Fight. Level. Survive.

The first faction of Ganehfrel is made up of the citizens of the capital city, also called Ganehfrel.

The Ganehfrel faction are known as fierce warriors with a strong sense of loyalty to their city and its rulers. They have a reputation for being disciplined, organised, and highly skilled in combat, which has allowed them to fend off numerous invasions over the centuries.

Members of the Ganehfrel faction are also known for their love of culture and the arts, with many of them being accomplished musicians, poets, and artisans. They take great pride in the beauty of their city, which is renowned for its stunning architecture, lush gardens, and intricate sculptures.

Despite their strengths, the Ganehfrel faction is not without its weaknesses. They can sometimes be overly cautious, which has led to missed opportunities in the past. Additionally, their sense of loyalty can sometimes be exploited by unscrupulous leaders, leading to decisions that are not in the best interest of the people.

- Excerpt from ‘The Trials’ Chapter one, The factions.

Chapter 27 - No Coffee

Quest Received! But daddy, I love him!

Quest Objective - You have piqued the interest of the Mayor of Sparksford, who just so happens to be Mayry’s father. Don’t fuck it up.

Reward - Depends on how badly you fuck it up.

Accept? Y/N

Mason had never been good with meeting parents. It was probably because he often couldn’t stop himself from being sarcastic when he was stressed.

Anyway, it wasn’t as if they were dating or anything, were they? A few times, he had thought there was something between them, but neither of them had said anything. He really hoped dating didn’t work differently in this world.

He decided he was going to ask very subtly. “I just don’t understand why he wants to meet me, It’s not like we’re dating?” He phrased the statement as a question to gauge her reaction.

Mayry’s eyes widened, and her face turned pink. “Dating? What do you mean dating? We aren’t dating, are we? When did that happen? ” Mason thought her being able to say all of this without taking a breath was pretty impressive but decided to save her.

Mason quickly reassured her, “No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that we’ve hung out a few times, and I thought we were getting on really well. I’m not sure how dating in this world works, It’s not as if I don’t like you. I just suck at stuff like this.”

Mayry let out a breath she was holding. “Oh, okay. Yeah, we’ve hung out a few times, and I like you too, but I don’t think either of us is looking for anything serious right now. I mean, you’ve literally been here a week.”

Mason nodded. He wasn’t quite ready for anything either but took it as a good sign that she admitted she liked him too. Flashing her a grin, he said. “Got it, that makes sense. I just wanted to check.”

There were a few moments of awkward silence until Mason saw a waiter start walking in their direction.

Figuring it would be a good way to restart the conversation, he said. “Unless you count being knocked out, I honestly don’t remember the last time I slept, I am dying for a coffee. Do you know what you’re ordering?”

Mayry cocked her head to the side in confusion. “What’s coffee? I’ve not heard of that before.”

Mason’s eyes narrowed, “Nice try; I’m not going to fall for that again.”

“No, I really mea-“ She was cut off as the waiter came to stand next to them. It was the same Gnoll from before.

Mason smiled, “Hi again, how’s it going? Can I get a coffee and a sandwich?”

The deep growling voice of the Gnoll replied, “Coffee? Never heard of it.”

The smile from Mason’s face disappeared. He was heartbroken but was still kind of terrified of the huge furry man. “Water and a sandwich is fine, thanks.”

Mayry ordered, and the waiter left. “I just want you to know this has absolutely ruined my week,” Mason said, arms crossed.

Mayry looked at him for a few seconds with disbelief on her face. She held up a hand and started counting things off. “Mason. In the last week, you’ve appeared naked in a Forest, been swallowed by a giant snake, have nearly died like a thousand times, and just today, you got beaten to a pulp by an ‘Other’, but this, THIS is what ruined your week?

Placing his head on the table, he sighed deeply, “You wouldn’t understand. You’ve never experienced the wonders of drinking a cup of coffee.”

“It’s just a drink? What the heck is wrong with you!”

“Do you want a list or just the cliff notes?”

Not sure how to react to the dramatic man in front of her, she decided to just laugh at him, “You’re infuriating.”

Lifting his head, apparently finished with his antics, he asked, “So, Why does your father want to speak to me?”

Mayry rolled her eyes. “Hmm, let me think, maybe because you almost single handily killed a Basilisk? Or perhaps it’s to do with you being accused of kidnapping his daughter only to end up being the one to rescue her?” After a second, she smiled and asked, “Or maybe he just wants to know what your intentions are towards his daughter?”

She was obviously trying to mess with him, but this time Mason had a plan to turn it around. “Oh no, do you really think it’s that last one? What do I even say to something like that? I guess I could always just tell the truth?”

Hesitating, Mayry asked, “The truth?”

“Yeah, that I intend on eloping with you, having lots of babies and getting a dog named Jim.”

She stared at him for a full minute, her face a mix of disbelief, embarrassment and confusion. Eventually, realising he was indeed joking, she replied, “If you say that to my father, I guarantee he’ll have you executed on the spot. So good luck, It was nice knowing you, most of the time.”

“When is this meeting supposed to happen? I'm so tired I think I'm going to pass out, and this world, not having coffee, is not helping.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not today. He would like for us to have dinner the day after tomorrow at 8. So plenty of time for you to sleep.” She said reassuringly. “So, you’re meeting my father in two days, but what’s the plan after that? From your story, it looks like you have a shit ton of training to do before you can even think of trying to fight Gael or any other ‘Others’.

He hesitated before saying, “I kind of have a plan, but I need to find someone who can teach me martial arts and maybe how to use a sword. I could pick it as a skill at level 20… but if I can learn it myself, it kind of seems like a waste of a skill, hopefully, my Intelligence stat will let me pick it up faster. Do you happen to know anyone?”

She thought for a few minutes and then said, “Maybe. I’ll have to ask around. I’ll let you know.”

“Ok great. The next part of the plan is something we have on my world called ‘Power Levelling.’

He went on to explain the concept of power levelling to her. In short, he was planning on spending a lot more time fighting a few higher-level Monsters in quick succession in hopes that the experience he gained would level him faster than fighting many Monsters closer to his own level.

“Isn’t that what you’ve been doing? You’ve already nearly died every time!”

“I mean, yeah, kind of, but those have all been accidental fights. This time I’ll be prepared!”

“Hmm, okay, just try not to die, okay?”

“Yes, Ma’am!”

After a while, their food came. They tried to keep the conversation mundane and avoid serious topics as they ate. Before he knew it, they had both finished eating.

He yawned, “I think I’m going to turn in. Do you have any plans for tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sadly. I do have a job, you know. Why? are you planning on starting your crazy suicide training right away?”

“Not right away… I'm gonna buy a sword first, maybe some potions, and I need to pick up some contracts at the Hunter association. Then it’s crazy suicide training time.” He grinned at her, and she responded with a dirty look. He added, “since when do you have a job?”

“Since always dumbass, running the town is the family business, I work with my father. Which reminds me, if you’re late to dinner or turn up covered in blood, I’ll be furious.”

“What? No way I wouldn’t do that…” Mason said dramatically.

“Hmm.” Mayry replied, “I don’t care how strong you get; I’ll still beat your ass.”

Laughing, Mason hugged her goodbye and headed up to his room.

The moment his head touched the pillow, he was asleep.

===================================

The next morning he woke up in a panic. He could hardly remember anything about the dream he had just had. He strained his memory and vaguely remembered standing at a chapel in a tuxedo. Standing next to him, wearing a white dress, was the Crack Chicken. He instantly stopped trying to remember. On the plus side, he felt amazing; he was incredibly well-rested and was ready to begin his day.

He had 4 goals he wanted to accomplish by the end of the day.

1. Take as many contracts as the hunter association would allow him.

2. Buy a sword.

3. Buy some potions and talk to Viv.

4. Buy some damn furniture for his trunk.

Number 5, as always, was don’t die, but in the spirit of optimism, he wasn’t going to add that to his metaphorical list this time.

He got out of bed and headed out. Still annoyed by the lack of coffee in this world, he made a mental note to ask Viv if there was any alchemical alternative.

On his way to the dining area, he saw Nays. She seemed inundated with customers, so he didn’t approach her but did give her a wave which she returned.

Deciding to get breakfast at a food stall, he left the Inn and got food he could eat while walking.

First stop, Hunters Association!

As he walked over to the huge building he wondered how many contracts he could take at once. With his magic trunk, he’d be quite capable of staying away from the town for days at a time, as long as he packed enough food.

He noted that things felt a lot more foreign without Mayry with him. He noticed different species of people, he saw some really bizarre business interactions that might have been drug deals and even saw what was either a brothel or a haunted house going by the screaming he could hear.

Being on his own was probably pretty bad for his mental health, it gave him far too much time to be alone with his thoughts. He missed his world. He missed his shitty flat, his bed… internet porn. And goddammit, he missed coffee.

He approached the huge Hunters Association building and pushed open the door. Stepping inside, he saw it was far quieter than it had been during his last visit. There were a few people here and there, but most were just chatting with each other.

Walking up to a receptionist, “Hi, I needed to pick up my badge?”

The receptionist was very pretty, Mason thought she might have been some sort of tree or nature spirit, what were they called? Tryads? Dryads? Whatever, she had green skin and smelled like freshly cut grass.

She took one look at him and reached under her desk, and handed him a badge. It was more of an ID card than a badge. It was a rectangular piece of what looked like glass that had a picture of him on it. Strange, they didn’t take a photo of him, how did they get this image?

He added it to his list of stuff he needed to ask Mayry, he had a feeling it was going to be a long list.

“How many contracts can I take out at a time?”

“As a brand new member, you can take up to five, but we recommend starting with one or two easy ones first.”

Knowing he had zero intention of taking it easy, he thanked the woman and headed over to the wall where dozens of contracts were posted; a sign over the wall said that all of these jobs were within five miles of the town.

He knew he had to take this seriously, so he fought the urge to choose five contracts at random, after an internal struggle he started reading the contracts and deciding which would suit him best.

After 20 minutes, which was a very long time to stand still if you were Mason, he made his selection.

He took the five he had chosen back to the receptionist, she gave him a look but started looking through the contracts he wanted.

“Alright, none of these has a time limit, but we will require proof of any kills. If you could give me your badge, I’ll mark you down as having taken the contracts. If we don’t hear from you within a week will assume you are dead, and the contracts will go back up.” She recited most of this as if she had said it a thousand times.

“Okay, that’s pretty grim, but I understand. Is there anything else I need to do?

“Nope, all done here.” She considered, then added. “try not to die. It causes a lot of paperwork.”

Leaving the hunters association, he headed to the nearest blacksmith to find a sword.

When he entered the shop, no one was there, so he started looking at the swords on display. A certain plain-looking short sword felt most comfortable in his hands, so he decided to get it. After waiting a few minutes, the blacksmith came out of the back room covered in sweat and sold him the sword.

Mason had expected a bit more conversation, but the man was obviously in the middle of something. Quite happy with his purchase, he left in search of a shop that sold furniture.

He was in and out of that shop within five minutes. All he really needed was a bed, a sofa and a few chairs.

The only thing of note that happened was an interesting discovery when he attempted to put the furniture in the trunk.

The trunk lid was nowhere near big enough for any of the furniture he had bought, he was sure there must have been a solution he just wasn’t seeing, but ended up taking the furniture into his inventory and then taking them out again once he was in the trunk.

His final destination was the one he needed the most with him planning on fighting high-level monsters, he needed to stock up on his potions. He was running pretty low on health, mana, and stamina potions.

He hadn’t used many others, but he would still probably buy more just to be safe.

On his way to Viv’s, he marvelled at how quickly he was getting things done. At this rate, he was going to need to add more to his to-do list.

Walked into the shop expecting the usual warm welcome but had to duck when a glass bottle was thrown at his head. “You son of a bitch, you have a lot of fucking nerve turning up here after what you did to that cave. Where am I going to get my ingredients now!”