Getting shot through the head is similar to getting drunk.
Sup, how's it going? Me? Oh, I just felt nostalgic and decided to rewatch some episodes of Nickelodeon's GREATEST cartoon, Danny Phantom. It's just as good as I remember!
...
*Music starts playing* Young Danny Fenton, he was just 14!
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Bell didn't know what to expect when he would reach his first city, but the smell of shit and a rotting corpse of a dog right beside the Town entrance wasn't it.
Unfortunately for his nose, while the world of Danmachi had plumbing, that didn't mean that every place had one. No, a plumbing system was reserved for large and more populated cities.
"Ugh." Our bunny boy groaned, cringing at the smell of human waste.
Back in the village, there were outhouses, or even bushes if you couldn't reach the outhouse in time. But here, in a town where there is maybe 1 public outhouse every 20 or more houses? Roads, alleyways, buildings all around?
Bell watched blankly as the window from the house on the left nearest to the entrance gate opened only for a woman to dump out a bucket of waste straight on the street, followed by another bucket of water to help "wash it out" from the road.
...
"The joys of living in a semi-medieval fantasy world, I guess." He murmured and walked into the city, no guards demanding who he was or what he wanted.
Needless to say, the smell didn't lessen but it's not like he could do anything about it.
"Hey, sorry," Bell said as he addressed a random passerby. "Where can I find a pawnshop or a merchant? I got things I want to sell."
"Monster parts?"
"No."
"Then head to the town's center and you'll see an open space with a bunch of stalls with things people want to sell or trade with, maybe a traveling merchant if you're lucky. Normal business owners would rather sell than buy."
Giving the person a small nod, Bell thanked them and started walking in the direction he was pointed to.
As he walked, Bell looked at everything around him. The architecture, the people, the clothes they were wearing, etc.
And if he were to summarize his opinion on all of it in just one word then it would be "Underwhelming".
Everything around him looked like a cliche town from a generic fantasy/Isekai anime, it wasn't anything that David didn't already see in the entertainment media on earth. That sense of familiarity from David's memories completely and utterly crushed any excitement that Bell would've normally felt on his first-ever visit to a settlement outside his birth village and replaced it with bitter disappointment.
It's just... boring. Just like his little journey to this town. Even when he slept under the stars yesterday night, nothing disturbed his sleep! You'd think that one and half a day of traveling on the road would at least make you see a carriage passing by at least once, but nothing had happened on his way here!
No bandits, monsters, carriages, or anything.
Just one and half a days of walking. The only "entertainment" was his daily gacha which resulted in his getting a piece of torn leather that he threw away immediately after acquiring it.
When he reached his destination, Bell eyed the small open area filled with small stalls or rugs with items displayed on them.
The stalls selling food like fruits and vegetables dominated the place, but Bell still had a lot of food he took from the house before leaving, so he ignored those.
And then, he saw one that sold meat.
The question, "I wonder if he needs to sell it all in a day before it spoils?" appeared in his head before he saw what was behind the man in the stall.
It was a fucking freezer.
"Monster stones?" He wondered, the memories of David showing him a small cliche from fantasy mangas/manhwas that the man read, where modern technology existed in the world but was powered by magic stones. The stones were put inside a device just like batteries which powered it up until the magic inside the stone was all used up.
Well, what do you know? Modern technology apparently exists here? The original Bell's memories couldn't recall anything like that, but the village he lived in seemed poor, so maybe it's just that nobody could afford anything like that, and the original Bell simply being an ignorant child?
Shrugging, Bell accepted this new information and moved on. The memories of David already confirmed the existence of showers, plumbing, and plastic items being present in the anime, so a little bit of modern household machinery wasn't surprising.
Navigating through the many stalls was easier than Bell thought it'd be, and while there were a lot of people walking around, there was enough distance from stall to stall for this to not be a problem. But anyway! It took him less than a minute to locate something interesting.
Potions!
Alchemy! Liquid magic in a bottle! Perhaps the most scientific aspect of a fantasy world! Because what is potion alchemy if not chemistry but with magic ingredients instead of mundane ones?
"Hello there, young man. How can I help you?" An elderly woman, a VERY old one, greeted him as he approached her. Looking up at him from the sitting position on the ground near the rug where all her bottles were placed on.
"Well, I'm interested in buying some health potions." Even if his superhuman redundant biology lets him stay alive despite suffering many lethal wounds, it will still take time for the damage to heal.
The cut on his hand is still there, not bleeding, but visible. Although it was halfway healed, and would probably heal completely by the end of today. Which is impressive because Bell made sure to cut hard and deep when he tested it.
So it seems that he did get a boosted healing factor, but not anything as broken as Wolverine or Deadpool have.
And while he could technically wall around with non-bleeding stab and slash wounds without problem, that's just asking for people to notice his obviously nonhuman biology. He could lie and tell people it's a skill he acquired, but why paint a target on your back?
Sooner or later people will notice, but preferably Bell will already be in a familia that will provide a backup against anyone who would try to use/kidnap him for it.
So healing potions are a must if he wants to hide obvious lethal wounds that he may or may not acquire later in his journey.
"Certainly dearie." The orderly woman replied. "5 valis for one bottle."
Bell nodded and took out his pouch from the bag of holding.
He end up buying 4 bottles for 20 valis.
Did he get scammed? Maybe...? Neither Bell's or David's memories knew how much a vial of health potion should cost.
But even if she did, Bell doesn't think he would have the heart to scold and argue with a woman old enough to be someone's great-grandma. She looked as if she was she was one breeze away from collapsing into dust.
It's just something that you shouldn't do, at least in Bell's opinion.
Kind of similar to when you see a woman stealing baby food from a shop. You don't report it, act as if you saw nothing, and move on.
Some would say that it doesn't matter if she's old, and that they would point out their bullshit and unfair price.
But Bell wouldn't, simple as that.
"Do you know anyone who would be willing to buy alcohol? My grandpa left some before he passed, so I might as well sell them for some money." The whiskey at least. Bell is keeping the Wine, all of it.
The old woman hummed for a moment before pointing to the left. "There is a stall that sells homemade alcohol that way, that's the only place here that would be willing to take it from your hands, I believe."
"Thank you." Bell replied politely and nodded his head.
Locating the stall didn't take long.
"Howdy!" The bunny boy greeted as he approached, reaching into his bag of holding and placing a bottle of whiskey on the counter.
And then another.
And another.
And another.
And another six before he looked up at the befuddled woman, amused by the look of confusion as her brain blue-screened at the impossibility of taking out 10 bottles of whiskey from the "small" bag strapped around his shoulder.
The amusement lasted only for a moment before Bell realized his fuckup.
He just showed off his magical bag in the open, in an area full of people all around him. He wanted to turn around and look for anyone who could've noticed, but he decided against it. Too many people and any good thief knows better than to make his interest obvious to his/her target.
So he just sold his stuff and walked off, 30 valis richer than he was before, 3 valis per bottle.
Yeah, a vial of healing potion was worth more than whiskey. After all, it was just alcohol, not a miracle concoction that's able to magically heal wounds at tremendous speeds. Duh.
Wandering around some more, Bell didn't find anything of interest to him.
And found himself bored again.
"Back to traveling, I guess." The boy murmured and began leaving the trading area, walking through the streets, passing homes, and business buildings.
He briefly considered staying at an Inn for tonight when he passed one, but the idea didn't stick. He kept walking, sparing brief glances at anything that caught his attention before he would look away again.
Ultimately he didn't saw or find anything truly intriguing, not to him. Everything new was regarded with a brief moment of curiosity before it got replaced with disinterest.
It's Boring, all of it.
(A/N: almost like this chapter! :D)
He reached the gate, a different one from the one he entered through, and kept walking. Walking. Walking. Walking...
He walked until it got dark, managing to reach a part of the road that went through a forest and sat down under one of the trees.
His legs didn't hurt or get sore at all, but he did feel a little hungry.
Bell wondered if his redundant biology was the reason for his leg's excellent condition despite a day of walking.
Reaching into his bag, He took out some beef jerky and gnawed on it.
He felt so dissatisfied. So...bored.
"Fuck, should I have searched for some adventurer job in that town?" Isn't that the basic start of a DnD campaign? Random adventurers finding themselves forming a party to complete a small quest that somehow escalates into saving the world??
...
"Nah, there is no way."
---Back in the Inn that Bell passed by---
A hooded man smiled as he watched the small group of adventurers he managed to convince to team up to "help investigate" a cult of an evil God.
A swordsman, a fighter.
An elf mage, if the staff and her robes are anything to go by.
And what is obviously a rouge thief who is in it only for the reward.
There is also this weird bard who insists on coming with them to "Create the most epic song from our adventure" or some other nonsense.
Oh well, just another blood sacrifice for the lord of darkness! The fools don't even know they are walking into a trap! And when they realize it...heh, what are they gonna do?
Defeat 100 cultists and prevent their glorious quest to conquer the world in the name of the dark lord?
As if!
---Back to Bell---
Bell munched on his beef jerky.
And then got shot in the throat with an arrow.
Bell blinked, processed what happened, and yanked it out.
Another arrow hit his chest.
Bell ripped that one out too, shooting up from his sitting position and reaching for his knife, shock fading and replaced by a sense of urgency as his mind finally caught up with what was happening.
Somewhere in the distance, he heard a silent "What the fuck?" and then saw an arrow flying straight at his head.
Feeling an object piercing your head was a weird experience, and made him feel as if he skipped from sober to drunk in an instant. His legs got wobbly, his vision began to spin, and his balance was non-existent.
Bell fell and went limp.
Not like he could run in his current condition, so may as well play dead. Right?
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A/N: I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO END THIS CHAPTER!
So, anyway, next chapter is in 3-5 days, and Bell will finally get to experience something "exciting". And you readers too.
Idk, I tried to show Bell's dissatisfaction with what he thought would be an exciting experience, and do a tini-tiny piece of world-building by showing that smaller settlements don't get as many privileges as Orario or other big cities do.
And as I finally got to some action I realized that I'm out of time....So have some cliffhanger and wait for the next chapter 🙃.