Alchemical Chaos: The Creator's Domain

On the way back, as I entered the street where the inns were located, I noticed that there was some confusion in several of them. However, as I was exhausted, I didn't stop to notice the details and went straight to my inn. The simple but adequate "Yellow House" was waiting for me.

As I entered, I realized that the situation at the inn was not calm either. There was a lot of confusion and many people were shouting at Tayla, the kafra in charge of the place. Despite everything, she kept her charming smile and continued to speak politely to the complainants, which made me empathize with her. I approached to see what was going on.

When I got closer, a man with an aggressive tone said to Tayla: "How can you not have a room available? It's already the tenth inn I've gone to and they're all full! Why does this shitty city keep accepting these fucking immigrants?!"

Tayla, with her persistent smile and a bead of sweat running down her face, replied: "Sir, I apologize, but due to the arrival of new inhabitants from all over the world, we are facing overcrowding. We are doing our best to adapt to these conditions."

The situation was complicated. I hadn't anticipated this kind of problem. In my rush to resolve other matters, I didn't pay attention to the impacts of the mass migration on this world. Ignoring the screams, I approached the reception desk to ask for my key.

When Tayla saw me, her face lit up with relief, and she called out to me: "Azoth, please, I need to talk to you. Let's go inside."

I ignored the commotion that was still going on in the reception area. The people waiting there continued to shout, but nothing could change what was happening. We entered the room and Tayla stopped me in front of her. I was mesmerized by her eyes. There was something charming about her that made me want to say something positive.

She took a deep breath and continued, "You've noticed what's happening, right? People have arrived out of nowhere, and we're facing overcrowding. The price for a room is now far higher than what you paid."

The overcrowding was affecting the lodging. Fortunately, I had already paid for seven days in advance.

Tayla clasped her hands together pleadingly. "We've found a way to deal with this situation. Not all guests have accepted, but if you accept, we'll compensate you. Since you've already paid for seven days of your stay, we could extend it. The current price for a room is 400 zeny per day, but if you agree to share the room with another guest, we'll keep the price at 200 zeny per day for a month."

I expected the prices to increase, but what she proposed to me was an advantageous offer. Not only for me, but also for them, since the inn was full. If they accepted more guests, they would profit from the higher charge, without having to drive away current guests. For me, it was a great solution, since it would keep a lower price for longer. I didn't know how long this overcrowding would last, but I believed that eventually the prices would go down.

"Do you accept?" Tayla asked, her voice a little hesitant, keeping her eyes fixed on him.

I thought about it for a moment. "Yes, good enough for me. However, there's one condition: that I don't have to share a room with suspicious peopl. I don't want to be attacked while I sleep."

With a relieved smile, Tayla replied, "Don't worry, Azoth. Before accepting any guest, we check their Status Plate to make sure they're not criminals. We don't accept outlaws."

This issue of the Status Plate was on my mind. I knew that I could obtain information about someone through the Status Plate, a sort of metal panel. This panel showed class, guild, group and completed missions, but there was other data that I couldn't access and would probably need to pay to obtain. The daily newspaper was also blocked, which is of utmost importance to keep me informed, and there was also the ranking and other info, but it wasn't something relevant to me at the moment. Still, I needed to research more about the accesses to this Status Plate.

Although I hadn't prepared for this kind of situation, I had been smart to rush through other tasks on the first day. Maybe my mistake was not taking a mission earlier, but overall, the ones I chose were good.

I was exhausted, I could barely stand. My body was asking for rest, and I wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. "I'll leave it to you, then. I'll be sleeping in the meantime."

Tayla replied: "Don't worry, we've already sorted it out."

After hearing that, I grabbed my room key and quickly went to take a shower, getting ready to rest. As I lay down, before falling into a deep sleep, I heard the voice of an elderly man entering the inn. He seemed to be thanking someone other than Tayla for the stay.

I woke up in the morning and realized that the bed where the other guest was sleeping was empty. 'He left very early.' I thought. While I was getting ready for the shower, I took the opportunity to check my Status Plate.

In the game, when I wanted to access my inventory, I did so through a virtual screen, but here it's a little different. Through the Board, I can see all the items I have in my Inventory, and to pick them up, I just click on the desired item and it automatically comes to my hand. I can carry up to 40 pieces of equipment and 40 items, which seems like a lot, but on a long expedition, that can be a limited number. It would be nice if the storage space could be increased...

I currently have 16 items in my inventory. Although some of them are useless, I decided not to sell them for now, since there are also items that I can use later. When I reach the first Merchant Class, I will be able to sell some of the useless items for a higher price in the stores. At the moment, I also don't see any need to use the Kafra service, which, like in the game, would allow me to store 50 pieces of equipment and 50 items, in addition to enabling upgrades to access my items from anywhere in the world. When I need it, I will certainly learn more about how it works.

I can also see all the equipment I am using and their attributes. Right now, I am equipped with a Knife that gives me 17 attack strength and a Cotton Shirt that gives me 10 armor. In addition, I can check the status of my attributes. When I level up, two virtual angel wings appear above my head, just like in the game. At this point, I can only think about which attributes I will distribute the points to; I only put one point in dexterity. I decided to save the points for later, since I don't know if I can reset the attributes like in the game, so for now I'll save these points for later.

There are other features on the Status Plate that I still need to explore, but I should hurry up and have a meal. Today I'll spend the whole day in the outskirts completing quests.

I spent the whole time there hunting Plants and collecting their drop items.

It was much easier today. I managed to defeat 36 Plants in 7 hours, 12 of each color. I completed the mission quickly, still having 2 Red Herbs and 3 green ones left, which I will use for the next missions. With another 4 days to go, if I continue at this pace, I will be able to finish on time, maybe even a day early, and I will even be able to advance one more level, reaching level 4. Since I'm already tired, I'll stop here.

When I arrived at the guild, I picked up my reward and, without delay, went to the inn. This time, unlike yesterday, there was no commotion, which indicated that the problem had been solved. The new kafra was different from Tayla. She was also always smiling, but she seemed older.

"Hello, miss, could I have the key to room 21?", I asked politely.

"Of course, you are Azoth, right? Thanks for accepting the deal, it helped a lot with the overcrowding."

"It was nothing, it was good for me too," I replied shortly, and went straight to my room.

When I got to my room, I noticed that the door was already open. When I entered, I found a man, looking about 45 years old, with strong arms and an iron smell. He seemed quite imposing and watched me for a moment while I sat down, but then he got up.

"Are you Azoth?" he asked.

"Yeah that's me," I replied.

"Thanks for sharing your room. I live in a mining town nearby called Einbech. We collect minerals there, and sometimes I come to supply what we mine, but it's the first time I see this situation with the inns."

The smell of iron and the strength of the man now made sense. I decided to ask, "Are you a Blacksmith?"

He straightened up, patting his chest with both hands and said, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even introduce myself. My name is Balack. I'm a Blacksmith. I started late in the profession, though. At my age, I should be a Master Blacksmith by now, or even a Mechanic."

Sharing a room with this man seemed like a good opportunity. Casual conversation wasn't common here, but I had already had conversations like that with Tayla and Rose. I needed to strengthen my circle of friends if I wanted to adapt well to this world.

"How long do you plan on staying in Einbroch?" I asked politely.

"I'll be here for another 3 days. Don't worry, I won't bother you," he replied, smiling.

"No problem. Your presence isn't a problem for me. Since I arrived in this world, I haven't talked to anyone so casually."

"Oh, so you're one of the Otherworlders?" Balack asked, surprised.

'Otherworlders? Is that what they're calling us?' I confirmed, despite the doubt "Yes, I'm one of them."

"Hm... The otherworlders are usually very depressed. Many talk about the world they came from, and everyone hopes to return, but they say that a giant meteor devastated your world. A lot of Otherworlders showed up here in Rune Midgard and in the Republic of Schwartzvald. We are facing a huge overpopulation crisis all over the world."

'As expected, the news has already spread. Will any former Ragnarok players reveal that this world is actually a game created in our world?' For my part, I will remain silent about it.

"Yes, it's exactly as you said. Some of us are having trouble adapting." I replied.

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Protagonist Data:

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Day: 2

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Class Level: 1

Base Level: 3

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Life Status:

HP: 120

MP: 37

Attributes:

STR: 5

AGI: 5

VIT: 5

INT: 5

DEX: 6

LUK: 5

Combat Statistics:

ATK: 24

MATQ: 14.5

HIT: 6

Critical: 1

DEF: 12

MDEF: 5

Flee: 5

ASPD: 106

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Zeny: 180

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Equipped Equipment:

Knife

ATK: 17

Description: A simple knife.

Cotton Shirt

DEF: 10

Description: Simple cotton shirt. To be used on any occasion.

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Inventory:

Flower : 2

Bud : 2

Stem : 2

Lantana : 1

Felpa : 2

Mint : 1

Romantic Flower : 2

Celatom : 1

Melody Plant : 1

Makulrata : 1

Bitter Herb : 1

Green Herb : 1

Sharp Scale : 1

Aloe : 1

Aloe Leaf : 1

Romantic Leaf : 1

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