8 The Night Sky
Dungeon's first floor.
In the middle of a room, several purplish monsters cores were cluttered, and among them was a boy attired in all black, lying on the floor clutching his gut, and in front of him was a 'little lady' glaring daggers at him while cupping her inflamed cheeks.
"I-I regret nothing… Alright! Ears next!"
/She'll end you. /
"I'll end you!" Shouted Lili, taking a step backward.
"Okay, okay… fine… I'll squish'em some other day."
Lili took her palms off her crimson cheeks before turning around to pick up the monster cores lying all around the floor, giving Argus some time to 'recover'.
"Say… what's your name? I'm Liliruca Arde, you can all me Lili."
*Cough* "Ahem… I'm Argus Hale. Nice to meet you, Loli."
"Lili…"
"Yeah, Loli…" said Argus, with an understanding nod.
"No, it's… Li-li."
"Lo-li."
"LILI! My name is Lili! Not Loli or whatever… What the hell is Loli, anyway?!?"
"YOU! My dear, are Loli…"
"And how am I this… Loli?" asked Lili, while picking up the cores. Her back was turned towards him.
But he met her question with an uneasy silence. A second later, 'ruffling' came from where Argus was.
Curious, Lili turned around, and she found him slowly getting up with no visible expression on his face, yet his eyes were looking at her with a peculiar gentleness.
- GULP…
[Did I struck a nerve?]
Kneeling before her, Argus gently gripped her shoulders with hands slightly trembling in emotions.
Looking right in her eyes in all solemnity, Argus spoke in a tone so gentle…
"How are you NOT Loli?"
"Wahhhha!! You're so infuriating!"
.
.
.
Standing beside the body, Lili asked the boy beside her.
"Did you inspect his body?"
"Not! You're not hinting that we…?"
"I see… Allow me to clarify. It's considered common courtesy to burn them after searching the dead bodies' adventurers come across for items like, ID's, family heirlooms and stuff. Not to sell but, to submit them to the guild for some small rewards. This will allow the departed's family members to confirm their status and collect items such as pendants to remember them with."
"What about the sword? Or the potions and money?"
"Those will undoubtedly belong to the ones who found the body." Replied Lili, while kneeling down to check for the dead body's belongings.
"Makes sense…"
/ See? I told you…/
"Here, Master Argus… a Grade-1 Mana Potion. I'll take the blue Stamina Potion. You can take the Valis and the sword. But the armor is terribly damaged." Said Lili, while passing him a vial filled with yellow potion.
"This is a mana potion? Looks like dirty dish water to me…"
With a chuckle, Lili replied, "Don't judge the book by its cover… its worth about 7,500 Valis, depending upon who produced it."
" Hollie Loli! That much!?!"
With an annoyed sigh, she said, "Really? That again?"
A light chuckle was what she got in reply.
From her bag, she pulled out a small bottle of transparent liquid along with a matchbox.
"This is the cheapest flammable liquid in the market. Doesn't smell good but, burns for quite a while. A must-have for supporters. Can be used for a number of things."
"Will that much be enough, ya know to… "
"Yes, more than enough."
Pouring the liquid on his dead body, Lili threw a lit match stick.
Green flames erupted, consuming him in few tens of seconds.
"Rest in Peace, buddy…" Spoke Argus.
[Man…if only I had a Falna…may be I could've saved him.]
/ It was not your fault, Argus. /
[I know…]
Turning towards Lili, Argus spoke, "So, where to now, Loli?"
Cringing at her 'new name', Lili replied, "We're going to the surface…I've collected 12 cores from the ground, that guy had 20 with him, and each core is worth 30 Valis… You're registered right?"
"Nope…I came here to get money just for that."
"I see, registration takes 1,200…"
"Yeah I got a 1000 Vs on me right now so, that ought 'a do it?"
"I'm sorry but, it doesn't work that way. For unregistered Non- Leveler's there is 50% TAX on everything."
Argus, couldn't help but roll his eyes in frustration.
"Ookayy… Then I slay a few more monsters?"
"No need for that…I can lend you 200. You can give it back, once you've registered and cashed in these cores. How about this? You take 10 Cores this guy had, along with the 12 I've collected for you."
"You really are the Loli I thought you were! Now, who wants a head pat?"
"Well, not me…"
"Aww…don't be shy~ Come 'ere..."
"I have a question…"
"Don't worry…I'll be gentle."
-Grrrr!
"I'll bite you!"
"Okay, fine…your question?"
"I don't see a sheath on you. So, where do you keep your sword?"
[Things can get complicated later in the Dungeon…]
/ Yes they can…It will be your life on the line, and It'd be really stupid to not make use of your storage in a life and death situation, just because Lili is there. Although this in turn will give her even more leverage on you so, if you do decide to reveal your storage to her, then you must make sure that you join a really powerful Familia. /
"Okie loli…I'll tell you but, only if you let me pat your head."
"No… I don't want to know anymore."
"Ahh…you're such a tsundere. Here watch."
With her mouth agape, Lili watched in wonder, as his sword retracted into the hilt, before vanishing into thin air, followed by the Gladius, and the potion.
"You see? I got another magic. Small storage."
"Whoa! You were not supposed to tell me that! What part of me, blackmailing you… did you not understand?!?" Exclaimed Lili, jumping at the 'miracle' she just saw.
[I just can't see through this smiling idiot…]
.
.
.
The sun was already setting, styling its orange dye everywhere.
Finishing their day's hard work, most of the Adventurers were going out of the Dungeon.
Laughing proudly of today's raid while their supporters carried all their stuff behind.
Among them were Argus and Lili.
"Okay, so, how far is the guild?"
"20 kilometers from here…"
The sheer size of the city once again stuns Argus.
Groaning at the effort he will have to put in walking, Argus asks, "Isn't there a convenient means to get around quicker?"
"Taxies… but I'd rather save the money. It's not like we're short on time, anyway."
Lighting up a smoke, Argus said with a sigh, "Can we rest somewhere first? I'm tired."
Lili's eyes fling wide open, as she starts the scolding Argus saw coming from a mile away, "Master Argus! You shouldn't be smoking these things… you're an Adventurer! And these things dampen your stamina like crazy! Not to mention Cleansing Potion costs at least 10 million."
"10 Million?! Well, I am working on it. This is my 3rd of the day."
Being able to relate how hard it could be to let go of an addiction, Lili nods, "I'll take your word for it… you said you're tired?"
"Yeah… I'm sorry."
"No, it's understandable. You don't have a Falna… let's find a bench."
.
.
.
Argus woke up with a jolt and found himself sitting on the bench he was resting on alongside Lili.
Magic lights were illuminating the Central Park in a unique beauty.
But the first thing Argus noticed was…
"Holy shit… is this what night looks like here?" wondered Argus as he stared at the riveting night sky of the Orario, with a childlike grin on his face.
/And you didn't even notice it last night. /
Millions of bright stars twinkled like precious treasures, drowning the city in their gentle radiance.
Some stars glimmered in blue, some in silver, red, some even looked green, and golden.
Unlike earth, the entire sky was virtually dressed in stars, surrounding the big white moon.
Like portrait of a mermaid swimming among millions of colorful fishes.
Lili, beside him, looked at the amazed Argus in bewilderment.
Not being able to keep herself, she said, "The sky always looked like this…"
"No, it didn't, Lili… not from where I came from. It never made me wanna… live."
"… Live? Huh?"
After a long period of silent sky gazing, Argus spoke, "This is nice."
"Yes, the night sky is beautiful."
"Not… feeling alone, I mean."
Lili's body froze at his words. Her head facing the ground. Her face concealed beneath her hood.
After another period of silence, Lili spoke with a forced chuckle, "But nothing ever lasts…"
"… That's why I hate it…"
"Not being alone?" Lili asked, as she gazed at his eyes, which were still lost in the stars.
A sigh escaped from his lips as he tore his eyes away from the sky and looked at her with a gaze full of deep emotions.
Emotions she could relate to, and at the same time not.
"… Reality." He replied, softly.
Words left her the moment his resounded. But there was one thing she understood at that moment- He isn't just another Adventurer.
