Chapter 2

Chapter 2

#2. Northern Region’s MSG (1)

“Fight! Fight!”

This was a world that still hadn’t shaken off its medieval vibe.

Whenever a fight broke out, there were always more people cheering than trying to stop it.

“15 copper on LeNon!”

“Then I’ll put 10 copper on John!”

Before you knew it, a gambling ring would form.

The adventurers and mercenaries hanging around the inn would place their bets.

Still, they seemed to have some sense of limits as the amounts weren’t too high.

About a day’s or half-day’s wages at most.

“Currently 65 copper on LeNon, 48 copper on John!”

And the innkeeper himself ran this betting ring. After all, he’d need some commission to repair all the broken furniture.

“LeNon throws a punch straight into John’s gut! Will John vomit out the stew he just ate?!”

The innkeeper’s son, presumed to be a young waiter, was commentating on the fight live.

“LeNon! If you lose, you’re dead!”

“John! If you lose, don’t ever show your face in Haven again!”

The event unfolding on the first floor of the inn was quite a shock to me, a newcomer to this otherworld.

‘Does my Luck stat apply here too?’

I naturally found myself thinking about my Luck stat which had exceeded 100.

‘Then this must mean I’m supposed to make some money out of this situation… But how? I don’t even have any money to bet with…’

As I rose from my seat while keeping an eye on the fight,

‘My stats after becoming Arad: Luck 101, Dexterity 300… Max level.’

With Luck and Dexterity, these two stats alone should be enough to do something even without money, right?

While I was looking for an opportunity, the fighting and gambling reached their climax.

“Fight! Fight!”

“Yeah!”

“Fights between bastards are always the most entertaining, aren’t they?!”

“Hahaha!”

“LeNon trips John’s leg with his foot! John, who’s been taking one-sided beatings! Can John pull off a comeback?!”

“Currently 135 copper on LeNon, 54 copper on John!”

‘When is this going to end? Looks like this guy John’s been getting beaten up one-sidedly…’

I quietly observed the fight while brainstorming ways to make money.

“I’ll kill you… I’ll kill you!”

Just then,

Swoosh!

Finally, with his back against the wall, John drew a crude sword.

“Eh?!”

“John’s drawn his sword!”

“LeNon wins!”

And apparently, there were rules even in this northern region.

The moment John drew his sword, LeNon was declared the winner outright, both officially and morally.

“LeNon, what are you doing?! Draw your sword too! You need to subdue John!”

“Damn, the sword!”

However, unlike the win/loss decision, a look of deep frustration clouded LeNon’s face.

Since John had drawn his sword, LeNon hastily tried to find his own, but the problem was that his sword was a bit further away.

“Yaaaaaah!”

And John didn’t wait patiently for LeNon to retrieve his sword.

“Die!”

It no longer mattered who started this fight, whether it was John or LeNon.

Perhaps from the start, it wasn’t important in this northern region.

What was important now was only one thing.

That John had drawn his sword and swung it with murderous intent. Only that.

Whoosh! Slash!

“Guhhh!”

In the end, John’s swing left a large gash across LeNon’s chest.

“There will be absolutely no killing in my inn!”

At this point, the innkeeper stepped in, having witnessed everything.

Punch! Bang!

Indeed, someone who could run an inn in this harsh northern region was skilled. He must have been an adventurer or mercenary in his youth.

In the end, John resisted violently before being knocked unconscious by the innkeeper’s punch.

“Ughhhh!”

However, during the process, it seemed the innkeeper had sustained serious injuries as well. Blood flowed profusely from his hand.

A long, deep cut from the palm of his right hand to his elbow.

“Dad!”

The waiter son rushed over anxiously to check his father’s wound.

“Ughhh…”

Off to the side, LeNon groaned while bleeding profusely from his chest.

“…”

“John, you crazy bastard…”

“Call the guards immediately!”

“Damn, the wounds are too severe! There’s too much blood loss!”

“Ancestors, oh my god…!”

“Dad! Someone, please help our dad!”

The festive atmosphere inside the inn just moments ago quickly turned serious.

‘I max leveled Healing Magic Skill, right?’

Watching this, I felt my feet moving involuntarily.

This is a world where mana exists.

Thus, the noble ones use healing magic, potions, or divine power to heal.

But this is only true for the noble ones.

Even in the arcanepunk world 100 years after the development of magical engineering, commoners rarely benefited from magic or divine grace.

Those who treated them were mostly folk remedies and healers.

“Bring clean cloth, boiling water, a needle, strong alcohol, and Savage leaves and Baron roots. The last two should be readily available since there are adventurers in this inn.”

I shouted toward the anxious young waiter.

At the same time, I deliberately raised my voice so that those around me could hear.

“Are you a healer?”

“I’ve learned some healing arts.”

“Understood! I’ll bring them right away!”

The waiter who had ignored me earlier now nodded respectfully with admiration and hurried to the kitchen.

“I happen to have some Savage leaves and Baron roots.”

At that moment, one of the adventurers watching this scene handed me the two herbs I mentioned.

“Charge them later to these two guys.”

“Will do.”

These people who engaged in dangerous work seemed to carry emergency-use medicinal materials.

“Still, both of their wounds are too deep. They can’t be solved with just those two herbs?”

Also, experienced adventurers and mercenaries know basic first aid.

To them, the injuries of the innkeeper and LeNon were quite severe.

“They need stitches.”

I said that and started pulling hair from the head of the more severely injured LeNon.

“Here’s the alcohol, needle, boiling water, and the cleanest cloth from the inn!”

Shortly after, the waiter quickly brought what I asked for.

Afterward, everything was handled with lightning speed.

Max-level Dexterity proved its worth here, quickly achieving hemostasis and suturing in the blink of an eye.

“Woah…”

“What is that…”

“The hands are invisible.”

My hand movements were so fast that the onlookers marveled greatly.

Finally, after finely chopping and grinding the two herbs and applying them to the sutured areas before wrapping them with clean cloth, the treatment was complete.

“Every night before sleeping, wash the wound area with clean water, apply the medicine, and change the bandage with clean cloth, and it should heal completely before spring.”

“Th, thank you.”

“Thank you, sir.”

They looked perplexed at their wounds which had stopped bleeding and been sutured in the blink of an eye, expressing their gratitude to me.

Though pale from blood loss, their lives didn’t seem endangered.

Anyway, the immediate crisis was averted.

“Let go! Let me go!”

“Shut up and just follow!”

From behind, the sound of the late-arriving guards dragging the now-conscious John away could be heard.

“That John guy, didn’t he get into trouble on the streets last year and spend the whole summer at the labor camp?”

“This time, he’ll be there for a long time. At least five years.”

“Five years in the labor camp might as well be considered dead.”

“Ultimately, he’s ruined his own life like this.”

Looking at John, there was no trace of sympathy or pity in the eyes of the people in the inn.

Once the situation was fully resolved, it was finally time for proper thanks and rewards.

Here, the full resolution of the situation included distributing the betting money and tidying up the surroundings.

“Sir, we really appreciate it. If we had known you possessed such skills, we would have offered free food…”

“If my son offended you earlier, please accept my apology on his behalf.”

“My chest injury… It was really dangerous, but thanks to you, I survived. Here, take this as a token of gratitude.”

First, LeNon handed me a silver coin as a gesture of thanks.

“What, such things.”

I quickly pocketed the silver coin he offered with trembling hands.

A silver coin. That’s equivalent to 100 copper coins. It’s also about the average income for C or D-ranked adventurers for half a month. And now, I had earned one just hours after reincarnating.

“Cluck cluck cluck…”

Just as I was about to respond to the innkeeper’s offer,

My stomach let out a loud growl.

“Should we fill your stomach first? However, my hand’s like this now… I won’t be able to cook for a while.”

“Father! Let me do it! Cooking!”

“Get out of here, Tom. Your cooking skill resembles your deceased mother. So remember this. You must never cook. Therefore, when you bring a daughter-in-law, she must be a good cook for me to pass down this inn. Understand?”

Blocking his son’s complaints with a wave of his hand, the innkeeper made another proposal.

“Or how about this instead of silver coins? Judging from your appearance, it seems like you’re looking for a place to stay?”

“Yeah.”

“Then that’s great. I’ll offer you a room here until spring for free.”

Even though silver coins are valuable,

If you can stay for free for over three months at an inn of this quality, the latter is overwhelmingly advantageous.

‘This man is a born merchant. He’s probably calculating that having a healer like me staying here will naturally attract customers.’

And I read the hidden meaning in the innkeeper’s proposal. Nothing in this world is free.

Still, neither of us loses anything.

“With gratitude, I’ll accept.”

While internally thanking my Luck stat adjustment, I gladly accepted the innkeeper’s offer.

“But meals will have to be solved elsewhere for a while. Since my hand’s like this… I won’t be able to cook in the inn for a while. Why don’t you go fill your stomach at another inn and come back?”

Once repaying the favor was mostly done, the innkeeper said with a much more relaxed expression.

“Speaking of which, reminded me of cooking – while I’m staying here, can I take charge of the cooking?”

I made a counterproposal to the innkeeper.

“You know how to cook too? Given your handwork earlier, you probably cook well too. This is actually something I wanted to ask you.”

The innkeeper readily nodded at my suggestion.

“However, I have a condition.”

“Speak.”

“I’ll take 30% of the profits from the food I make and sell. For example, if I sell ten bowls of 1-copper stew, I’ll take 3 coppers.”

“Hmm… Is it really necessary to do it this way? Food doesn’t sell that much here. It’ll be a loss for you.”

The innkeeper frowned slightly at my condition.

Not because he disliked the proposal, but because the unfamiliar condition was hard to understand.

“I’ll just give you a salary then. How about 6 copper per day? That’s quite generous pay for a chef. Add that to the money you earn from healing, and it’ll be substantial.”

“No. I’ll sell more food than healing.”

“You’re overflowing with confidence in your cooking skills.”

The innkeeper shrugged when I stuck to my stance, eventually agreeing.

“I’ll show you the kitchen right away. Are you eating here?”

“Of course. To adjust.”

“Oh! My name’s Jack. My son working here is Tom.”

“Arad.”

“Arad, that’s a good name.”

So, less than a day after reincarnating into this game-like otherworld, I had acquired money, a place to stay, and a job.

The prowess of a max-leveled production class truly sent shivers down my spine.