Far From Vanilla: Modded Game Reincarnation

I put the wooden fork into my mouth, a healthy chunk of meat wrapped in lettuce and dipped into the sweet sauce was a perfect bite.

“I think I’d cry…” I mumbled to myself. I never want to eat flat, dry, brick-like bread again. If I ever were to eat bread, it better be a whole fluffy loaf.

I found myself in an inn not so far from the center-clock, and I was nearly unable to get in, I did look homeless after all.

"No freebies--"

 I had to go through a few alleyways and sketchy stretches of unlit roads, but I found the kind that fit my tastes.

"No money, no food!"

I didn't even say a thing yet!

My standards were a place with running water, a large room with thick-walls, a relatively okay bed, and hearty meals of mostly meat. 

My attempts pointed me eventually to this sector, many carts smelling of blood and animal guts. I was near the butchering sector it seems.

"We're not a charity--w-what!? G-go-- Right this way, customer!"

 Anyway, a flash of a gold coin was enough for the people inside to treat me like some important figure. They seemed to be tight on money at the moment, and I was their saving grace, or client.

An old woman manned the counter, helped out by a teenage boy. They looked bored, so business was definitely slow.

I also learned the worth of my coins.

My financial situation was actually quite stable, no, more than stable. 

Gold coins are worth a hundred silver coins and silver coins are worth a hundred copper.

Copper coins were the most commonly used denomination for everyday expenditures, while silvers were for more bulk transactions, so a gold coin wasn’t something I should’ve shown easily.

A blunder born from ignorance.

Gold coins were basically the yearly earnings of a middle-income family, and I had more than thirty years worth of income in total.

But I have a feeling that that will go down the drain quite quickly. My goal of exploring this world to the fullest would cost an unknown amount of money. 

Money, huh? 

I need a stable way to earn money, but I already have a few answers ready to be explored. 

But I shouldn’t be complacent. 

A full serving plate of lean steak, a medium-sized bowl of hot mushroom soup, a salad platter, three mugs of alcohol, and a big helping of cheese, cost me a total of twenty coppers. 

Normally this would be shared between two to three people, but I could finish it without a hitch because of how hungry I am. 

Nom...nom...

If I factored this into my expenses, obviously not eating this everyday for every single meal, and assuming that a full day will cost ten coppers…

I would need to spend a year here in this town, already including my housing expenses.

Not that I had any other plans, but’ ve paid already in advance for all of that, and it was not refundable.

Even if I didn't have a choice, I wouldn't need to worry about anything.

I headed into the largest room of the inn, and immediately shed my armor. I made a beeline for the restroom.

Running water was perhaps the greatest luxury I missed.

“It’s only right to spend a long amount of time to grow stronger.” I looked at the gunk and grime washed off my person, flowing into the drain like polluted water.

I have all the time in the world. I think I can sleep in despite it literally being early in the morning, I deserve some shut-eye at least. 

My stomach is full, my body is clean, and my bed is soft. 

I'm happy.

So I drifted off to sleep with satisfaction.

***

 Bang!

 As if trained to react to the slightest of noises, I awoke, but this noise wasn’t slight at all.

 It was the sound of a door being kicked off its hinges.

I rolled off my bed and reached for my knife. 

My sword was too long to use in a narrow environment and I didn’t have time to equip my armor.

But I was prepared nonetheless.

I hid most of my money in a second pouch underneath the floorboard directly underneath the bed’s leg.

Even if I had to run from here, I could always sneak back to get the money. I turned to the window and noticed that it was already dark. 

 I doubt ‘they’d’ snuff me out this quickly. There's probably thousands of people in this city, still, I need to consider it…

 I sighed slowly.

 “I might have to kill someone…”

 [ Rogue Skill Set: Expand ] [ Warrior Skill Set: Expand ] [ Skill points: 10 ]

Expand.

 [ Stealth(2) / Dagger Arts(2) / Intuition(2) ] [ Hand-to-Hand Techniques (4) / Full-body Martial Techniques (8) / Permanent Status Points (10) ]

 It gave me three options each. I didn't have much time to think on whether or not my purchase would be worth it.

 I unlocked the lock on the window and jumped down onto the roof of the next building. I was on the second floor and since the buildings were so tightly packed, I couldn't find a way down to the shadowed alleys in time.

 Bam!

They kicked down the door as I was trying to shimmy the window down. 

Curse the state of this inn!

From the crack of the door, I made out two men. They were bald but their faces were heavily scarred, white tissue the width of coins could be made out even in the minimal light.

I felt my skin jump off my body. I jumped out of view from the window and gripped my knife tightly. 

It was now or never.

“Get after him!”

“He’s getting away!”

I held my knife close to my chest. Their footsteps were getting louder, but my heart beat was by far the loudest. I had to choose. Me, or them?

Crash!

A powerful kick knocked the window and its entire frame clean off the side, and a muscular leg stepped out. 

The man held onto what was left of the frame for support as he weaved his head underneath it.

The moment his head came up, the decision was made for me. I couldn't miss this chance.

“Aghh!” 

Admittedly, I’ve never sounded so scared in my life, despite attempting to sound intimidating. 

Perhaps it was the tightness in my chest, or the buildup in my system that needed release, but I ran at the man with all my might thrusting the knife forward.

Slash!

I’ve slashed through flesh before, undead flesh to be exact. It was hard, somewhat rubbery to the point of difficulty, but live flesh was different.

 It was soft, plump, almost like jelly, but he was like a balloon when it popped.

My knife sunk deep into his neck, all the way down to the handle, his blood splashing onto both my hands, and the knife tip poking out through the other side.

“Guh–” The person gasped at the suddenness and fell out of the window onto the roof.

I realized what I had done the moment my hands lost their hold of the knife. 

The man clutched his neck as he fell, the knife too far into his neck for him to have any chance of survival.

But I still saw it.

Fear, the desperation, the anger, the hatred, and the despair. 

I saw it all in that brief second. 

He must’ve lived a long life, whether it was good or bad is not for me to determine, but he definitely felt joy, he definitely knew sorrow, and maybe he had a longer life ahead of him– despite his choices.

I robbed this man of his future, whether it was was salvation or damnation. 

I crossed out a name I didn't know. 

 All to survive.

 This was not a game to me anymore, it was now my reality, and unlike my previous world, I needed to adapt. 

 I know said that before, but only did I take the life of someone– a person like me– did I understand.

 I am no saint. I will do as I please. I will even trample on the lives of others if I must.

 No, I will trample on the lives of others again, and again, and again, if I must.

I threw my body back, to dodge the knife of the other person as he leapt out of the building. Unlike me, he was not phased at all by the death of another.

They were used to this.

So if I wanted to survive, I needed to learn that too.

 I flicked my wrists and excess blood flew from my fingertips.

 Clench!

 I curled my hands into firsts and squared my shoulders and arms. The man lunged with a ear-to-ear grin,

 “You got balls kid!”

 Slash!