Book 2: Chapter 64: Resistances and The Warden

Book 2: Chapter 64: Resistances and The Warden

"Keep it the fook doon!" a dwarf screamed down the hallway, clearly not a fan of Lone's loud request.

Heavy footsteps followed immediately after the shouting. 'Ah. fingers crossed that doesn't earn me a beating. I figured loud and rude was the way to go considering the circumstances.'

Lone backed away from his room's door as he said in a softer tone, "I'm starving, so can I have some food, please? I will be more than quiet if I can have something to eat and drink then have a bath or shower. I'm not asking for luxury, but c'mon, I'll hardly be useful like I am now and I bet I can be smelt through the whole building."

A few chuckles from the surrounding rooms seemed to agree.

"Ya dae kinda smell like ma da's ol' lucky sock."

"Feck naw 'e doesnae. Ah looked after 'at sock, ya insolent git! 'E smells like the wet underside of yer used skivvies, son."

"There they go again. Guard, just gae the fookin' fox what 'e wants, eh? I wan' some peace an' quiet. Dealin' wae ma da is 'ard enuff."

"Aye. Next thing ye ken we'll be 'earin' 'is stomach roar fae all the way doon 'ere!"

Another round of boisterous laughter followed.

The guard stopped outside of Lone's room and screamed, "Shut it, all ah ya! Fox! Press yerself against the back wall o' yer room's far wall an' face it anaw!"

Lone shrugged as did as told. "Just a word of warning, if you try to take advantage of me, don't blame me for cutting it off. I'm spoken for already."

"Cheeky feckin' prisoner!" The sound of his room door unlocking filled his ears.

Then two things slammed down onto the floor before something soft was thrown right into the back of his head. Lone didn't even flinch, what with him being used to harder things being thrown at him. Usually punches.

He heard the guard click his tongue before leaving the room and locked it again. "There. Eat, drink, an' wash yerself. Yer seein' the warden o' this wee buildin' in an 'oor. Be ready."

Lone slowly turned around and could immediately tell what had hit him and what had made the loud clunking noises.

One of the two thunks had clearly come from the stone tray with a bowl of... something atop it. Likely a stew. Next to it on the same tray could be seen a stone cup of water. The other, louder sound, must have originated from the stone pale of water filled with, at a guess, five or six litres of the lovely hydrating substance.

The thing that had assaulted his head was a towel that had clearly seen better days. "Why do I have the distinct impression he was on his way to give me this stuff anyway? And I just had to make a scene to lower my favorability. Fuck. Oh well, live and learn."

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Thirst Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 7.

Congratulations! The host's passive skill [Hunger Resistance] has levelled up! It is now Intermediate Level 1.

Passive Skill: Hunger Resistance

A skill that allows the host to resist hunger and the negative effects of being hungry to varying degrees based on mastery.

The host shall get hungry 15% [+10%] slower than normal.

The pains and urges hunger induces into the host shall be reduced by 15% [+10%].

Cost:N/A Mastery:Intermediate Level 1

"Fuckin' really?" Lone mumbled.

As it turned out, he got those level ups the very second the food and water hit his tongue.

"Indeed it is. While our local dwarven friends are able to mine incredibly well or judge the worth of items with no equal. You can kill with ease and above your rank. I can assess people as easily as the moons do rise. But the humans... they can become very horny and procreate like animals. Truly ironic considering they aren't beastkin," the man said as he sat himself down on a padded seat that accounted for his lacking height.

Noticing Lone glancing at his chair, the warden smiled. "I need this ever for the dwarves. Still, I'll be hurting my neck talking to you today. I haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Zilben Hesgresind but do call me Zil or just Warden if you'd prefer. The slight accent is on account of me being raised in this krieg, my parents having fled the surface some two centuries ago after a famine. Dreadfully boring stuff."

"I'm sure. Zil's fine. Just like Lone's good for me. Keep it formal if you want, I'm fine whichever way. So, we gonna talk about how my whole 27-years are gonna work down here?" Lone inquired.

Of course, he had no plans to stay for that long. A few months was his intended staying period. At most, he'd remain until his mana seal was lifted if he really enjoyed reclaiming the kriegs and urds. Only time would tell.

He was a man with plans, after all. Chiefly, visit the primary settlement of the Crimson Foxkin clan, and then make his way to Mystopolis to enrol at The Academy to pursue the field of magical knowledge.

"Lone then. And yes, let's. It's really rather simple. You must take a task once every year. You can take more if you wish, but no less. Basic provisions will be provided to you of an equal standard to that of a foot soldier of the army. For each extra task you take on, your sentence can be reduced depending on the importance of the reclaimed or cleared area," Zil explained.

Lone nodded. "Wait, my sentence can be reduced? That's pretty fuckin' huge. I got a pretty thorough rundown from my arbiter, but she didn't mention that."

Zil nodded. "That's only natural. It is illegal for an arbiter to mention it as if it were common knowledge, every criminal would wish to be punished with militaristic enlistment. Kill a man and only serve a fraction of the time you would in a prison cell? No. We don't have the capacity for that. And the courts don't want all defendants to fight for it every case either."

Lone stroked his short beard in thought. "I guess that makes sense. That would imply I have to sign a magical NDA, right?"

"A what?" Zil asked in confusion.

"Non-disclosure agreement. A magic contract to keep my silence," Lone explained, already regretting using an abbreviation from back on Earth.

Hell, he was surprised it had even translated properly into the local language.

"Ah, yes. You'll be doing that later today," Zil answered. "Now, considering your arbiter explained everything bar that to you, can I assume you're aware then that you can employ adventurers to aid your expeditions as well as all the rules surrounding that?"

'Sophie, I can work off my sentence by doing extra jobs. I'm only required to do one a year, but more will reduce my time here. Later I'll be signing a magic contract or something that'll force me to keep that a secret. If I can give you more details before then I will,' Lone conveyed over The Summoning Room's telepathic link.

'We see. Poor dwarves. I doubt they expected you to be able to spill their secrets so immediately. We shall inform Breena and Hamish,' Sophie replied, relieving Lone.

He nodded. "Yup. I know it all, I think. Like how each task is also simultaneously a guild quest so it can serve to increase my standing in The Adventurer's Guild while also helping the kingdom."

"Assuming you don't fail. These are not simple matters. Those are left for the kings' armies. Our tasks are the dregs not worth an adventurer's time, the ones too dangerous to risk losing a battalion to, or private matters that have been given exclusively to us since our members have a... reputation of sorts," Zil said with a wry smile while the guards laughed.

Lone raised an eyebrow. "What kinda reputation?"

"A suicidal one. If you'd been sentenced to a thousand years of service here, you'd be willing to do the insane tasks that instantly reduce your sentence by a flat 90%, would you not?" Zil asked as he rubbed his large nose.

Lone hmmed loudly. "Gotcha. Well, where can I see the tasks? I'd like to get started immediately. Ah, do you have a task to reclaim the krieg with Sheinlings in it? I'd love to start there. I'll sign that contract first though if needed."

"Eager, aren't we. You can start first. It will take me the rest of the afternoon to get your paperwork prepared. I can't recall if we have any tasks related to Sheinlings though. We get many new tasks each month and many get completed as well. I certainly won't be stopping you if you'd like to start working off your sentence immediately. Thron, take him to the board," Zil ordered.

"Of course, sir," the dwarf replied with a sloppy salute. "Fox, on yer feet. Try anythin' funny now 'at the warden's so graciously allowed yer cuffs off an' ah'll break yer feckin' kneecaps."

"Scary," Lone said monotonously.

Zil chuckled. "You'll get used to him."

"I'm sure," Lone replied.