The next morning, the sun hit our faces like a brutal, unskippable reality check, blasting through the threadbare inn curtains and violently reminding us that we weren't in our cramped, noise-polluted apartments back home anymore.
Walking out onto the city streets, the entire place looked like a high-budget Unreal Engine 5 tech demo—everything was far too sharp, absurdly cinematic, and suspiciously perfect. It was a classic, high-fantasy medieval realm that guys like us back on Earth could only ever dream about while rotting in class. Grand stone archways, polished cobblestone paths, and detailed gothic architecture stretched as far as the eye could see. It was so ridiculously beautiful, built like a living piece of fine art, that it felt almost fake. I loved it. I loved every single inch of it, fr.
As we stumbled down the cobblestone road, we spotted a public brass water tap sticking out of a stone pillar, gushing crystal-clear water.
"Yo, hold up," I said, pointing at the running water. I walked up to a nearby townswoman carrying a woven basket. "Hey, excuse me... is this water clean? Like, safe to drink, or am I gonna catch an alien parasite?"
The lady smiled warmly, nodding. "Oh, it's completely fresh spring water, dear! You can use it for whatever you like."
"Say less," I grinned.
We immediately grouped up around the tap to splash our crusty morning faces. Back home, we would've popped open our toiletry kits, but over here? Basic essentials like a simple wooden toothbrush cost a staggering 6 coins at the local shops. Considering our combined net worth was literally zero after buying a room for one night stay, brushing our teeth was officially an unaffordable luxury. Splashing freezing water on our faces was the absolute best we could do to reboot our brain cells.
Refreshed but broke, we made our way toward the main street market.
Vikas looked around with his mouth hanging wide open, staring at a massive, intricate stone fountain in the center of the plaza. "Vro, back on Earth, my whole damn apartment building was nothing compared to a random street corner in this world. This place is heavenly, fr fr. Our houses back home don't even have a fraction of this level of drip."
We passed a bustling street market overflowing with vibrant, glowing produce that radiated faint, warm magical energy.
Ayush leaned over the wooden stall, pointing at a shiny, iridescent red fruit. "Yo, let's grab some apples for the road. I'm running on zero calories."
Can we just find somewhere to eat before I pass out on this cobblestone?!"
A few minutes later, we stepped inside a high-end, crowded tavern-restaurant. The rich, mouth-watering aroma of exotic spices and slow-roasted meats hit our nostrils—a total 10/10 culinary experience. Behind the heavy oak counter, I locked eyes on the Head Chef. The guy was moving his hands with rhythmic, inhuman precision, slicing through vegetables at speed while soft, atmospheric lute music played in the background.
I stood there, completely mesmerized by the sheer fluidity of his knife technique.
Ayush stared across the table at Aryan, bro, are you good?"
Aryan (Expressionless, staring blankly ahead): "ohh nothing."
Just then, our attention was yanked away by a rowdy table of scarred, battle-hardened veteran adventurers sitting right next to us.
"We desperately need a Healer for that C-rank dungeon downtown..." a giant, grizzled swordsman grumbled, slamming his wooden ale mug onto the table. "The gold payout is insane, but no high-tier healer wants to risk their life with a frontline party like us."
The three of us slowly turned our heads toward each other and shared that exact, ultimate 'sus' smile—the same mischievous, evil look we used back on Earth whenever we found out our strictest teacher was absent for the day. We devoured the rest of our food in five seconds flat and bolted out the door toward the Adventurer Guild.
The Guild hall was absolute chaos—buzzing with energy, crawling with giant armored tanks, hooded mages, and shadowy mercenaries. Standing behind the main wooden counter was a stunning receptionist who possessed a solid, non-negotiable 10/10 Rizz without even trying.
Vikas immediately puffed out his chest, and strutted right up to the desk.
Vikas: "Hello miss, can i know you-"
Before Vikas could say something, three massive, heavily armored bully-adventurers barged past, violently shoving us aside and nearly knocking us flat on the floor.
"Move it, absolute trash!" the lead Bully sneered, flexing his massive shoulders. "Out of the way for real heroes. Go back to the playground, little kids."
Ayush's eyes instantly went pitch black. All humor vanished from his soul, replaced by pure, cold disrespect. He didn't even bother to argue. He simply took a step forward and snapped his fingers like a mafia boss.
Ayush: "Arise... or whatever. Just kick this clown's ass."
A glitched, severely lagging shadow Goblin materialized out of thin air right behind the lead bully. The summon was stuttering like a 144p video on dial-up internet—one second it was five feet away, and the very next frame—RRRRIP!
The Goblin's shadowy claws sliced through the bully's thick clothes, shredding it into tiny bits of literal confetti.
"MY PANTS! HE TORE MY FREAKING PANTS!"
The three giant bullies let out embarrassing, high-pitched shrieks, turning tail and sprinting out of the Guild hall in their bright polka-dot underwear while the entire tavern erupted into roaring laughter. The receptionist watched them flee, looking genuinely impressed by the terrifyingly casual display of force.
Aryan (Rubbing the back of his head with a shy, awkward smile): "Sorry about the mess, miss. We're brand new in town. We'd like to officially join the Guild."
Receptionist: "Oh! I... I thought you were already seasoned adventurers! You're surprisingly strong! But listen, since you're new, let me explain the basics. Our official ranks go all the way from F rank to SSS+ rank."
She led us to a side room and asked us to demonstrate our abilities for the rank assessment.
Vikas stepped up first, pumping his chest out like a superhero. "Watch and learn, boys. [Light Magic: Neon Flashbang!]"
Aryan & Ayush: "WAIT, YOU IDI—"
BOOM!
Vikas: "AAAHHH MY EYES! I'M BLIND! EVERYTHING IS WHITE! I CAN'T SEE THE LIGHT!"
The absolute moron flashbang-blinded the entire Guild hall, including himself. Completely disoriented, he took two blind steps sideways and tripped face-first over a ceramic flower pot in his full obsidian 'Light Armor', crashing onto the wooden floor in a pathetic, noisy heap.
Receptionist (smiling awkwardly): "Uhh... okay. Moving on... and you?"
I stepped forward and showcased a quick, seamless blend of my newly copied Light Magic alongside a sharp, dark Shadow Piercing spike. The receptionist looked genuinely impressed by the weird, contradictory elemental combo, but processed our official Guild identification cards anyway.
Twenty agonizing minutes later, she returned with three metallic cards.
Aryan: "Alright bois, reveal on 3... 2... 1!"
Aryan: [ RANK: E ]
Vikas: [ RANK: E ]
Vikas immediately sat up from the floor, pointed at my card, and cracked up hysterically. "LMAO! Aryan, you're trash, I'm trash! High-five, bro!"
Aryan: "Why are you laughing?! E-rank means we're basically the Guild's glorified janitors!"
We both slowly turned our eyes toward Ayush's card.
Ayush: [ RANK: B ]
Aryan: "NO WAY! B-RANK?! How?! I swear I wish I had that broken summoning skill... the System is biased, fr fr. It's literally gatekeeping me!"
Ayush casually swiped his curly hair back, smirking like a true protagonist.
Since our pockets were still entirely empty, we walked over to the quest bulletin board to hunt for some basic tasks to make quick cash.
Aryan: "Listen up, it's Profit Maxing time, boys. If we take one simple task as a full party, we'll only split like 10 or 20 coins total. We need to split up to maximize our overall income. Ayush, since you're a B-rank absolute unit, take this Goblin Village herb-searching task couse you're stronger then both of us so if someone attacks you can protect yourself. Vikas and I will take these basic 'E-rank' chores."
Ayush grinned, tossing his shiny B-rank card up and down in his hand. "Easy money. See you bois later. Try not to get injured out there."
Vikas looked at his assigned paper, his face instantly turning sour. "Cleaning cobwebs at an old lady's house?! I got Isekai'd into a magical fantasy realm just to become an unpaid maid?! This is an absolute L!"
Aryan sighed, grabbing Vikas by the shoulder of his armor and dragging him toward the exit. "At least you get to work inside a warm house, man. I have to go hunt down a 'Lost Cat'. Adventure life, my ass."