When I got near the gate, I went straight to the shop where I was supposed to pick up the package.
It wasn't difficult to find. The place was so close to the gate that it was practically attached to it.
The moment I opened the door, a bell rang above me.
I looked up and saw a thin string connecting it to the door.
Simple, but useful. In a world without much developed technology, it was probably one of the easiest ways to know when someone entered.
Even in my previous world, some shops still used them despite having other options.
I didn't keep looking for long and walked over to the man behind the counter.
"I'm here for a delivery."
"Which one?"
I looked at him.
"What do you mean which one? Are there multiple?"
"Of course. We have different ones for Tier 1s, Tier 0s, and mortals."
"...I didn't see any for Tier 0s or mortals on the board."
"Not every mission gets put on the board." He leaned against the counter. "If they tried putting everything up at once, one board wouldn't be enough. If you're looking for a certain type of work, you can ask the clerk to show you all the available requests in that category."
That would've been useful to know yesterday.
"Since you only saw the Tier 1 requests, I assume that's what you're here for?"
"Yeah."
He looked at me again.
"Honestly, I'm surprised you took this one."
"Why?"
"There are a lot of delivery requests asking for Tier 1s, but barely any Tier 1s willing to do them. Most can make more money hunting."
He shrugged.
"So whenever one of you actually decides to do delivery work, everyone just hopes their request gets picked."
That made sense.
"Anyway, can I see your request paper? I need to know which package you're here for."
I took it out and handed it over.
"Mission 343..."
He pulled another sheet from beneath the counter almost immediately and ran a finger down it.
At least this guy knew where he kept things.
"Here. Package seven. Give me a moment."
He walked into a room directly behind the counter. From where I stood, I could see several boxes stacked inside.
Probably storage.
Less than a minute later, he came back carrying one of them.
"Here."
I took the box and held it against my right side.
It wasn't particularly heavy.
Good.
"Can you take out your map? I'll show you where it needs to go."
I put the box down for a moment, pulled out the map, and opened it across the counter.
"Mind if I mark it?"
"It's fine."
He picked up something similar to the old pens from my previous world, dipped the end into some ink, and circled a place on the map.
"You need to take it to this shop."
I looked at the mark.
Didn't seem too far.
As I started folding the map again, he spoke.
"Also, since you happened to take my request, I'll give you some advice. Things in this city have been getting worse lately."
I stopped.
"Worse how?"
"Gangs, mostly. They've been getting more active."
Maybe that explained some of what I'd seen earlier.
"The five-copper entrance fee was supposed to reduce their activity," he continued. "Didn't work very well. They introduced it too late."
So that was apparently the reason for the fee.
Didn't mean it was a particularly good solution.
"And the beasts outside have been more active recently too."
That got my attention.
"So there actually are more of them?"
"Seems like it. Nothing you need to worry about too much. Gangs aren't likely to attack a Tier 1 for no reason, and as long as you don't go beast hunting until things calm down, you should be fine."
That was annoying.
I'd been planning to start hunting once my shoulder recovered, but if things outside were getting worse I'd have to see what the situation looked like by then.
"Good luck. Once you've delivered the package, come back with the signed mission paper and I'll pay you."
"Alright."
I picked the box back up and left.
It took around thirty minutes to reach the marked location.
The moment I stepped inside, a strong smell hit me.
Herbs.
There was something sweet mixed into it too, though I couldn't tell what it was. It took me a few seconds to get used to the smell.
I went to the counter.
Nobody was there.
Looking around, I noticed a string hanging nearby with a small sign beside it.
Pull if you need someone.
I pulled it.
A bell rang somewhere farther inside the building.
Not long after, a man came through one of the doors behind the counter.
"Do you need something?"
"I'm here for a delivery."
"Mhm. Show me the package and request."
I put both on the counter.
He checked the mission paper first before taking the box behind the counter and opening it.
From where I stood, I couldn't see what was inside unless I deliberately tried to.
I didn't.
Whatever was in there wasn't my problem.
After checking the contents, he closed the box, took the mission paper, and signed it.
"Here."
"Thanks."
He handed it back before disappearing through the same door he'd come from.
That was easy.
I left and made my way back to the first shop.
The man checked the signature, took the paper, and handed me one copper.
One copper for a little over an hour.
Still better than Bitterleaf.
I went straight back to the mission hall.
This time, instead of looking at the board again, I walked over to the woman behind the counter.
"I want to see all the delivery requests you've got."
She looked up from whatever she was reading.
"Tier 1?"
"Yeah."
She showed me the available requests.
There were a lot more than I'd expected.
I spent several minutes looking through them.
Most of the local ones weren't particularly impressive.
One copper. Two copper.
But there were a few paying four or five.
So the first guy had definitely been on the lower end.
There were also requests to deliver things from one town to another.
Those paid much better.
A few silver for some of them.
I barely considered those.
The situation outside was apparently getting worse, and my left arm was still mostly useless. They probably wanted healthy Tier 1s anyway.
Taking one in my condition would just be stupid.
For now, the only realistic option was delivering things from one part of the city to another.
I looked through the local requests again.
There weren't many paying four or five copper. Most still paid one or two.
Maybe the ones offering one copper were just hoping some Tier 1 who didn't know better would take them.
Then again, maybe I had it backwards.
Maybe four or five copper was overpaying and two copper was actually normal.
Still, paying a Tier 1 the same amount as a Tier 0 didn't make much sense to me unless they didn't really care who accepted the job.
I stared at the requests for a little longer.
Whatever.
I didn't know enough about it yet.
Thinking about it more wasn't going to change what they were paying.
I picked one of the five-copper requests.
After that, the rest of the day was mostly the same.
Pick up a package.
Carry it across the city.
Get the paper signed.
Go back and collect the payment.
Then find another one.
I kept everything on my right side whenever I could. My left shoulder was still in no condition to carry much, but none of the packages were heavy enough to cause me problems.
Most of the jobs still took over an hour once I counted all the walking back and forth.
There just wasn't much worth remembering about them.
By the time I finally stopped, it was already night.
I'd made twenty-nine copper today, including the first delivery.
Twenty-nine.
I counted it again just to make sure.
Almost enough to make back everything I'd spent on the entrance permit in a single day.
Not bad.
Definitely better than spending half the day staring at grass.
If I could keep finding some of the better requests, money shouldn't be much of a problem until my shoulder recovered.
After that, I'd figure out something better.
For now, though, I was tired.
I put the coins away, went back to the inn, and fell asleep.