Isekai: The Eight Soul Fragments

A new dawn came as Draxus opened his eyes drowsily. He took his phone that was placed on top of the cabinet and checked the time. "Five forty..." The sun had already risen up significantly and he let out a slack presence while sitting up from the bed. He let out a yawn and immediately changed into casual clothing. "What should I do now that training began...?" Draxus muttered to himself while walking down the staircase. After reaching the ground floor, he sat on the corner table while listening to some music on his headset. The innkeeper, who is named Crystel, came out from the kitchen and saw Draxus. She waved her hand which Draxus noticed and took off his headphones. "Good morning Crystel." Crystel returned her greeting while brewing tea. "Morning Draxus, you're awake quite early? Breakfast happens at seven you know?" Draxus rubbed his eyes slowly while giving out an answer. "Well, I should be awake even before the sun rose but eh..." Crystel brought the tea and moved to Draxus's table. She sat in front of Draxus while pouring on a cup. Crystel was letting out a voice of interest since Draxus was supposed to wake up even before her. Crystel wakes up just as the sun starts rising to prepare for her innkeeping work. "Here's some tea, it'll help you wake up." Draxus took the cup while thanking her, Crystel then poured some tea to another cup and started talking about something. "Do you train everyday early in the morning?" Draxus sipped on his tea before giving an answer. "Well, mostly, I have to continuously train on how I use my magic, and then practice new kinds of magic that I could use for utility purposes." Crystel who heard unfamiliar terms repeated the word. "Utility?" She tilted her head while taking a sip from the tea she had poured on the cup. Draxus who noticed her confusion, gave her an explanation. "Well, it's something like a separated part of magic. It's more used on daily life and for emergencies." Crystel who somewhat understood the usage of magic let out a small noise: [Heeeh...?]. "By the way, are you the only one who manages the inn? It looks pretty big for a single person to handle." Crystel took another sip of the tea as Draxus had asked her that question. She then lowered the cup and provided him with an answer. "My mother and aunt helps me manage this inn. They're currently out on a trip to collect ingredients that can only be found on the capital though. Besides, there aren't that many that lodge in this place since the rooms are expensive." Draxus who noticed the price drank a bit of the tea before voicing out his opinion. "Then how do you usually profit from this store?" Crystel started thinking for a little bit before giving out an answer. "Well, since we're famous from the meals and the bathhouse, we earn enough profits there." It was Draxus's turn to let out an interested voice [Hmm?] before asking another question. "Then what about the rooms?" Crystel waved one of her hands and looked unbothered by the question. "It depends when a person stays for at least three days. It'll be break even if they stay for at least a week. The only thing that's hard to invest for is the things needed for the daily cleaning. But since those items usually last for a month, people like you who will stay for forty days actually helped me out." Draxus sipped his tea while understanding the explanation of Crystel. "Then, thanks for the tea, it was really delicious!" Crystel smiled from the compliment and asked him something. "You're welcome, going somewhere?" Draxus stood up and wore the headphones properly. "Yeah, I'm thinking of exploring the town a little bit. I'll be back by breakfast." Crystel then told him some light warnings. "Be careful since you have that kind of ornament on your head. That looks really unique you know? You'll be hunted down by artifact collectors, merchants, and even the viscount who is a little shady." Draxus who got her warning asked her for the names of the noble. She gave an answer while thinking pretty deeply as if recollecting the names. "He's called Viscount Ottyham Beryll. There are more nobles that belong him which are barons and the like. They're the kind that will try to forcefully collect rare items." Draxus who got the warning smiled and told her that it will be fine.

After he left the inn, the first thing he did was walk towards the fountain to start his exploration. There, he encountered Keith, Jevil, and one of the three people that listened in to his talk about the princess on the carriage. He had brown hair and black colored eyes. He was wearing casual clothing just like Keith and Jevil and was the first to notice him. "Oh! Drax, going for a quest already?" Draxus who was called out, calmly replied to him. "Ah not yet, I'm thinking of familiarizing myself with the town first Viceroy." That person was named Viceroy Alistair, he was in Keith's age group which is around sixteen. "Then we'll be going for an early quest so that we can start ranking up. Good luck to you Drax." Keith sent his words to Draxus and received a reply. "Don't worry, tell your group that we'll meet here later so I can get registered as an adventurer."

They immediately separated as Draxus started moving towards the northern area, which gives a huge risk as the warning of Crystel goes. The northern part of the town had the residences of the nobles and he knew well on where he's about to step on. Draxus simply started to play something on his headset while wandering. He arrived on various stalls and saw various kinds of food being sold on the street. However, Draxus had to hold back since he had already spent two out of five gold coins. He planned to make use of them carefully at that point.

Many people have called out to Draxus as they were only trying to call customers, it was pretty much okay for Draxus to ignore them. He continued walking as he found stores that interested him. "Optimium..." He looked at the signboard and the inside of the store which has like nicely designed tools. He then reminisced for a bit as he tried to remember some important points. "If I remember correctly... This country's forte is technology..." Draxus went inside the store and inspected each tools. He then found something interesting but it was too expensive. In his mind, he now has something to save up for. He then left the store and started to wander around even more. After a short while, he saw somebody with a bit of aura while wearing nice looking clothing. It was trying to negotiate with a merchant regarding a sculpture. In his mind: "Viscount? No, probably a Baron? I should leave before I get caught..." Draxus went back to the inn while checking the time. "Around six forty... I should return..." He had a slight regret of browsing for too much details on [Optimium]. While Draxus was walking, a loud voice was calling out to him. But he ignored it because of the loud music that was playing on his headphones. He continued to walk peacefully while being oblivious. Until a certain point where he got surrounded by multiple armed men who are around their early and mid twenties. They had swords as a weapon and wore garments similar to the noble that circled around Draxus. "What business do you have with someone like me? By surrounding me with six guards I assume it is something important." Draxus remained calm as he lowered down his headset to rest over his shoulders. "You know a lot! Then let us get straight to the point, I want that ornament on your head!" Draxus's eyes instantly narrowed as if he had predicted it. He held his headphones that was on his shoulder while narrowing his eyes even further. "You have the gall to act like that against me huh? Guards! Force him to hand over the ornament! You commoners should never think of defying us who are chosen." Draxus, who had swords aimed against him let out a pressure that was unthinkable of a nineteen year old. The noble who was around the middle ages stepped back once in slight fear. However, his arrogance had peaked and gave the order to the guards. "Arrest him!" Draxus, who knew that chantless magic will be a major problem, revealed a spell name that he will be using for a long time. "[Crystal Groundwork]" Suddenly, the pavements on the ground had frozen up completely causing the guards that stepped forward to slip grandly. Draxus who had practice moving on frictionless ground, escaped from the scene instantly. He returned to the inn five minutes after seven. He then found Crystel who was talking to two other people who are in the inn. Both of them are girls with similar clothing but had different colors. Crystel who noticed him, called out and told him to sit with them. "Perfect timing, I'll introduce you to these two Draxus."