Ultimate Level 1

Max found himself asking for more directions every few blocks as he kept getting distracted by the buildings and businesses in the city. Sure, his hometown of Alundra was larger than this town, but all this was new. Windsor Wheel did a lot of trade in basic supplies because of the dungeons to the south of it. He remembered hearing about the two lower-level ones, which meant a steady influx of lower-level adventurers.

He would, at some point, need to make his way to Rumstant if he really wanted to find himself a place where the reach of the adventurer representatives wouldn’t be a threat to him.

Glancing at the shops that were selling food, his stomach reminded him that he had not eaten yet.

“How much for a loaf of bread?” Max asked one of the hawkers on the street, waving bread in brown paper at those who were walking past like himself.

“Two copper,” the young girl stated as she held up two fingers on one hand and waved the bread close to his face with her other.

Growling to himself, Max fished into his pants pocket and pulled out the pouch he had taken from the goblin. He flipped the coins he pulled out to her, and she caught them easily with practice.

“Want any meat to go with it?” she asked with a wink as she motioned to a stall nearby with pieces of dried meat that were all sliced thin.

“Not today, but maybe next time,” he answered as he took the bread and ripped off a hunk, finding it still warm and smelling amazing.

He could smell the flour and a hint of something in it. One bite told him what he knew from his baking skills and experience. It was a sweet bread, with just a hint of a local plant, Melon Stalk. The plant added a hint of honey sweetness but carried a light melon smell. It was a favorite of bakers who wanted to not overpower one's taste buds but still tease their noses.

Smiling, he scarfed down the bread as he walked through the street, headed to the adventures guild hall.

The building was by far the largest one around, easily four floors high if they didn’t have a basement like the one in his town had. Huge stone gave it almost a church look, which was weird, but Max knew each town had a different look to their halls.

Giant statues of different classes decorated the wide-open pavilion inside the walls surrounding it. The dwarf [Warrior], Daldran Eborstone, was evident by his armor, hammer, and shield. Whoever created this thing was incredibly skilled, as the facial features were stunning.

Next to it was an elven [Mage], Lilandera Thistleben, with a staff and life-like expression that almost made it seem to be casting a spell by how she was gazing at you.

The [Scout] was a human male, bent low, head covered in a hood and holding a bow and arrow, all poised in a very action-like look. The shadow that was cast across its face from the sun lent to the nature of the [Scout] and stealth.

He looked for the one he had been hoping for. Two over from the scout was the famed hero of old Seth Haylock. His massive physique, giant spear, and the way in which he was standing on one leg, driving the spear toward those standing before the statue, almost made Max choke on his bread. Max had chosen the name he would be known by because of this man. What better tribute than to choose a hero's name known for a skill he now possessed?

Four other classes were depicted, but Max found himself drawn by the crowd of people moving in and out of the large wooden doors, some laughing and joking while others were sullen and moving at a snail's pace.

As he turned to go toward the steps he saw the doors open wide and a pair of women wearing the same outfits the advisors had worn in his hometown. That red outfit caused him to almost lock up in fear as he quickly turned around to admire the statues and hide his face.

Running his hand through his hair, he cursed.

Get your hair cut, you idiot!

They rushed down the steps and out the courtyard, not glancing in his direction.

Sweat was beading down his face and he had to force himself to breathe before he passed out and drew attention to himself.

Counting to twenty, he walked with purpose toward a different exit on the property to the east.

“Excuse me, sir, can you tell me the way to a [Barber]?”

The older man, who was carrying a basket of cloth on his back, glanced at him. His green eyes almost seemed to peer into his soul from how dark they were. He furled his bushy white eyebrows at him and squinted.

“Why would you want to cut such a beautiful head of hair? Take my advice and keep it as long as you can!”

Max laughed and nodded as he watched the older man run his hand along his balding scalp. Only a small amount of white hair hung along the edges near his ears and the back of his skull.

“You know what they say about a bald head like mine?” he asked, flashing a toothy grin. Well, an almost toothy grin as a few of his teeth were missing.

“Uh… no, what do they say?”

Rubbing the front part of his head, the man smiled.

“If you are bald up here, you are a thinker,” he stated and then moved his finger to the back part of his bald head. “If you are bald back here, you are a lover.”

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Running his hand across both spots, the older man gave a sad expression and winked.

“If you are bald all over, you just think you’re a lover!” he exclaimed, laughing at his own joke.

Max couldn’t help it, but the man’s appearance, combined with his corny joke and grin, made Max start laughing as well.

“Well, at least that's what my wife says, but enough about me, if you are looking for a [Barber], go two streets that way and turn right. It will be two more streets down there. Tell the skinny guy running it Theodore says hi.”

Laughing still, Max nodded and gave a small bow.

"Thank you, Mr. Theodore.”

“Bah, that ain’t my name, boy,” the man replied as he winked again. “I’m not giving my name to some random boy with a head full of hair and a spear!”

Confused, Max snorted and shook his head.

“Ok… well, thanks again.”

The old man nodded and shooed Max off, laughing to himself as he started moving again, hauling his loaded basket on his back.

Afraid the old man might have lied about the barber shop for a moment, Max finally found it when he spotted a large pair of scissors outside a wooden building. Instead of a thin man, however, was a very large and round man snipping hair off an older man sitting in a chair.

“Need a haircut?” the man asked without taking his eyes off the hair he was working on.

“I do,” Max replied as he cleared his throat before continuing. “An old man with horrible jokes told me to find some skinny man here and tell him Theodore sent me.”

The man stopped mid-snip, moved his scissors from the red hair he was about to cut, and started laughing and then coughing from how hard and long it went on.

His face was redder than ripe apple skin, accentuated by how the man was gasping for air, his face covered in sweat.

“You ok, sir?”

“Oh, that toothless bastard,” the man chortled as he took some heaving breaths to calm himself. “He and I have a long history but not one for getting into right now. If you want a haircut, grab a seat over there, and I’ll get to you after I’m done here.”

Max nodded and moved to where a stool was sitting in the corner the man had motioned to. Resting his spear against the wall, he watched the man’s thick fingers deftly cause the scissors almost to dance as he made exact cuts. After a moment of watching, Max leaned his head against the wall behind him, closed his eyes, and dozed off.

A shake of his shoulder got his attention, and when his eyes popped open, he saw the [Barber] bent over, looking at him.

“Ready for that cut, son? If I had to guess, you have been asleep for a good hour.”

Yawning and stretching, Max nodded and glanced around the shop where a few other men were getting their hair cut on two other chairs by other men.

“If you don’t mind. I’d like to have it all shaved off if possible.”

Leaning back, the heavy-set man crossed his arms while looking at Max’s head full of hair.

“Why would you want to do that?” he asked, questions obviously swirling around in the man’s head.

“I lost a bet,” Max lied as he put on his best pouting face. “I have to shave my head for a month.”

A smirk appeared, and the man nodded as he gave a slight shrug and motioned to the chair for Max to sit in.

“I can’t say it’s the first time I’ve done one of those cuts before. Boys and their bets,” he muttered. “At least you are honest enough to keep up with your part of the deal. Should I ask what the bet was about?”

Sucking in some air through his teeth, Max shook his head no as he moved into the chair.

“I’d prefer not to say other than making bets about women and who they will choose is never a good idea,” Max replied with a sigh. “Sometimes they don’t pick you like you think they will.”

The man saw how Max’s shoulders bent as he said that.

“Say no more. Just relax, and I’ll make this as painless as possible.”

As he ran his hand across his white skull, Max couldn’t believe the way he had looked or how it felt. [Barber] Ken had let him have the cut for free as a gesture of a man who lost a woman he once had hoped to land. He had thanked him for it and promised to return when it was time to shave it again.

Before he had left the [Barber], Max stared in the mirror a few times and couldn’t recognize himself at all. Without his hair, he felt like a new person, which was what he had hoped to be. Someone not hunted.

“How can I help you?” the male attendant asked as he moved up to the counter.

Groaning, Max leaned his spear against the counter and let out a sigh.

“Let’s say someone got into a fight they shouldn’t have and barely escaped with their life and weapon. How would I go about getting another adventurer's card and guidebook?”

The man gave a slight scowl before taking a small breath and putting a smile back on his face.

“You lost your card and your guidebook? Can you tell me how?”

Max sighed, pulled out the goblin ears he had wrapped in his torn sleeves, and showed them to the man.

“I made a mistake and was deeper than I thought in the woods when I got set upon by a pack of goblins. My spear broke after managing to kill a few, requiring me to flee and losing my pack with everything in it. After running for my life, I had to make a new one out of a sapling. I came across another pack and was able to take them down, securing these trophies to show what I accomplished.”

The attendant bobbed his head as he looked at the ears before him.

“I wish I could say it's been a while since I have heard a similar story, but it happens a few times a month," he answered with a sigh. "What town are you from, and what rank?"

"I'm from Listerman, Seth Pendal, and I am a new rank F."

The man nodded as he wrote down some information on a sheet. After a moment, he pulled a sheet out from under the counter, writing a few more things on it before sliding it to him with a magical pen.

"Fill those out, sign it at the bottom, and let me go turn these in for some coin. Would you prefer copper or silver for the ears?"

"What is the current rate for ears?" Max asked. He knew there was a different rate based on the town, but he needed to figure out what they were worth here.

"Twenty copper for each set. You get five more copper as an F rank. So I can give you two silver or one silver and fifty copper."

"Let's do the one silver and fifty copper," Max replied with a grin.

"I'm assuming you need a new pouch for your money?" he asked as he looked Max up and down.

The attendant saw the sheepish grin on Max and just shook his head as he left the counter.

Letting out a sigh, Max turned to the paperwork and realized he had to make sure he wrote the right name and signed it.

For a long time to come, he was going to be known as Seth Pendal. He knew a few might catch the name as the hero from hundreds of years ago. The Pendal name was more common as citizens all over the kingdoms changed it in honor of the hero who had defeated the twin dragons that had terrorized so many kingdoms.

Max smiled as he crossed the t and gazed at the name he had written down. contemporary romance

He could be a baker and a warrior. Crazier things had happened.

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