55 The need, the need for-

Theo was given a private room.

But frankly, there was nothing here but the things absolutely necessary for him to pass the night; a bed, a chair, and a vase of clear liquid- probably water.

The room was in a corner of the eighth floor and it wasn't carved into the world tree, rather made from something of less quality. What that something was, no one told him. And the room was hanging just outside the main floor- literally.

Despite all the non-flashiness, this was one of the top guest rooms. Perhaps the Sahallas didn't get that humans weren't that great fans of minimalism.

Sigh.

The bed was too hard.

'How the hell do these people sleep in this stuff?'

Perhaps he spoiled himself a bit too much with his floating comfy sofa.

But this did grant him certain privileges.

For example, after locking the door, he went around on a licking spree.

He licked the door, the chair, the bed, and even the floor.

And he gained 430exp total.

'Why's it so low? Isn't this place supposed to be great and stuff?'

But he knew for a fact living things netted him more exp and the wood around him was anything but living.

And it certainly wasn't from the world tree, as none of his quests changed.

Lately, he didn't bother focusing on these licking endeavors and neglected getting experience points.

In his menu, under status, there was a bar showing how much exp he needed to level up again.

He needed a lot.

Lv counter- 05

Base lv exp- 100

C. exp- 72192

Needed to lv up for (6): 312500

Available skill points- 00

Available attribute points- 8

And according to this bar, he didn't need to start acquiring exp from zero every time he leveled up, rather he could keep all his current exp and the ceiling would just keep increasing with each level. 'But the required exp just keeps on racing upwards…' While the exp from licking things weren't increasing as much. He needed a lot of exp.

And the only times he got a lot of exp was when he did those lewd- he didn't want to think about that. 'And the quest-'

Speaking of quests, he'd actually forgotten about those. So, he took another look and made a determination.

'I'm definitely going to lick this damn tree even if that's the last thing I do!'

***

Morning began early in Ceren.

The Sahalla only needed about two-three hours of sleep and that sleep too was a luxury to most. They were a productive race, and a very hardworking one at that too.

'No wonder they're progressing at this rate.' Theo yawned as he stared out the window.

Just like the day before, many Sahallas were just going about their days. But something was odd. Theo hadn't noticed it before, or more like he never paid enough attention.

There were children playing or walking around, shopping and all that. But- so far, he never saw many elderlies. There were always one or two, but that was it. 'Do they not work past a certain age?'

The Ainmester would leave in the morning and later in the day, an envoy would arrive on this planet. The envoy would pave the way for a diplomatic relationship and Theo would be allowed to leave with them roughly a week later- or so the brief message on his Holo stated. He got his things back last night.

Theo sighed. "All this, just for you." He stared at the sleeping dog on the bed. it didn't get any larger and it didn't grow skin or muscles on its face either. Theo never saw it eat anything… How was that thing even alive?

Needless to say, he never found the answer.

But he was glad how things turned out. If the fruit had just broken and Skully hadn't come out, a lot of bad things would have happened and war was also possible.

But due to this whole thing, he now had a better shot at completing his mission too. His quest menu was already showing the next possible location for the fruit and all he had to do, was go there. There was one problem though- 'Just how far away is that place?' At least a hundred kilometers, that was for sure.

Breakfast wasn't coming in and no one was here either. The door was locked- to no one's surprise. Last night Theo was the one who locked it but now that he tried to unlock it- it didn't budge.

'What if I needed to pee?'

Now that he thought about it- 'Oh shit, I need to go!'

Maps!

Nearest bathrooms!

He started to hastily think of ways he could escape this place and find a place to relieve himself.

At this age, the last thing he wanted was to soil himself.

'Can I jump?'

He probably could, but he wouldn't have been in the shape to do anything afterward…

He kept on staring around but there wasn't anything he could use.

But then he remembered something. 'Didn't this thing move between walls or something?'

"Wake up, you furless mutt!"

Desperation.

He shook the drooling dog awake. "What?" It answered in a groggy voice.

"I need to get out of here. Get me out of here!"

"What do I get out of it?" It made a smug expression on its bony face. But since it was still half asleep, the tone came out awfully cute- cute for people with a twisted sense of beauty.

"You get to have breakfast." Theo didn't know if the poor thing even ate or not. And he didn't care. He just wanted to get out of here.

"I don't eat." It answered. "But I suppose thou hast something nice hidden away." It turned dark and started leaking darkness. "So, it better not disappoint."

The darkness spread like dry ice and covered Theo's whole body.

[Camouflaged!]

Did this mean, he was hidden? Or did this imply something else- because he could surely see his body.

Whatever it was, it didn't matter. He just ran for the door, barely able to stop the flow.

He held the handle of the door and his hand went just through. 'Oh!'

Success!

He now focused on his map and ran for the bathroom.

Apparently, the map showed him his immediate surroundings like a game. So even if the map didn't have a recent version, he could still see everything in real-time. He didn't know how it worked and he didn't care.

Bathroom!

Bathroom!!

BATHROOM!!!

It was almost like he was summoning a demon!

At first it was just an uncomfortable feeling. But as his body awoke more and more, he felt it more and more. He felt the need. The need for-

The hallways were empty but sooner, rather than later, he found a room.

The bathroom.

Crude, wooden, and no commode, just some large holes and a bucket of water; everything was separated with thick cloth. These people probably preferred to do their business in groups?

Painful.

Who knew things could be this painful?

No one was there and Theo just ran for a seat.

'Yes!'

He reached the bathroom, but-

A sensation went down his underwear, pants, and then legs. A sensation he remembered quite well from kindergarten.

Warm but not quite fuzzy.

His eyes twitched and things were cold- or rather warm and then cold again….

His bladder was full no more.

'Holy fuc-'

As the warm golden liquid finally stopped flowing, Theo stared at the crude mirror in front of him and sniffed, almost crying.

Actually, he might have shed some tears along the way.