the wall is out of the question since the wall is heavily guarded. Run through with compressed wind magic? They would absolutely hear a loud boom and they would feel the wind as I enter, so that's a no-no. Fly with fire magic? They would see the fire. Set a forest fire, and slip in? Too much pollution, and definitely would kill the animals there. How about under? Nah, they would see me dig from up the wall. Bribe the guard? That might work, but I'm not sure it would work for everyone. Maybe I could fly with magic instead. It causes no light, if I fly high enough, the wind won't reach them and I can descend slowly not to make any noises. Yes, that might be it. But since I'm only half full, I need to recharge first. I ate several portions of meat before entering and steadily regulates my wind magic to my foot. Until I am afloat, I tried to steadily increase the wind volume until I am flying high, undetected. So I increase the magic output little by little until I reach the troposphere. It's cold here, but I need to fly undetected. So once I'm inside the wall radius, I slowly descend. Great. No one found me. Since this is already dark, I need a place to lay low. I happen to see an inn, rather close by the adventurers guild and the gate, but I see no other options. So inside I went, and book a room for a 2 day and paid the innkeeper 5 gold for the room and for keeping my identity a secret. I went to bed as fast as I could.

"Please. You're my only hope, now"

Early in the morning, I went and ask the innkeeper where can I find guildmaster Hull, which the man Huber said they should be in the merchants guild. I ask him to direct me to the merchants guild, which he did, but he did not dare to leave the inn unattended at this hour. So I thank him and take off. Once I'm in the guild, I went to one of the clerk. A young woman, maybe a same age as me, Blonde, and a little bit...bratty

"How may I help you?"

"I'm here to see Guildmaster Hull. It's important"

"Do you have an appointment?"

"I don't, but this is important news from Shin"

I lied. And the girl in front of me doesn't think she heard the name "Shin" Before. So she keeps asking me questions. Clearly, I am annoyed, but he is my last hope. I don't want to blow my chance. Not here, Not now. Some time has passed and she keeps telling me no. An old man, who I think guildmaster Hull, went in the guild. He greets his employees and his granddaughter, which is the clerk in front of me. I approach him with haste.

"Excuse me, are you Guildmaster Hull?"

"Yes, I am. And you are?"

"My name is Ken. I need to talk to you privately. It's important for me"

"If it is, speak then"

"I need to talk to you privately"

I lean closer to the guild master's ear and whisper to him

"I am Japanese. I need your help. Master Shin said you could help, and you're my last hope. Please"

Hull is astonished for a few seconds and invites me to his office. He went past an armored guard, but wouldn't let me. Said I need to be checked first. Luckily, the guildmaster intervenes and said to let me be. He release me and he told me to sit down.

"Thank you very much Mister Hull"

"Save your thanks. You're not off the hooks yet. Confirm things from me first. How did you know Shin and Where did you meet him?"

"Yes, sir. I met him at an inn in Kingsport. He was wearing a suit, which is not something the locals would wear. I helped him with his errand, and told him my story"

"I see. So your story checks out. Then, what do you need of me?"

I told him everything. About my death, the Heaven thingy, the reincarnation, My life at the orphanage, and how it burned down. I told him that I killed a nobleman's son in retaliation for killing sister Haga. How I ran from Iberria and was hunted down in Kingsport. And how I got here. He seems dumbfounded when I told him I killed a nobleman's son, but he lets me finish my story. Lastly, I told him that he was my only hope now.

"You're a criminal"

"I did what I had to do, sir"

"No, you did what your heart told you. Personally, I would have done the same thing, but your being here would worsen the relationship between Theovan and Iberria. As a nobleman myself, I cannot approve of what you have done. You need to think. Don't just rush head in. Think about the consequences!"

"So you won't help me?"

He sighed.

"It's not like that. You're welcome here, as long as you keep yourself hidden and keep out of crime until I found a solution for you. You have been through much in the span of a week for someone your age"

I find it impossible to hold back tears when he saw me. He tried to comfort me.

"That's okay. It's going to be okay"

I wiped my tears away. He offers me a beer, which I refused. I really don't like the taste, but the label of the beer looks familiar. It's the one the old man from the Oden stand had.

"Where are you staying, right now?"

"An inn called Huber's"

"I will need you to move out of there and head to the residential area there. Rent a house. But I cannot let you stay there for free. It would arouse suspicion"

"Do you think it's okay?"

"Are you concerned that I will rat you out like what happened in Kingsport? Because I won't. What happened in here, stays in here"

"Thank you very much Mister Hull"

"Call me Haruki. That's my Japanese name"

"Thank you Mister Haruki"

"Oh, and you might want to lose the clothing and change your haircut. I can provide you with both. With the house, I need you to pay me 8 gold, and 10 silver"

I hand him the money. I don't have any exact spare change for silver, so I give him 9 gold instead.

"Thank you. I'll have the staff bring in your clothing. I'll take you to the barber and take you to your house. I'll look for another solution"

Guildmaster Haruki came out of the room and asked the guard to ask one of the staff to bring fresh new clothing. He went back inside. After a few moments, I heard someone knocking. A male staff bringing clothing on a tray. A shirt, pants, a belt, and a hood. I lose my old clothing and wear my new clothing.

"Does those fit?"

"A bit big, other than that, perfect"

"Great. Let's visit the barber first"

I put on my hood. Guildmaster Haruki showed me the way to the barber. We went our way outside of the merchant guild building. The sun is not yet indicating noon. So the morning is still pretty fresh

"One thing you should know. The barber here has a daughter"

"I'm not interested"

"Don't interrupt me. The father is an expert at changing hair, but the daughter is a specialist if you need your appearance changed. Cheekbone, Jawline, or even eye color. She could change your appearance really fast"

"Is this legal?"

"In here? No. But I keep her talent out of the public eye. The only people alive who knew about her is her father, Me, And The lord of this area. If you're being hunted, are you willing to change your face?"

"I'm changing my face?"

"If you want to"

Can I really change my face? Do I want to? I don't want to be hunted, but is it worth it?

"I know what you're thinking. Don't worry. It would be safe. But her service is a bit expensive. 200 gold per change"

"200 GOLD?"

"Yeah. It's no surgery, but the magic is pretty delicate. Keep in mind while it changes your appearance, it would not change your criminal status. If you are forced to submit to an ID crystal, it would still recognize you as a criminal"

"Got it. Oh, and one more thing. Mister Shin said there is a library here?"

"Yeah. It was near the central plaza. A big building. We'll pass by it"

He walked me through the central plaza. The center of the town where each district meets. While we passed the plaza, he pointed to a large building, not taking up much land, but the building is high up. Higher than the other building, except the Lord's manor.

"There's the library. Are you planning to study?"

"Yes. I don't know much about this world. Even though I was a reincarnate, the only thing I knew in this world was fighting. I fought monsters and humans. I just wanted to live like a simple adventurer"

"How about your life back then?"

"Back then, I only knew how to fight, until my teacher knocks some sense into me. He was our PE teacher. He turned me and my bud back straight. He told me if I'm going to fight, then I should fight smart"

"What does that mean?"

"He told me to pick my fights, and if there's a fight I couldn't win, I should outsmart who I fight. 'Level the fighting ground', he said. So I abandoned my way for a while and got caught up in academics. My bud was the smart one, and I was the average one, but I did my best"

"So what happened?"

"Teach was pretty young, so he applied for a 100-meter dash athlete, but he wished us specifically good luck. We went on our own, which is pretty good, but we spar then and for a while. One day, he was on his way back from the library with his girl and got harassed. He got ganged up, but the girl called the cops on them. He got beat up pretty badly. I was still in track club so when I heard he got beat up, I run straight to the hospital"

"And the girl?"

"She told me what happened. I happen to have an encounter with these kids back before I changed my way. So I know where to look. I laid waste to them and went back to the hospital. Once my bud's parents are already there, they asked me to go home. So I did, but I never got home, and the rest is history"

"I see. You endured so much for someone so young"

Our conversation is cut short by the destination. A simple two-story building with a pair of scissors as a sign of the store.

"Do I have to change my appearance?"

"Just for precautions. Just make a light change"

We went inside the store. The barber is an elf of average size, average build, and a blonde hair down to his neck. But something tells me that he's more than meets the eye.

"Welcome to Eroan's barber. Ah, guild master. Here to cut some hair?"

"Not me, but this young man does"

He scans me from head to toe.

"Hmm. A strong kid. You're an adventurer?"

"How did you..."

"Eroan and her wife used to be an adventurer. He quits after he got enough money to open up a barbershop"

"You're an adventurer?"

"Yes"

"But you don't look like an adventurer?"

"I was a ranger. Climbing trees, scouting the path, and shooting the enemy with my bow, that kinda stuff"

Oh, shit. That was rude of me.

"I uh...Sorry to assume"

"No, no. Don't worry. Adventurer is not my calling. Cutting hair IS my calling"

I have to be honest. In all those mangas I read and anime I watched, I have never heard of an elf barber nor an orc woman who is a guild adventurer's staff.

"Well, young man. Take a seat. What hair do you want?"

"Can you give me a pompadour?"

Guild Master Haruki interrupts.

"No, no. You're not getting a pompadour"

"Pompadour?"

"Guliarmo. Give him a short haircut"

"What?!"

Guild Master whispers in my ear.

"This is not Japan, you are not a delinquent. So cut your hair short, so it doesn't attract attention"

I reluctantly agree. If not for those bounties, I would have argued with him back and forth. So the elf barber cuts my shoulder-length hair, into a stupid pixie cut. If not for my Japanese face, I would look exactly like Julius Caesar.

"There. that should make you look good and fresh. Now lean your head back and let me clean your hair"

He conjured magic water and a ball of water, a size of a football, and put it on top of my head, unbroken. He makes the water spin while putting shampoo into the water ball. Once the shampoo is inside, the water ball moves rather fast and rigorously. Massaging my head without damaging it. I admit. This feels good. After the shampooing is finished, he throws all that water down the drain. He dried my hair with a combination of fire magic and wind magic.

"Voila. How's this?"

"You have outdone yourself, Eroan"

I would agree if I didn't look like Julius Caesar now.

"Now, Eroan. If the haircut is done, here is the money. And I would like to use your 'other services'."

"Ah. Melian is inside. Let me ask Melian first"

Eroan enters a room. I can hear some conversation, but it's all muffled. Eroan comes out and directs us inside. When I enter a dark, damp room where Melian is, I see nothing but a young giant elven woman. Looks like my age. Muscular, but her graceful aura is still overpowering her tall and muscular appearance.

"Whoa"

"I can see your surprise, young man. Well, she is still an elven woman. half of her. "

"What the hell is the other half?"

"Her mother was a goliath"

A goliath half-elf woman?! How did he... never mind. The sooner I accept the reality, the less headache I'll have.

"Papa. Is this one who you talked about?"

Eroan nods.

"Hello, Melian"

"He looks really young to change his appearance"

"Hey. Aren't you my age?"

She looks upset by my comment.

"Ah, Young man..."

Eroan closes in and whispers to my ears

"She's 75 years old"

...okay then.

"Right. Sorry, I guess"

"Let's get this over with. Take a seat"

I take a seat inside the room.

"So, what do you want to change?"

"Basic stuff, I guess. Hair and Eye color"

"Alright. But just because it's a basic change, I won't drop the price"

"Melian!"

"No. It's okay"

Right after that, she wets my hair with water and grabs a small bottle with an eyedropper.

"Can you tell me what are you going to do?"

"No"

"Why?"

"Because you would steal my secret and my livelihood"

"I'm not. I promised"

She sighed

"I'm using a grounded magic stone that's going to be applied to your hair, and a solution from a magic stone, boiled with water and imbued with elf magic to change your eye color"

"Right, go ahead then"

"Here. Open your eyes"

She drops the magic water solution into my eyes and I closed them both. It feels cold.

"Don't open your eyes. I haven't cast magic yet"

She rubs my hair with the powdered magic stone, making sure my hair is layered with the powder

"Right. This might sting a bit. Hold still"

She chanted a spell in a language I don't understand. But once she does that, I feel like my eyes and hair are burning. I tried to hold the pain as I can.

"This is the first time I saw it with my own eyes, Eroan. This is quite grotesque. His eyes are smoking"

Smoking? So it is burning?

"What color do you want for your eyes?"

"Grey. Make it grey"

"What about your hair?"

"Blonde. I want him to blend in, so make it blonde. Blonder, better"

Interjects Mister Haruki.

"Alright"

Now it's my hair that is burning. After a few complete incantations, the pain subsides

"It's done. Now open your eyes"

I slowly opens my eyes and looked in the mirror. My eyes indeed turn grey. But my hair is too blonde. Platinum blonde.

"There. How does it look?"

"It looks good, Melian. Your father must be proud"

"I am, Guild Master. She's my only daughter after all"

My hair turned white and blonde. Okay, forget what I said when I looked like Julius Caesar. Now I looked like those e-boys you find on the internet. How did he persuade me into this?

"Great. Now, pay her, Ken"

I take out my gold pouch and give her all 200 golds. All for white hair and gray pupils. This is extortion.

"Hoo. Young and rich. Is he a nobleman?"

"No. He's not. He's an adventurer who works hard and starts early. He usually takes 4 quests daily"

A platinum blonde pixie cut. I have never felt so embarrassed in my life.

"Right. We should be going. Ken, let's go. Melian, Eroan. Thank you for your service"

"Anytime, Guild Master"

Guild Master Haruki usher me outside. With my hood on, Mister Haruki pulled my hood.

"Good. Your hair is sparkling. With this, you'll be the attention of the town in no time"

"That's the opposite of what I wanted to do!"

He just laughed. I put on my hood again. He leads the way to the central plaza again.

"We're going to your house. It's in the opposite direction we're going"

He walked toward the residential area outside of the gate. There were few houses outside the gate and a vast grassland across them. Guildmaster Haruki talks to the guard.

"This kid is my guest here. Let him in and out of here as he pleased. Pass on the message to the other guards"

The gate guards salute Mister Haruki. We walked a bit outside of the wall until he stopped in front of one house. A wooden cabin, enough for one person to live in.

"Alright. This house would be your house temporarily. I will look into other options. Until then, lay low"

"What if I want to work? Earn some money?"

"You have enough money to live for a long time"

"At least, am I allowed to hunt?"

"Yes. But if you want to be paid for hunting, you can re-register as adventurers"

"That's convenient. Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Lay low. That's the point of you being here. If you want to eat, you could go to the tavern, or you could buy the ingredients and purchase them on your own"

I looked inside the house, It is dusty and dirty

"At least do you have something for me to clean?"

"Yeah. The mop and broom should be on the back"

"Right. Thanks. I'll clean the place up and head to the library. I'll go to the tavern for food"

"Good. I'll leave you to it. I'll inform you once I have another arrangement for you"

"Thanks again"

He leaves me at my home. The house does feel empty. The only furniture in the house is a bed, a stove, a dining table, and a dining chair. I started cleaning up the place, picking up the broom and the mop. I sweep the dust off the floor and wet the room with my water magic and started mopping. Then I moved to the bedroom and clean the floor with it. There is one problem, though. I can't reach the ceiling. The ceiling is still dirty. I'll put off cleaning the ceiling for now. I better get to the library. The sun is currently at noon, I have yet to feel hungry. I need to learn about this world. Maybe there's a cleaning magic book. So entered the library and I was greeted by the librarian. This person does not look like a man or a woman. This person is a slim dark elf, with long hair, beautiful eyes, and an even more beautiful face.

"Welcome to Wilhelm's library. Any particular book you're interested in?"

"Do you have daily use magic? For cleaning and stuff?"

"Well, let me take a look at the catalog. Let's see, Magic, the first number 1. Encyclopedia category 3 and everyday magic number 2. So it should be in section 130. Section 130 should be behind you and the book should have 2 in front of the book"

"Alright. Thank you"

I approached shelf 130. Trying to find a daily life magic book, I found one called, "Basic Introduction to Daily Magic, and The Application". I grabbed the book and sit down on the nearest chair. Once I opened the book, I feel like I am entering a zone where time pauses around me and nothing matters anymore. I read the book easily. The Words are easily understood. The more I flip the page, the more I understand. I feel like knowledge seeps through my brain and implants a memory of the book. Hours passed, and I finished the book. I completely understand daily life magic now. I put the book back on the shelf. I went back to the librarian.

"Did you get bored or something?"

"Huh?"

"You just read that book like 5 minutes and put it back on the shelf"

"5 minutes? but that's impossible. I have been reading for hours"

"I have an hourglass here. The bottom wasn't even filled a quarter"

Did I really read for 5 minutes? Was it a mistake?

"Look. I don't know what you are trying to play here. You have been here for 5 minutes. I can give you my 5 minutes hourglass so you won't think I'm bullshitting you"

Alright. I need to excuse myself for a moment. I went to a secluded area within the library and looks at my status. It has been a while since I looked at my status. I was so busy adventuring, I have been using my old stats. It's time to upgrade now. But I do remember that I would have a fever when I leveled up. Once I opened my status, I leveled up once from reading one book. I'm now a level 61 fighter. I see several skills unlocked. Alcohol tolerance, Martial Arts Mastery. Magic Creation, Enhanced Physical Condition, and Daily Magic Mastery. Maybe I could rent the book and return it tonight. But for now, I need to prepare for level-up fatigue. I remember I still have several portions of meat in my inventory. So I went back to the librarian.

"Hey. I forgot something at home. Can I rent the books for me to study at home? I'll return it tonight"

"Well, we CAN rent you these books. But the library imposes a fee of one gold per book per night. How many books do you want to rent?"

I grabbed a lot of books. If what this person said is true, In one hour, I could complete 12 books. Since this is right in high noon, I would still have 6-7 hours before dinner. That would mean I could read 84 books at most. Alright. I grab every book I could find. Magic, history, Metallurgy, everything. Including several books of my choosing. Monster Bestiary, Element Magic Basic, and advanced book. Books about trading, money, religion, cooking and ingredients. A little bit of everything. I returned to the librarian with a mountain pile of books. The dark elf looks astounded about how many books I rent.

"Are you messing with me, kid?"

"Nope. I have never been so serious in my life. I think, if what you said was true, I can finish them all before night"

"Kid. Not even the smartest man alive could read this many books in one night. It would take months to complete them"

"I promise. I will read all of these"

"Alright. If you say so. All I need is for you to sign a legally and magically binding contract. If any of these books are damaged or gods forbid, missing, we will be posing a heavy penalty on you. If you cannot afford them, you will be put to trial according to the law"

"I understand"

"Now, sign here, here, and here. I need your fingerprint with your blood under the signatures"

I complied with the librarian's order.

"Great. I will need you to pay a deposit of 50 gold first. When you returned the books, you could pay the rest of the fee. Now for the books, I will have them carted into your house"

"No need. I can carry them my own"

"You sure? Because of any damage to the book..."

"They won't get damaged. I promise. Besides. I have inventory storage. So I don't need to worry about it being damaged"

"Alright. See you later"

I dart back outside and run to my house as fast as I could. I went home and input 10 points to daily life magic skills. My body feels glowing for a few seconds, and I cast Complete Cleaning Magic on my house. It. was. impeccable. The house looks brand new, no cobwebs or dust left in the house. The inside is sparkling, and the outside looks pristine. Great. Now to deal with level-up fatigue, I ate every meat in my inventory and cast ground magic to make a separate room for a temporary bathtub. I filled the bathtub with water and takes off my clothing. Freezing the water is no hard part after eating the meat. I went inside and started freezing the water. I still have 24 points left, so I maxed out my accelerated learning skill, and a new skill is unlocked. Enhanced Brain Capacity. I read the description, and it said that I could remember a lot of things and accelerate my thought process multiple times. I leveled up that skill 1 time and my brain feels lighter. Once I got in the bathtub, I froze the water multiple times. The cold is indeed seeping through my body and I cannot move. I tried to max out my Martial Arts Knowledge, my magic aptitude, and my Egotism and level up my Enhanced Physical Condition to the max. Now, my body starts to feel hot and heavy. The water that is previously frozen multiple times started to melt. Once my body returns to normal, all the ice has melted back into the water, warmed by body temperature. Steams are coming out of the temporary bathtub, making it looks like a hot bath. I got out of the bath, return the temporary bathtub back to the ground and the water seeps into the ground. I feel like studying, so I read books inside of the house. I stack all the books on the ground and started reading the book one by one. I am entering the zone once more. Feeling that you read for hours and hours, while only 5 minutes passed. Only this time, it felt a bit clearer. I read every book on the ground, and piling the books I finished reading to my left. It almost feels like I haven't gotten out of the house for weeks, months even. But in reality, not even a day has passed. Among the things I learned, one of the books mentioned that I could revert my status back to innocent. Once I finished all the books I read, I checked my status again. This time, I leveled up to level 145. Wait. One book, one level up? this could be convenient. But I need to prepare to level up, but this time, I don't need to create a bathtub anymore. I went outside and open my status. Since I can navigate by eyes, I froze myself with a permafrost iceblock. Permafrost usually won't melt, but I think, with level-up fatigue, I can melt it. So I maxed out several skills from daily life skills, like agriculture, trading, and charisma-based skill, to combat skills. However, this time, enhanced conditions were separated into several classes. Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Intelligence, Enhanced Defense etc. I even maxed out my enchanting and blacksmithing skills. So, at the end of the day, I melted the permafrost and leveled up a bunch of skills. There's one skill I didn't level up to the max, which is illusion magic. Once the sun is already setting down, I packed up the books and put them in my inventory storage. Something reminds me that I need to purchase several pieces of furniture for my house. Or maybe not.

"Oh right"

I takes out my featureless mask. I tried to enchant it with illusion magic and stealth, but failed. I think it needs an enchantment marble. So, that's it for today then. I went back to the library, and returned the books.

"Welcome back. How are you doing with those books?"

"It was amazing. I leveled up a lot with these books"

"Kid. No one leveled up just by reading a book"

"I did. I was level 61 before. Now I am level 145"

"Lying is not good, kid"

"I'm not. Here. Check this out"

I cast Complete Restoration to the library and the books, the building, and even the librarian themself is cleaned and restored to a clean state, where everything looks pristine. Missing book pages are completed by themselves. The dirty look outside makes it clean and less scary. The librarian themself doesn't change much. Only tidier and cleaner. They are already beautiful before, so Complete Restoration doesn't do much

"See? I'm a fighter so I shouldn't be able to do this. But I did. Thanks to those books. Here's the rest of the coin. Have a great night"

They were left speechless as I left the library. My coin pouch feels lighter. I counted the coins, and I still have 835 gold and 90 silver. The night is approaching fast, I better get dinner. I went to the tavern. The place is full of people. Adventurers from what I can assume. Great. No one saw me in. I went and sit in an unoccupied chair. The place is noisy. I better order. A dude approached me. Guess he is a waiter.

"Welcome. What would you like to eat?"

"What's today's menu?"

"Today, we have a grilled chicken skewer, Veggies Stew, Sunny cream Solanus, Eggs any many others"

"Any you would recommend?"

"Everything is good, but for me, I would have the sunny cream Solanus and a steak.

"I'll take that"

"Great. What do you want to drink?"

"Do you have something sweet and non-alcoholic?"

"We do have honey water. We mostly served alcohol, since the adventurers are a frequent sight here"

"It's no problem. Do I pay now or later?"

"Whichever would you like"

"Right. I'll pay now. How much do I owe you?"

"75 silver"

I handed him 90 silver.

"Keep the change for yourself"

"Thanks"

I really don't like the denomination of gold, silver, and copper. It's truly a hassle. I scan the tavern around. There are many characters here. Elves, Humans, Orcs, Men, Women, Old and Young. There are some men looking at me with contempt, and women looking at me smiling, like I'm prey to be hunted. Their stare sends shivers down my spine, so I do my best to keep my head down. But it still doesn't work. A party of adventurers approaches me. A musclehead, a rich elf woman, a woman healer, and a magician. They don't look drunk, but they don't look terribly sober. Are they here to hunt me down for my bounty?

"I can see you're loaded. C'mon. Buy us a beer"

I don't want to. How do I politely refuse?

"Sorry. But I don't have money to spend on you"

Stupid mouth.

"Eh, you're refusing to buy us a beer? That's not a nice way to treat a lady. But you can make it up to me by treating me nicely in my room"

"Uh, no. I'd rather eat and then go home"

She looks clearly irritated. Her looks are typical to the gyaru back home, but a rich bitch variant of them. I hope my food is here already. They are not going to back down. The magician steps up.

"Say the word. I can reduce him to ashes"

He conjured fire from both palms of her hands.

"With such small fire, you wouldn't be able to set dead leaves on fire"

I don't know why I keep insulting them. My mouth is moving on its own. I know that's what I would say back in Japan, but not here. I am surrounded by adventurers here. The musclehead grabs my collar and drags me outside. He threw me down to the street.

"Bastard! You'll better not mess with us. Don't you know who we are?"

"Nope. I bet it's not important"

Let's just see how this plays out.

"Shame. I would like to have you for myself tonight. That pretty face won't be pretty anymore in the morning"

"It would still be prettier than yours"

She's ticked off and released an arrow from her ornate long bow, which is more of a decoration rather than a weapon. The bow is pretty fast, but I managed to catch it.

"How lucky"

She cast a spell and releases the arrow, and I caught it again.

"How did..."

The musclehead just charges head-on. By the looks of him, he is quite strong and fast. I was right. His punches are quite heavy and his movement is precise. I dodge his punches and kicks. I counter his attack by grabbing his face and just shove him. He is flying backward. I guess I got pretty strong. I need to be really careful now.

"He's strong for a civilian"

"You call that strong? I'm pretty sure I hold back a lot"

"Don't look down on us"

The magician cast fire on me, which did nothing, not even a singed clothing. I just shrug. The healer cast heal toward the musclehead. He got back up pretty quick.

"4 against 1. You better say sorry, boy"

"I'm aware. You better win. If you don't, you'll never live it down. Getting beaten up by one person after ganging on him. That would make a hilarious story"

I prepared to fight, adjusting my stance and my sight. Comes outside the door, watching every patron. Watching me fight that's forlorn. A fight so unfair, I have to hold back. Let's see here. The healer is really skilled, healing the adventurer in a short time. So I'll target her first, then Archer. Long-range attacks while I'm fighting close combat could be really annoying. The magician's magic is nothing, so I can put him last. Right. That's my plan.

"Alright. Bring it on!"