"Why so much? Shouldn't we share it equally?"
Shyam said as he gave the bag back to Pallabi so she could give him an equal reward. The reward she and he both deserved, the reward she put her life in danger for.
"No, I want you to have it! Not only did you kill more than half the goblins but you also saved my life!" Pallabi said as she pushed back the bag of coins.
Shyam looked at the bag and at her and the atmosphere around the bag. "If you say so, but remember I won't give it back later," Shyam said as he took the bag and put it in his pocket.
Suddenly he remembered he had borrowed Pallabi's knife and hadn't given it back yet. He took it out and put it above the table. "Here, your knife," Shyam said.
"Oh! You can have it. You can use it far better than I ever could," Pallabi said, putting a smile on her face.
This time it was a real, honest smile. But Shyam wasn't the kind of person to take so much stuff for free, even if the giver insisted. He pushed the knife forward towards Pallabi and said, "I am going to buy a sword yesterday anyway, so you should take it. I won't need it much after I buy the sword."
Pallabi saw no other excuse and finally took the knife back and put it in her—PANTIES AGAIN?! Oh no, it was her skirt pocket this time, thank God!
After that, Pallabi ordered two plates of food for both Shyam and herself. Though Shyam insisted on paying for his own food, Pallabi declined, saying she had enough money.
And this was a celebration for her first ever actual kill, and the first step towards being an actual adventurer. Shyam couldn't turn a celebration down—back on Earth he had to miss his daughter's birthday celebration, and so Ira cried for a few days straight.
From then on, he tried to attend every celebration he had been invited to. Including this one.
"So, where are you planning to go next?" Pallabi asked, chewing food. Her words were barely understandable, but Shyam understood anyway.
"I am planning to visit Kamalgram after tomorrow morning. Why?" Shyam said, but when he looked up, he saw Pallabi's face had gotten sadder.
"Why do you look so sad about this?" Shyam asked. They had only met recently, and for that, she should not have felt sad knowing he would depart. So, why the sad face?
"Well, it's not exactly that. It's just, the Blue Bloom Ceremony is tomorrow night and you're planning to leave without seeing it?" she said.
Nilgram village was popular among its other neighboring villages for their blue flowers, which bloom once in six months. And every time they bloom, the villagers hold a ceremony where they offer food and wealth to the river, thankful for the gift they're given.
Shyam had seen it in his system that this village was known for its blue flowers, but the details were still unavailable as to why and how it all happens.
He understood a bit of it now after knowing about it more from Pallabi. "If that's the case, I guess I can delay it by after-tomorrow."
The Blue Bloom Ceremony seemed like an interesting sight to see, so he decided to stay two more nights for that. But even still, his biggest goal was to go to the capital of Taralaya. So that he can become a D-rank adventurer. Although he hasn't become an E-rank adventurer yet, the day will soon come, so better be prepared for that in advance.
After talking more about the Blue Bloom Ceremony, he went back to the inn and went straight to take a bath. He still hadn't gotten used to this new environment, so having a few friends was very helpful. Though he still felt a little embarrassed about the speech he gave during the battle.
For her, it might have been a motivational speech which she used to gain confidence in herself. But for Shyam, it was one of the most embarrassing things he had said in both his previous life and current life.
The only reason he had said it was because he needed her to fight, or else they might have lost that battle.
He had a system, yes, he could level up, he had abilities and all. But even he didn't have unlimited stamina. He was still a human, just with extra skills.
After taking the shower, he went to his room and opened his system and searched for his ability section. He had gotten a new skill when they were done killing off every goblin, something like [Shadow Capture], but he wasn't able to see what it does.
"What does this skill even do?" Shyam asked Raitha, who had been sleeping the entire day. Finally getting woken up, she summoned herself and started explaining the use of Shadow Capture.
"It's a skill that lets you capture and store one soul in your system, and when you summon the soul, it will summon as a shadow soldier. They will obey your command, but if no command is given, they will act on their own. If they are killed, then they cannot be revived, and if they are damaged, they can't recover."
"So like a trump card for me, huh?" Shyam said as he closed the system tabs and laid down, closed his eyes, and finally fell asleep.
Tomorrow he planned to visit the blacksmith, buy a weapon, and see if he could do a few quests before the Blue Bloom Ceremony.
Morning sunshine, the birds sang, and the sound of people walking echoed through the inn. Shyam woke up and took a small shower.
After that, he went to the blacksmith shop he had seen when he came to find the inn.
It was in his waypoint. He entered the shop and—OH MY GOD AUTHOR, WE UNDERSTAND IT'S EMPTY ALRIGHT? JUST CONTINUE!
"Welcome," someone said from behind the shop.
"Hello," Shyam said as he walked towards the end of the shop.
"Looking for a weapon?" he asked.
Shyam saw that man and instantly realized that he was the blacksmith. "Yes, a light sword as cheap as it can get," Shyam said as he stood just a few meters away from him. The blacksmith came out from behind the counter and picked up a sword.
"This good?" he said as he passed it to Shyam. After taking a good look, Shyam decided to buy it.
"Price?" he asked curiously.
"Only two silver coins," the blacksmith said as he got behind the counter again.
"I'll have over two silver coins left even if I buy this. Hope the inn charges in Kamalgram village," Shyam whispered. He walked to the counter and gave two silver coins. "I'll take this, thank you," Shyam said and left the blacksmith store and went to the adventurer's guild.
Surprisingly enough, Pallabi wasn't there today.
"Maybe she is preparing for the ceremony," he murmured and walked towards the counter.
Today the other lady whom Shyam saw when he first came here was attending the counter.
"Why always with me!" Shyam whispered in frustration. Whenever he came here with Pallabi, Arna stood there. But every time he came here without Pallabi, this strange, rude lady stood behind the counter giving cold answers always.
Shyam turned towards the quest board and saw a quest which required only harvesting a few herbs.
He quickly took the quest paper and went to the counter to take the quest.
"Hello, I'd like to take this quest, please," said Shyam as he gave the quest paper to the guild lady.
Pallabi had told him the process needed to take a quest, but this guild lady didn't seem to follow the same rules as she just gave him the paper back and said,
"Alright, come back with the item and take the reward."
Her face showed no emotions, and her words carried rudeness level one hundred.
As if she wouldn't care even if the adventurer was an A-rank one. Shyam just took the paper and left the guild.
"It's time to use Herbseer again," Shyam whispered after reaching the forest.
"HERBSEER," he said. The entire area flashed with a blue light and the herbs highlighted with a blue color.
Their XP and name hovered above them as an information tab. It didn't take him long to collect all the herbs required to complete the quest.
Wasting no time, he entered the guild once again and reported the quest completion. The lady took the herbs and gave Shyam his reward.
Her behavior still rude and lazy.
Shyam had gotten used to it in only a few meetups.
He left the guild once again and went to the area of the ceremony. A river, the Taralaya River. The water streamed from Nilgram to Kamalgram to the capital of Taralaya—Shyam's next destination after reaching Kamalgram village.
"I should rest a bit today. Am I getting used to this world? Hope not," he murmured and sat down on one of the stones.
"Shyam?"