There were many things one would expect when they were placed in a fantasy world.
Not just to become heroes, but also to earn enough gold to make a harem with.
Nikola had no idea why he was here. He didn't remember being hit by a truck, but he had been sick before he got here. It was safe to say that he was about as dead as they came.
But instead of being a ghost, he was now an adventurer. If being adventurer meant that he had to muck the community stables, that was.
He was still thinking about the possibility that he might be in hell. Even if the food was good.
He mucked, cleaned, and changed the hay.
Only to find it.
It was just a marble. A small golden thing which he thought was something to decorate a horse with.
As soon as he took it, it activated!
Nikola blinked as a system message was placed before his eyes.
"Welcome to the System!" So far, so good, Nikola thought, as he tried to decide on whether his situation was worse or better.
"You are to become an S-ranked adventurer by the end of the month!"
His life had gotten worse; Nikola decided with dread in his heart. He was just rank F, and he still had to do overtime and take night school classes, just so he could make ends meet and get some fighting lessons.
"Your mentor is the General Anton!"
Which meant that Nikola was in even deeper shit now. He knew that most military personnel were about as understanding of a man's plight as they were their enemies.
He was going to be trained. Hard. Without mercy. Probably be forced to give up the night school as well, by the looks of it.
"Your quests to the Adventurer's Guild are now mute and void!" The system continued.
"There goes my food fund," Nikola said with a sigh, as he placed the shovel he had been using to muck the stables with to the side.
"But you will be strong!" The system protested.
"And hungry," Nikola countered. "Look, I have no savings. These jobs were enough to put food on the table, even if they were not my first choice."
Nikola took in a breath. The System knew all that, and yet, it didn't look so, as if it was going to show him any mercy.
"The General Anton is on his way!" The system might as well have told him that a group of stampeding ogres were descending on the town.
"Any last words?" Nikola asked, as he looked at the half-mucked stable.
He should have known that a crappy system would come out of this place of eternal dung-coverage.
"Yes! You will grow strong, or you will perish!"
"You know, I could have figured this out myself," Nikola told the system, as he began to walk towards the exit of the stables.
The old man who was waiting for him on the other end looked so, as if he fought bears in his spare time.
"Hold!" The old man told him, as he looked Nikola from head to toe. "You will not pass!"
"Look, gramps," Nikola said, as he took out the yellow marble again, showing it to the General. "I was chosen for this mission! So, you can't just force me to step down!"
That was, of course, the truth. But the old General was going to have the last word!
"You are to run from this end of town to the forest!" The General roared.
"Anton…" Nikola began, who was certain that the man was either not hearing correctly, or he was already in full slaver mode.
"You dare address me by name? It is Sir for you!" The general roared.
Nikola decided that it wasn't a good idea to try to test the man.
He took off running. Stinking of horse dung all the while.
The community bath was just around the corner where Nikola stopped running.
He looked left, then right.
The old grump was not there!
With a smile, the world traveler took his sweet time in the bath. Using the single cubicles, just so he won't be kicked out.
When he came out of the bath, smelling like mint and a day got over as fast as possible, he saw the general waiting for him by a faucet.
"You think," the general began, as he pointed at the faucet. "That this is a game? You won't be eating tonight!"
Nikola had had enough.
"System," he said, as he simply began to head home. "I quit."
The system began to pull out an error message after the other. No world traveler had just quit before!
"Wait!" The system began, as it tried to change its system messages to something that didn't force a person to squint too much. "I can give you the world!"
"You gave me a grumpy old man who thinks I will bath at a faucet in public," Nikola said, as he turned the key in his lock. "You can take him back to hell. I won't be taking your quests anymore!"
The system was at a loss. Nikola picked up his documents and began to head to the guild house.
They, at least, gave him money for chores.
****
The news that the world traveler had quit his system to work at the Adventurer's Guild was something that took the town of Big Capybara by surprise.
First there was the gnome who made a killing off spider silk, and now adventurers were not playing by the rules?
The small town, which had been a village until recently, gasped as one.
Nikola didn't care. He had an herb collection quest. He had to get some sap as well.
He picked up his equipment and just went to the forest. Knowing full well that he had to dodge the goblins who were most certainly going to ambush him.
And if he managed to dodge the goblins, he would probably have to deal with the hobgoblins.
Nikola knew that he needed to strike it big. He could not fight.
If a gnome could do it, why can't he?