Chapter 4: Getting Started“Mr. Moreau, please check your card to confirm that Tuuli has successfully become your sve.”

  “Um, what was that now? She’s who’s what?”

  Did Tuuli just sell herself to me? Should I really accept this? Why is he staring at me? Crap, I’ll just go with it till my brain catches up.

  “Sorry. I was just surprised that this would be so easy. I expected some sort of big ceremony with oaths or something.” Hope that was good enough but he probably doesn’t really care anyway.

  “Ha ha, quite routine I assure you. That’ll be 2000 Nars, Sir.”

  “Ah, yes, I understand,” I lied.

  “The contracted agreement is for three years, starting today. Mr. Moreau will be required to bring Tuuli back here to break the contract or show proof of her release. As this is only a temporary contract, Tuuli will not automatically follow you should you meet your untimely demise. Please sign here, Mr. Moreau.”

  Still not quite understanding how this happened, I signed the page of gobbledygook with something illegible enough to conceal that I don’t even know how to write my own name. At least, the regurity of the characters suggests an actual alphabet, so I should be able to learn it with a little effort. Otherwise, illiteracy ain’t so bad. Of course, I’m assuming that the contract didn’t actually pce me into svery.

  Back to reality, did Tuuli actually volunteer to become my sve? I’d ask her if I could but she actually appears calmer now. Seriously, who does that sort of thing? I thought the handshake back in the vilge was the actual agreement but this is way more formal. I got a sve and everyone knew this would happen except me, the actual owner. Can’t help going back to the whole brain-washing theory but it doesn’t quite fit if svery is the social norm.

  Perhaps seeing my state of confusion as an opportunity, An started talking about showing off his inventory. It was a good move since I’d just signed a blood-pact without reading anything. Just managing to mumble something about not having time, I took Tuuli’s hand to make our escape. Not completely ready to let go, An excitedly told me about the new byrinth that opened up nearby.

  “Yes, that’s why I’m here.” Not a complete lie and it seemed better to sound arrogant than to feign ignorance. I had a strong feeling that the sver would be particurly good at spotting lies, and I’m not exactly at my best at the moment.

  “Of course, as expected of an experienced fighter such as yourself.” Due to my accomplishments and maybe our vague family resembnce, An seems to see me as way more experienced than I really am, but, no need to correct him. At least I won’t have to pretend that I don’t know anything, even if it’s just from reading.

  Satisfied that his potential customer pns to stay in the area, he suggested a reasonable inn for us. I mumbled something about coming back soon, but I was a bit worried that I’d end up leaving with more sves if I stayed any longer. After all, the main sve of the story, the sve the protagonist is supposed to buy, is probably here right now.

  I took Tuuli out to find the recommended inn. We got a clean and simple room with twin beds — I don’t want to splurge on separate rooms just to look like a gentleman. Hard to imagine that a volunteer sve would compin.

  Exhausted from recent events, I plopped down on the stiff but clean bed. Tuuli put down her bag of possessions from the vilge but now seemed to be avoiding my gaze. Deciding that it’d be too hard to expin that I wasn’t about to jump a sve girl, I turned away. Just got to this world and I already have someone to support — who’s dumb idea was that?

  It didn’t take long for Tuuli to switch from shy and vulnerable to grumbling with impatience. [1] I need to prioritize her nguage education. Could pay for a tutor, but that could lead to a big loss if Tuuli can’t handle the byrinths. Now, if I could buy a tutor, one who could also be useful in the byrinth and could even rey orders….

  Dammit! Right after getting one sve, even if by accident, I’m getting ready for the next. I’m not just sliding down the slippery slope, I’m paddling down it as hard as I can. OK, yes, svery is bad and I’d never even consider it in my old world. (Hope that’s good enough for anyone listening to my thoughts.) But, I very much value my life over morals. Having Tuuli means I wouldn’t be completely alone, but not being able to speak to each other is inefficient.

  According to my credible source, this world should have a nice sort of svery. Convenient rationalization? Well, svery was presented almost like arranged marriage, except that one party is forced, can’t seek divorce and is contractually required to serve.

  OK, that doesn’t exactly sound nice. Well, at the very least, the sve shop didn’t reek of torture or filth. It looked more like a high-end escort service, or so I’d imagine. Maybe that’s a better analogy, though even creepier when you consider that that’s basically what it is, except the girls are purchased, not just rented and the extra services are assumed.

  Damn, that’s dark, dude. But even if I do have sves, I’m obviously not required to sink into depravity. It’s perfectly natural for me to treat them like regur employees. I could make it temporary, like when Tuuli’s contract ends. I really shouldn’t worry because there’s no way I could even consider this world’s values to match my own… not that mine are exactly perfect. OK, I’ll get money to get sves to get more money for more sves until I’m reasonably safe. I may have missed a step in my reasoning, but that’s close enough for now.

  Before fully committing to the sve-owner route, I should confirm that we’ll actually be able to handle the byrinths. Motioning to the notably impatient Tuuli, we leave the inn. I bought some basic equipment, light armor, and backpacks for the two of us. Picked out normal spear for Tuuli, which she seemed to like. Nice to see that Tuuli’s comfortably following along with all this. Would really suck if they hadn’t told her what was expected. I ask for directions and we make our way to the local byrinth.

  It’s a short walk before reaching what appears to be a bck rip in space. A few people are walking towards it, like it’s the most natural thing in the world. They pass through and literally disappear into nothingness, inexplicably causing absolutely no one to scream in terror.

  Getting closer, this thing really gives me the creeps. Is it a portal to another dimension or suicide booth? The guy standing at the entrance is probably used to dweebs like me freaking out like this because I’m no more interesting than the doorway of death less than a meter away.

  Oops, Tuuli’s really staring oddly at me now. Right, I’m supposed to be showing the confidence of a leader so I take a deep breath and step through the shimmering bck sheet of nothingness.

  The space I enter is, simply, fine. The faintly glowing walls and regur patterns look so fake that it’s actually comforting. This pce could actually be a simution. How pleasant and safe, like a comfy bnket. Now I really am in a game, possibly wearing a futuristic headset like they have in movies.

  Tuuli doesn’t look scared, fascinated or even particurly interested. They said that she’s never been in a byrinth before so maybe natives see something different or simply wouldn’t recognize a video game.

  Walking along the (simuted?) hallway, I see a, uh, well, guess I’d have to say it’s a somewhat anthropomorphic, walking tree monster. The HUD calls it a [Needlewood], but it looks more like a baby Ent (LotR-type). Anyway, it’s even more fake-looking than the walls. Don’t need to consult a manual to see this as my target. I motion for Tuuli to stay back and in one simple swing of my OP sword, whoosh, it’s gone. Unlike fighting raiders, this is perfectly clean with a cute fog in pce of arterial blood sprays. Fake is best! The entire world should be like this… except that I’d probably become a serial-killer.

  With this, the st of my byrinth-reted anxieties have melted away, even if they really shouldn’t. The monsters in this pce might just be the magical-equivalents of holodeck constructs, but the physical risks are very real (i.e., no safety protocols in pce). But, at this level, this noob doesn’t feel much danger. The fear of getting trampled by a monster is easier to manage than passing through a magic door.

  With all these cheats and easy combat, this world would actually make a boring game. But, when the vilins and monsters are actually looking to harm me, I’m happy with leaving it on easy-mode. But yeah, I realize that it’s all thanks to this sword — I’d be screwed without it. Well, I ain’t brave or stupid enough to get rid of it.

  As expected, the special effects resulted in a monster drop. In this case, a worthless-looking twig. I tossed it into my backpack and looked for another enemy. Seems like this pce isn’t too dangerous so it’s Tuuli’s turn next, with me backing her up. Although it takes a while for her to bring one down, she doesn’t freak out or even seem to think much of it. How jaded she is, but that’s great for me.

  We chop down a few more tree-mobs with Tuuli mainly just poking them for distraction. Our coordination isn’t great but good enough for this floor. More importantly, looks like Tuuli isn’t scared and can be helpful.

  Since coming to the byrinth, the Explorer job got unlocked for me. I moved it to my list of active jobs (now three in total) to unlock party-reted skills. I added Tuuli to my newly-formed party and navigated through a few menus to activate the cheats needed to peep at Tuuli’s list of avaible jobs — I can’t really ask her permission anyway.

  Tuuli has Explorer and Vilger like me, but also has Warrior and her current job, Farmer. Seems I don’t qualify for those. Anyway, I set Tuuli’s job to Warrior. I also activate my EXP cheats. I think one of them only applies to me and the other helps both of us.

  That reminds me, I should buy some magic crystals from the guild. According to rumor, these capture the energy released from defeating monsters — like charging a battery — and are worth about 1 Nar per blip. Predictably, I have a cheat to greatly increase the charge rate. This seems to work by absorbing the monster energy more efficiently, not just make the crystals report the wrong amount.

  Test completed, we left the byrinth and did a little shopping for personal items. Fortunately, Tuuli can communicate with most shopkeepers without trouble. This is good since I don’t know names for stuff like this world’s soap repcement or twig-based toothbrush.

  At the clothing shop, the clerk found a couple extra shirts in my size, but Tuuli seems satisfied with the clothes she brought. Men’s underwear here look like loose-fitting diapers but my single pair of boxer-briefs won’t st long. I got a few pairs and some socks. We skipped the women’s section to avoid making Tuuli uncomfortable (I assume). With nightfall approaching, we headed back to the inn for dinner.

  Tuuli certainly isn’t the simple vilger I feared she might be. She’s an intelligent adult, born of this world (I assume), and even knows her way around town.

  I leave Tuuli back in the room and go to the guild to sell our monster drops. I confirmed that the worthless-looking twigs were indeed practically worthless. At 10 Nars a pop and estimating that I could farm about 10 twigs an hour, I could maybe earn 1000 Nars after a long, ten-hour shift. Combining my crystal and trading cheats, I could gross, let’s see, that’s 7400 as a base, then it comes to a bit under 10k per day, at best. Pretty good but probably not enough to get a top-tier sve, if the prices are anything like the story.

  I purchased a few empty crystals along with several of each of the common emergency pills. Fortunately, the guild receptionist didn’t appear angry that I took so long. In fact she seemed to be in a bit of a daze, just fixedly staring up at me. Either I really do look unusual here or she’s just near the end of her shift.

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  [1] Poor Tuuli — the guy seemed so bold yesterday.