With that, Colin climbed down from the loft, brushed his teeth with a willow twig, and walked into the tavern.
The Adventurer who had called him down explained, "We brought back news of the monsters, so the village chief decided to treat us to a good meal as a reward."
"I thought you'd fallen asleep halfway down, Colin," Kase laughed.
He and the other three men were sitting at the largest round table in the tavern.
Including the coachman outside, the twelve-person caravan that had left the city was now down to six. No one knew the fate of those who had deserted.
Colin walked over and sat down next to Kase.
The others all sat far away from the large Half-Orc.
Even though the group had forged a bond of life and death yesterday, he was still a Half-Orc—and Orcs were a type of monster from the Northern Lands. It was impossible for the humans of this world not to harbor some prejudice.
Kase looked Colin up and down a few times and said with a smile, "The way you acted yesterday, you were worthy of being called a Warrior, Colin."
"Maybe. I feel like I'm still not quite there yet," Colin said.
"What do you think is sitting next to you? We're scions of the Deity of Destruction! Half-Orcs like us can tell who's a proper Warrior with a single glance." Kase clapped him on the shoulder. "You're still green, kid."
"So now I'm 'green' again? A moment ago I was a 'proper Warrior.'"
Seeing that the two were about to start bickering, another adventurer sitting nearby cleared his throat and said, "Anyone with eyes can see you saved our lives yesterday. Thank you very much."
Colin looked at the expressions in the others' eyes.
The current situation made him a little uncomfortable.
As someone who'd been a miserable wage slave, he rarely saw the look of respect he now saw in their eyes, and it left him feeling a bit out of his depth.
'But to be honest, it felt pretty damn good.'
As the men chatted, the tavern owner and a waitress cautiously approached, placed food in front of the guests, and then quickly scurried away, clearly intimidated by the towering Half-Orc at the table.
Kase, however, didn't seem to notice at all. In fact, he even seemed a little smug about it.
'This Half-Orc is always like this. It's entirely his own fault that I'm his only friend in all of Thousand Masts City.'
After complaining internally, Colin's attention was immediately captivated by the food in front of him.
In the middle of the wooden bowl was a hollowed-out loaf of black bread, the cavity filled with steaming hot lamb stew. The rich, meaty aroma, mixed with the distinct gaminess of lamb, wafted to his nose.
Unable to wait any longer, Colin picked up his spoon, scooped up a piece of lamb, and put it in his mouth.
The fibers and fat of the meat melted in his mouth, leaving a faint hint of garlic.
'Before I transmigrated, I would have definitely found this stuff too gamey and unappetizing. But for the man I am now, there's nothing to complain about.'
After finishing the stew and the soup-soaked lamb-and-bread bowl, and downing several cups of sour beer, the coachman, having finished his chat with the village chief, limped into the tavern.
The old man walked up to Colin.
Then he asked cautiously, "Can we head back? Er... sir."
"My name is Colin," Colin said. "I don't actually know much about those monsters. You can decide for yourself."
"I'm Bob, friend," the coachman said with a slight cough. "If I have any jobs in the future, where can I find you?"
Just yesterday afternoon, he had looked at Colin with disdain, even complaining internally that the Carriage Guild didn't care about the lives of its coachmen, hiring useless guards. His mood had only eased slightly after seeing the Half-Orc.
But now, Bob's opinion had completely changed.
A Mage who could turn the tide at a critical moment, plus a powerful Half-Orc. The two of them also had a strong sense of professional integrity—they hadn't abandoned him and fled—and their fee wasn't even that high.
'Could there be a more perfect pair of bodyguards in the world?'
"Around mealtime, head to the entrance of the Black Heart Tavern. We're there most of the time." Kase winked at Colin.
Colin was also quite pleased.
'Yesterday, this coachman said there was no work, and today he's asking for my contact info on his own initiative.'
'As long as I can prove my strength, I should never be short of work in this world. The reason jobs are hard to come by now is mainly because Kase and I aren't famous, and our own strength isn't quite up to snuff.'
Colin felt this was a good start.
'Once I get stronger, will I still have to worry about making money?'
After a bit more conversation, the caravan, having unloaded its cargo, set off once again.
This time, the group didn't rest along the way. Without the cargo to slow them down, they arrived back at Thousand Masts City around dusk.
After collecting their pay, Colin didn't get back to his own room until the middle of the night.
After two days of exhausting travel, he felt like his bones were about to fall apart. Even his straw-stuffed mattress seemed exceptionally comfortable now.
The reward this time wasn't bad; in total, he had gotten a full five Silver Coins.
'Two days' work for half a month's rent. It just goes to show how profitable being an Adventurer can be...' Colin thought of his companions who were killed by the monsters. '...but the death rate is also incredibly high.'
However, this wasn't exactly a normal situation.
According to the original body's memories, most carriage escort missions didn't actually encounter monsters.
The Carriage Guild wouldn't hire Adventurers who demanded high fees. They'd just spend a little money to hire a large group of refugees and desperate Low-tier Adventurers to pad their numbers and intimidate small bands of bandits.
The casualty rate on this trip was so high because they had run into real monsters. You could only chalk it up to bad luck.
Colin pushed these miscellaneous thoughts from his mind.
The reward from his Golden Finger had arrived. He allocated all the Skill Level points to "Casting."
Immediately after, a familiar scene flashed before his eyes.
Chanted Spells, clumsy stances, and a weary mind... Scenes from his training flashed before his eyes, one after another. Even the sensations in his body changed. It all felt so real. Or perhaps, was the scene of him at home the real illusion?
After a wave of dizziness, gravity pulled Colin back to reality.
He stared blankly at his surroundings, taking a long moment to realize he was sitting on his own bed, not training his Casting outside the city.
Colin looked at his Panel again.
-----------------
Attributes:
Power 10, agility 10, Constitution 10, Intelligence 11, Charm 10, Perception 10
Skill Level:
Casting (Novice) 492/500
Magic: Flaming Arrow, Emerald Flame Sword
-----------------
The rewards from the commission were manifesting slowly.
Colin felt that after the point was added to Intelligence, his brain was gradually growing "colder."
To be more specific, it was like the clear-headed, energized feeling you get after drinking a large glass of iced coffee or tea.
This was obviously a good thing.
"If constantly casting Magic wears out the brain," Colin thought, "then an increase in Intelligence is like increasing the brain's capacity, allowing Magic to be cast more frequently."
As for whether it would increase its power, he'd have to observe carefully during training later.
Then Colin took a close look at the new Cantrip he had learned.
[Emerald Flame Sword]: On your next weapon attack, you deal an additional 1-8 Flame Damage and inflict the same amount of Damage on another creature next to the target.
Compared to [Flaming Arrow],
the drawback of this Magic was that it could only be cast at close range, and it required a sword as a medium for the Magic. However, its Damage was clearly higher than [Flaming Arrow], and it could hit two targets.
'But the key question is, how do I cast it?'
The moment that thought flashed through Colin's mind,
strange scenes appeared before his eyes once more.
He could see himself holding the Orc Short Sword Kase had given him. He made a strange hand gesture, recited a Spell over the Short Sword, and immediately, the blade began to glimmer with a faint red light before bursting into brilliant flames.
The vision before his eyes vanished.
Returning to reality, Colin quickly recited the Spell from memory several times, committing every action of the Casting to mind.
A long time passed. Only after he was certain he would never forget did he lie down on the bed.
Even after he fell asleep, he dreamed he was Casting.