Assimilate All Talents

Chapter 278: A Dream

Sol’s eyes shot wide open as he woke up in a large bed. His heart beat wildly as he sprang upward and reached out for his Lipon, but all he grabbed was empty air. Thinking it might be stored in his spatial ring, he checked his hands, but he didn’t have any spatial rings.

’Huh? Where did it—?’

"Sol? Is something wrong?"

"I can’t find my spatial ring... Wait, Anna?" It was only now that he noticed he wasn’t alone in bed, Annabel was with him, wrapped under the same blanket. "Why are you in my bed? No, wait, this is your bed... How did I get here?"

Annabel was confused by what he meant. "Because we’re dating? Are you okay? Did you have another nightmare?"

Something about what she said felt incorrect to him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. After a moment of confusion, he assumed he must have been mistaken and hesitantly nodded in response. "I think I was a Royal Knight, and on a mission, I was fighting some kind of massive spider. But I screwed up and fell into a pit trap."

"Oh... it was a knight dream this time." It wasn’t the first time he’d had such dreams, and given his circumstances, she could understand why. Regardless, she still tried to cheer him up. "But think of the bright side—you’re not a knight, so that could never happen!"

’I’m not?’

It wasn’t that he didn’t believe her, but a gut instinct told him otherwise. He opened his status page, wanting to confirm it for himself.

Name: Sol

Race: Human

Talents:

Level: 5

Exp: 12/150

HP: 70

MP: 40

Str: 6

Vit: 7

Agi: 5

Int: 3

Wis: 4

Talent Skills:

Passive Skills:

[Speed Reading] Lv 1, [Encyclopedia] Lv 2

Active Skills:

Sol almost fell out of his seat at the sudden pivot in the conversation.

’We haven’t been doing it that much... have we?’

He couldn’t exactly remember how many times they actually went at it, which led him to believe it must have been too many to count.

"I’ll... keep that in mind, Guildmaster."

"When it’s just us two, you can call me William."

Sol smiled and nodded. "Thank you, William."

"Now get out, you have work to do."

"Yes!"

Sol made his way back to the main entrance of the guild and quickly went through his daily tasks, from reviewing the quests available, counting inventory, and speaking with clients to register their quests. An hour later, when he was done, he moved on to his other responsibility, tending the receptionist desk.

While tending the counter, Annabel passed by.

"Oh, Sol, I forgot to ask you, but what time are your parents coming over?"

"My parents?" Something about her question felt off, but he couldn’t put his finger on what exactly.

Seeing him silent, Annabel began to panic. "Don’t tell me you forgot! You’re supposed to introduce me to them! Please, I want to make a good first impression!"

She began to shake him by the shoulders pleadingly, which shook him out of his stupor.

"Oh, now I remember! They said they would arrive around 7."

"Oh, thank the gods. I’ll have time to prepare something good to eat when we get home." She gave him a peck on the cheek and went back to doing her job.

Sol smiled as he watched her walk away and returned to his own duties.

The receptionist part of the job was honestly his favorite, as he could directly speak with the adventurers. Sure, some were rowdy or disrespectful, but those were a minority, and after working for some time, he actually gained a reputation for being the one to ask about anything.

An adventurer walked up to his counter. "Morning, Sol. My party and I want to take this escort quest to Kerman. Never left town before, so I’m kinda curious what a city looks like."

"It’s much bigger, and there is a lot more one can do there. Even at night, the city is very active. While it’s a lot at first, I think you’ll enjoy it once you get used to it."

"Oh, you’ve been there?"

"I... no, it’s just what I’ve heard from others."

Even though he said that, he didn’t know if he believed it himself. ’If I heard of it from someone... why is it so vivid?’

He found it odd but eventually concluded that it was probably a dream he had. He continued on with his shift, taking care of other adventurers and trading a few jokes and flirtatious comments with Annabel whenever she passed by.

Later in the day, an adventurer in full metal armor, alongside his party, came into the guild. The man in full armor removed his helmet to reveal a grinning Jayce. He sauntered to the nearest table, stood on it, and announced, "We have slain the Thunder Wolf King!"