Seth grabs the leather pouch on the counter and unties it carefully, then looks inside. Inside of it was a mini journal, a key, and a thick bundle of cash. 'The cash looked similar to Canadian bills in terms of size and shape and how there are only five bills.' After analyzing the bills, he grabbed the journal.
[You Have Found All Important Information! You Have Completed The Mission In Less Than An Hour!]
[Would You Like Your Reward?]
"Yes" was said without much thought.
[You Have Received A Workout Manual]
Plop
Seth looked down at the floor and saw a book the size of the mini journal. Picking it up, he quickly looked through the pages. 'It's just a basic workout routine.' Seth was a little disappointed but put it inside the pouch anyway.
[You Have Received Another Reward For Completing The Mission Faster Than Expected!]
[Would You Like To Receive The Reward?]
Although he was surprised, he answered quickly, "Yes." After saying yes, Seth felt a tingling sensation on the back of his hand and wrist. Paying close attention, there were black lines moving around his hand and wrist. After 30 seconds, it was complete. 'A tattoo? What does this mean?' It was a tattoo of a bundle of thorny vines that started from the back of his hand and circled his wrist further up. Not knowing what to think of it, Seth put his focus back into the journal, opening it up to look at the pages.
'What the hell? It's in a completely different language...' Though Seth couldn't read it, he scanned through all written pages. "Well, I'll figure that out another time. First, I need to go to the library." Seth put the journal back inside and sat the pouch down on the counter. He quickly walked to the dresser and looked inside. 'Completely black, huh? Very simple.' It didn't take long for Seth to choose what to wear since the clothes were very plain. He wore a black long-sleeve button-up tucked into black dress pants, finished with black leather boots. Before moving on, Seth caught a glimpse of something that caught his eye. 'A longsword?'
Finally finished preparing, Seth was ready to leave the cabin. He threw on a trench coat to block the cold and also brought the sword with him. He thought about it for two minutes, but after thinking back on seeing others with weapons, he decided, why not bring it? Though he didn't have anything like a sword belt, so he had to manually carry it along. He brought the sword up to get a closer look and unsheathed it. 'From the hilt alone, I was able to tell it was an Italian longsword, but how come the blade itself is black?' Seth sheathed the sword and brought it back down to his side. 'Time to set out.' But before Seth walked out, he put the pouch in his inner coat pocket.
••••••
After making sure he locked the door, Seth quickly surveyed the area with squinted eyes because of the loud sounds. People were advertising their food, drinks, jewelry, and other items, while some others were just talking about whatever, but Seth wasn't focused on that. 'The big building with double doors and steps—could that be the library?' To avoid any interaction, he began walking towards the library with haste, his eyes solely focused on the building. 'Now that I'm outside, I noticed that the cabin is a little isolated from the rest of the village.' While walking, Seth noticed the looks he was getting from others but ignored them and quickly picked up his pace, almost turning into a light jog.
Since he rushed, it didn't even take two minutes for him to arrive. Seth finally slowed down when he reached the stairs. 'Hopefully, this is the right place.' Seth sighed and calmly walked up the stairs but almost fell backward because of a surprise.
Bang!
The doors were flung open, almost hitting Seth, who blocked his face just to be safe. But before he could even process anything, he heard yelling. "What took you so long? I had to sit at the front desk because of you!" Seth pulled his hands down and looked to see who it was. 'Ah, it's the freckles girl from before.' And before Seth could reply, the girl grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside. While he was being pulled around, he looked around the library. There were rows of bookshelves, even in corners with tables to sit, even stairs that led to a second floor. Within the time he was looking around, he was already behind the counter.
"There's going to be a village barbecue tonight, so not many people are going to come today because they're busy preparing, so you can sit peacefully, okay?" Seth nodded while sitting down and laying his longsword against the counter.
"So I'm just supposed to sit here and wait until your mother shows up, Ms..." The girl seemed confused when Seth spoke, which made Seth nervous. 'I don't feel great interacting with others when I don't know the original Seth's personality.'
"Why are you acting like this is your first time? And don't call me Ms. It's Chelsea. I'm only two years older than you." After saying that, she walked away as if she was in a rush, completely ignoring Seth.
Now completely alone, Seth was able to relax and comfortably take a look around the library. 'Since no one is here, I should be able to walk around comfortably.' He says that, but his eyes couldn't help but continuously dart around to check his surroundings while standing up to leave the front desk. 'While I'm here, it's the perfect time to try and find a language book so I can translate the journal.' That was something Seth really wanted to do. Who knows what kind of information that journal holds?
••••••
It had been several minutes since Seth decided to take a look around the library but hadn't found any books specifically for languages. 'It has to be here, but since the library is pretty big—' While walking through an aisle, a book title caught his eye: "Your Innate Ability." Just seeing that was enough to get his mind racing, but instead of sitting there, he reached for the book with his eyebrows furrowed.
"Seth! Oh my lord, I'm so, so sorry." From his right, Seth heard a female voice that sounded a bit older. He could only inhale before looking at her. 'Oh wow... A beautiful, pale woman with more freckles than Chelsea. Also shorter, probably about 5'3", wearing a pink sundress with sandals, brown hair, and intense green eyes. Her face is round as well. Could this be Chelsea's mother?' Seth put his hands to his side and turned his body to face her. "Good morning, Ms. Walker. Is there a problem?" Luckily, Seth read the papers, seeing the owners of the village's last name.
Ms. Walker and Seth locked eyes for five seconds before she responded. "Did Chelsea tell you to take this shift today?" Seth could see the disappointment in her eyes, which made him confused, but he nodded to answer her question. Ms. Walker put her hand on her hips and sighed. "Follow me for a second, Seth." She turned around and began walking as Seth followed, but he glanced back at the book. She led him back behind the counter and opened a drawer, pulling out some money. "How long have you been here?" Hearing her say that made Seth finally understand the situation.
"No, no, I haven't even been here for more than five minutes at most." Seth gestured for her to put the money back. 'I have no reason to take more money from them right now.' She put the money back and closed the drawer but still gave Seth a weird look. Seth disregarded all of that and began putting his coat back on. 'That Chelsea girl must've made me work instead of her so she could participate in some barbecue.' Seth could only shake his head in disappointment and grab his sword. But before he was about to leave, he looked back at Ms. Walker and said, "Do you mind if I take a book back with me?"
••••••
Seth was walking back to the cabin, once again filled with disappointment. 'She denied my request...' The book title was enough to make Seth think a lot of things, but he was forcing himself to not believe anything just yet, so he kept it moving. 'Once I get back to the cabin, I will have all the time to think.' He continued to walk leisurely back to the cabin, unlike before when he was basically running to the library. Thinking back at it almost made him chuckle but was interrupted by a strong male voice."Seth, will you be trying out to be a hunter this month?"
Seth turned his head so fast to look behind him. There was a tall, muscular, tan, bald man with a thick beard standing in front of a tall stone building, presumably the building for hunters. Awkwardly standing there, looking at the tall bearded man, Seth decided to make what he thought to be a calculated move that would confuse the other party. Seth slowly raised his sword in the air and smirked before walking away. With that, Seth felt content after not hearing a response.
"WOOO! Seth is joining the hunters!"
People began talking loudly after hearing the bearded man's announcement. Seth began walking back to the cabin much quicker.
"I'll see you in the evening, Seth!" That strong, loud, raspy voice was now Seth's worst enemy.