CHAPTER 20: [BASIC WARD]

The guild’s corridors were alive with footsteps and murmurs as Wade made his way towards the familiar wing of the building.

The same hallway Calista had led him down when he’d first awakened stretched ahead of him.

He hadn’t planned to come here so soon, but Rowan’s words kept echoing in his mind.

The burns on his back were healed, but the memory of the acid burning through his clothes was still raw.

Rowan said he needed something more than just a breastplate. He’d be foolish not to listen to the expert.

At the end of the hall, he pushed open a door marked with the sigil of an open book. Inside was the skill shop.

A clerk in guild colors sat behind a counter, quill scratching across parchment. He was not the man Wade had met before.

He looked up briefly when Wade entered, his expression neutral, before lowering his gaze back to his ledger.

Wade cleared his throat. "I need [Basic Ward]."

He placed his badge on the counter, sliding it towards the man.

That got the clerk’s attention. The man set his quill down and reached for the badge.

He examined it, confirming it was the real deal.

With a nod, he left for the back room. Wade stood there for almost a minute, before the door opened and the man emerged.

The man set the glowing stone on the counter, and Wade stared at it, eyes narrowed.

"[Basic Ward]," the clerk confirmed. "Standard defensive skill. Casts a small opaque barrier in front of the user. Costs five points of mana to activate, lasts a few seconds depending on perception. Cost, five thousand gold coins."

Wade’s stomach twisted. Five thousand gold coins.

He glanced down at his coin pouch. He had less than a hundred inside.

He exhaled through his nose. He’d known this was coming. The guild didn’t sell survival cheap. This meant more debt.

"I’ll put it on my account," Wade said quietly.

The clerk didn’t blink. He picked up a thin sheet of parchment and slid it across the counter. "Sign here. The debt will be added to your ledger. Repayment begins with the first expedition you return from."

Wade took the quill in hand. His name scrawled across the paper in uneven strokes.

The ink shimmered faintly as the guild’s binding runes activated, sealing the agreement.

The clerk nodded, retrieving the sheet before sliding the glowing stone across the counter towards Wade.

Wade lifted the stone carefully, its surface warm to the touch.

He crushed it, and the stone dissolved into light, sinking into his skin.

[New Skill Acquired: Basic Ward!]

Wade released a shaky breath. He could feel it now, sitting in his chest, ready to be called on.

"Your account has been updated," the clerk said, already returning to his ledger. "And remember, guild interest applies after three months."

Wade clenched his jaw, but nodded. Even more ways to sink him deeper in debt. "Understood."

He turned and left the shop, the door shutting behind him with a soft click.

His debt had grown, his chains heavier. But this chain was worth it.

[][][][][]

Wade woke while the dormitory was still quiet, the sun barely spilling light through the narrow window above his bed.

He sat up at once, the blanket sliding away. His nerves were buzzing, the thought of the day ahead chasing any desire to sleep further.

Today was his first dungeon.

He pushed himself up, grabbed the small towel folded on the desk, and headed to the wash basin.

He washed quickly, the water cool against his face, sluicing away the remaining heaviness of sleep.

By the time he dressed in his tunic and strapped on his new breastplate, the last of the fog had left his head.

Back in his room, he took a few minutes to stretch.

Familiar motions from Earth. Pushups, and twists of his torso, pulling at stiff muscles until his body loosened.

The breastplate pinched here and there, and he grimaced at the tug under his arms, but he was already used to it.

When he was done, he sat at the edge of his bed and called up his status.

[Name: Wade Barrett]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Dimensional Merchant]

[Origin Skill: Dimensional Ledger]

[Level: 1]

[Exp: 0%]

[HP: 165/165]

[MP: 165/165]

[Strength: 30]

[Agility: 31]

[Perception: 24]

[Constitution: 25]

[Stat Points: 25]

[Skills: Observe, Conceal, Inventory, Exchange, Basic Ward]

The golden letters floated before him. His finger tapped unconsciously at his thigh at the sight.

He had twenty five points, waiting to be spent. He could push his agility higher, increase his perception, or bulk his strength.

He stared at the numbers for a long moment.

But then he closed the screen.

Not yet. He didn’t know what the dungeon would demand of him.

He needed to see, to understand, before deciding where to grow. The points would stay unspent. For now.

He strapped on his sword and left the room.

At this time of the morning, the mess hall was lively with the hum of early adventurers, but at their usual table, the atmosphere was subdued.

Ingrid sat with her back straight, her bow as always leaning against her chair.

Rowan gave Wade a bright grin as he arrived, though his words were few.

Sebastian was quiet, eating like a machine, his gray eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

Wade sat down with his tray, glancing down at his porridge, bread, and the slice of dried meat.

They ate in near silence, the only sounds the scrape of spoons and the clink of cups.

Wade didn’t mind. Somehow, words felt unnecessary this morning. Not with what laid ahead of them.

When they were done, Sebastian wiped his beard with the back of his hand and stood, the bench creaking under his weight.

His deep voice carried across the table.

"It is time," he said simply.

Rowan pushed back his chair with a small smile. Ingrid stood without a word, adjusting the strap of her quiver. Wade rose last, slinging his sword across his back.

Sebastian nodded once. "Before we head to the dungeon, we need to go to the practice yard."

"We’ll take the time to warm up and get used to our equipment. Better to find flaws now than when you’re bleeding inside the Shattered Hall."