Town exploration (pt.1)

In Wintol, many inns are booked almost full on a daily basis. Their prices were quite steeper than the common price, 9 coppers instead of 7, but meals are still the same price as like any other inns in the kingdom.

However, not all inns are priced like this, and that's because the inns that do are the famous ones, the ones that're located at the main road where many people walk daily.

In the alleyways, a couple of turns in and we reach a secluded, cozy-looking inn named Dead Rats, a rather unusual and unwelcoming name. But, this was the place our protagonists will spend their stay in town at. The female merchant, Rulem, picked this place because she had previous interactions with its owner, and she said that they can have a discount for staying here.

"Alright, when you enter, don't make any eye contact with the guys inside. I'll do the talking, so you can just be silent."

"..."

"And kid… are you really sure you want to have that thing with you? You do know that I won't spare her a room, right?"

"It's fine… and she's not a thing, miss."

"You're carrying her like one, but whatever."

After the brief conversation, they head towards the wooden door that showed signs of repeated, rough, and long-term use. It had rotten wood spots, some of the parts of the door were missing and replaced by some thin planks.

"The place's shabby, but it's still the cheapest and I'm willing to spend on cheap stays."

"You seem to have a hoarding hobby, Rulem."

"Ahh, you shut up. I'm a merchant, what'd you expect? All of us are like this."

"But… nevermind."

Her words contain some truths, but it wasn't entirely true in the Mage's experience. She was in the select few that actually doesn't spend willy-nilly. Instead opting to save most of her coins. It was a wise choice, but one that's often disregarded in this World where every day can be your last.

"Heya boss man!"

"Oh… you again?"

Upon coming into the inn, an unwanted atmosphere was already directed towards our protagonists from the start. Inside, multiple men with rough looks on their faces directed their gazes at the newcomer, eyeing them like predators.

"Hmm? Alan? Where's the boss man?"

"He's resting in the back, why're you here?''

"To rest, of course. Why else?"

"...You still have debt to pay, miss. Will you pay them, or not?"

Upon saying that line, some of the men in the corner to the side smirked. Their bodies were filled with daggers in their sheathes, one of them had a black eyepatch and the scar hidden by it was slightly exposed.

'So, this is what an inn in this World looks like…'

It was a low quality one, but it was an inn nonetheless. Amongst the gazes, most of them were directed to the Mage, since he was the only one that has a hood on and the shadow effect covered his face from view. Many scrutinized him, watching every detail of his outward appearance until their eyes finally landed on the orb that's slightly hidden, but slightly revealed for obvious reasons, within the robe.

"Wha…"

"...Beautiful…"

Some of the eyes that had looked into the orb quietly muttered whispers of awe. Their thoughts are overrun by the vision of a beautiful, alluring and voluptuous Yokai. Her giggles, enough to make them lose their minds and their libido run rampant.

"Well, three rooms, can you arrange that?"

"Of course, miss. I'll direct you to your rooms, but first can you pay up front?"

"...Yeah, alright."

The Mage had his eyes squinted, normally this doesn't happen in his numerous experiences. Sure, newcomers are forced to pay up front when they're staying at an inn with some reputation, but these two looked like they had prior affiliations, and from their way of speech it wasn't a good one.

'...Better not pry.'

He knows better, for he also had secrets of his own, and have kept many in the past.

Anyway, the payment was processed and the three were then guided to their individual rooms. They took the entire third floor, which is the top floor of the inn.

The layout of the inn was a stacked building, with the cafeteria/reception/bar at the ground floor. The first, second and third floor was based on preferences, which is for the nightly activities.

Upon entering the room, the little boy placed the injured girl onto the bed and proceeded to find Blessings or Spells to heal her wounds.

"Stay put, I'll fix those wounds for you."

The boy was used to this sort of experience, handling it calmly with not a single trip in procedure. He was rapidly flipping through the book, and the first he found was a Healing Spell that's unconventional as one.

"Heal Flesh… it promotes the growth of tissue and accelerates one's healing factor. Downside being that this must be continuously applied in order to be effective, and in direct contact if possible even."

He reads over the description in the book, and came up to the girl with his hand outstretched.

"Heal Flesh."

A green Aura envelops the boy's hand and spreads to the little girl, spreading and covering her entire body. It slowly heals the outer flesh and shows signs of smoothening the skin.

'...'

The boy looked at her recovery, and slowly got closer to her until his hand was touching her skin. Her recovery rate had a noticeable pick up in speed, and the Aura shone just a bit shinier.

"Hmm, Mana consumption is quite lenient. Five points per 3 seconds, not bad."

It was a good passive healing Spell, but not good when it comes to instant gains.

They spend a few dozen minutes in silence, recovering her wounds until nothing could be seen other than pristine and beautiful skin.

"Alright, you're all fixed. Can you stand? Speak at least?"

"..."

No answers, not even a slight body movement. Her breathing was constant, unchanging. It was just as stable as back then, their first meeting, where she was bleeding and bruised everywhere on her body.

"...Do you have a family?"

"..."

"!!!"

His question seemed to have an impact, as her eyes slightly moved. It moved until they were aligned with the boy in her view. Her lips, which were shut for all this time, opened for the first time.

"Fa…ther."

"A father? Do you know where he is?"

"Fa…ther, hurt. Fath…er, warm. Where… is father?"

"..."

Concerning words were said by the girl. The boy looked at her, until she averted her eyes from him. The atmosphere was silent, the boy not knowing what to even say.

'Abusive father? No, it… can't be. What kind of parent would leave their child in this world by themself? No, wait, that's rather short-sighted of me. It's not like… my World was any different.'

He sympathizes with the girl, or rather tried to. He doesn't know the full story, and it would be foolish of him to give in that easily. He flips through the book once more, this time looking for a different type of Spell or Blessing.

[Induce Drowsiness]

[Type: Spell]

[Blessing Effects:

+Apply the Sleep State (can be resisted)

[Mana Cost: 75]

He applies the Spell onto the girl, making her eyes close slowly as she falls to sleep. Seconds turned into minutes, and the boy finally left his sight from the sleeping girl.

'...Cute.'

He had no experience with a girl, even in his previous World. He remembered all the times where he could only look at the Priests as they did their duties, his beautiful classmates that probably didn't even know he existed, and his dear Sister, his unrequited love, and Trauma.

"..."

His face distorted as the memories of his past resurfaced to torture him once more. Shinigamis, the Deaths of his World, distorted Humans transformed into what they feared the most, a rampaging mass killing machine, a sad monster with nothing else to live for… those are the sentences that can describe a Shinigami of his World, the apex predator.

'Sister…'

A knock at the door suddenly woke him up from the reminiscence. A voice spoke from the other side.

"Little kid? You awake?"

"Ah, miss Rulem?"

"Yeah, got a minute? Need to ask you something."

The boy headed for the door and opened it, the female merchant standing with her arms folded. She looked at him first, then her eyes went to the girl sleeping on the bed.

"...I have a job for you, at the request of your guardian."

"A job? My… alright, what kind of job?"

"Nothing too hard, just accompany me and keep trouble at bay. Need to make a small trip somewhere in town, and it's not quite safe alone there."

"...A bodyguard?"

"Yeah, I'll pay you of course, extra tip if the service is beneficial too."

The deal was not of his own accord, but it was one that he'll have to seek out soon enough. He knows that, instinctively, the Mage won't protect him all the time. He barely knows the person, and solely from the way he acts the boy can deduce that his existence is unneeded.

'Well, the money is good either way.'

He's not in a position to be a chooser, so he accepted the job.

"Alright, I'm glad to help."

"Good, let's go then."

The boy nodded and turned to look at the sleeping girl. The female merchant went first, and after a couple more seconds the boy followed suit. He closes the door behind him and follows after Rulem.

The two exit the Dead Rats inn and make their way to the main road. Along the way, homeless citizens of varying ages could be seen on the ground sleeping or just shivering in a cradle position. This scene brought back memories to the boy, but it was not the palace to spare pity.

'Maybe one day…'

They continued to walk for about 10 minutes, with the boy observing all sorts of people commuting in the main road.

"Pretty lively."

"Yeah, Wintol is as close as to a central hub one can get without being called out by the Royals. As long as it pays the fees, which I hear is quite expensive, they can get away with this."

"Interesting…''

He listened attentively to Rulem, who was speaking about common facts of this World.

The place they're heading to is in the slums part, the poorer part in the town. Violence runs rampant, and guards regularly patrol this area with weapons in hand. Internal security is as important as external defenses. Though, the designated 'slums' part changes from time to time.

The destination was the southwest side of the fairly large town, their person of interest is a man named John Arfriez who runs an underground info business.

''Alright, I'll explain what'll probably go down once we reach our destination. You will do nothing that seems offensive, especially looking anyone in the eyes, keep your head low and not say a word under any circumstance, even if my life is threatened. Is that clear?"

"Yes… wait, what do you mean by that last part-"

"Just say it, is it clear?"

"...Yes, very clear ma'am."

"Good, I like you already, boy."

The two were walking on the main road, but separated into an alleyway shortly after. The alleyway was lit with glowing gemstones, making it a pretty different alleyway all on its own.

A few minutes of walking into the alleyway, they reached their destination. A doorway leading downwards, and was also lit with the gemstones placed on the wall.

"Keep quiet, and stay as close to me as possible. Though, don't do anything inappropriate, I wouldn't want to lose you this early."

"Yes, ma'am."

"That's a good boy."

Rulem and our boy walked down and into a tight hallway, with a door guarded by a burly man in the distance. He took notice of the pair, and his eyes squinted to better examine the two.

"Hello, Robert."

"...Rulem Erchiban, today is the appointment, correct?"

"Yep, you're surprisingly very good at remembering, am I the only one that comes here?"

"One of the usuals, and I was told that already by the others."

The burly man had a stiff and stern expression throughout the conversation. His folded arms, legs, and entire body was like a statue that's carved by second-rate artisans, and it was the best thing one could say to the normal person that doesn't sound too ridiculous.

He eventually gave way for Rulem and the boy, subtly glancing at the latter with his yellow lion-like eyes. The boy could feel a very noticeable pressure being applied on him, but his mental fortitude was high enough to shake away the oppression.

"But, the boy isn't amongst the list of appointments. He'll need to stay outside."

"It's fine, the kid's my bodyguard."

"...It is a possibility, but I apologize, he'll need to stay outside."

"Don't be like that now, Robert. The others I've seen all had their bodyguards accompanying them. Why am I treated differently?"

"They all have a badge on them, and they show it to me before going in with their contractor. The kid here, if he is indeed your bodyguard, is obviously too young to take the merc test to get a badge."

"Ah, but that's where you're fooled, Robert. Believe me, he's just as capable as an average merc, better even."

"..."

"Trust me, will ya? How many times have I betrayed your expectations?"

"...Alright, but just to be clear, any deaths will not be held accountable towards us. If the kid dies, then it's up to you."

"Yeah yeah, don't sweat it, Robert. Let's go, kid."

"..."

The boy did not make eye contact as per order, and walked closely behind Rulem as they entered the establishment.

"Woah~."

The view inside was closer to a nightclub, filled with men and beautiful-looking women servicing them in different latex animal-themed outfits. The sight was probably a little too much for our adolescent boy who is most likely in his puberty.

'Calm down, calm down, calm… down!'

His mind ran rampant and he couldn't afford to look up, lest he wanted to witness the sinful actions they other patrons were partaking in.

"Aehhh, mister, that's a little…"

"C'mon, don't be shy, babe. Open it just a little lower, please?"

"Hehe, what a fine piece of meat you are."

"Ahhh, don't… others are watching."

"Don't be like that, it's just a sample touch. Ohhh, you're pretty soft, aren't ya?"

Scenes of debauchery and lust could be seen, but the boy refuses to see them. His heart, pure and untainted, was being tempted by the surrounding lust. His mind was projecting the scene of the past, of his dear Sister, and her kind words to him.

'Must… resist. Do not, look.'

His spirit shook greatly at the temptation, and a page appeared before him.

[Your Job Class has been tempered by your resolve]

[Your Job Class has become more defined through your Will]

[Extra Levels has been granted for this feat]

[Your Status can be viewed through the Tome of Servertor]

Pages burned to the last one, and the boy read every word of it. He could feel some kind of enlightening, strange feeling swell within him, and his head a little clearer.

'Status…'

He was curious, but right now isn't the best of places to do weird things. He silently followed behind Rulem as they walked through this establishment, the boy now clear of any lusts the surrounding was injecting him with.

"We're here, remember what I've said?"

"Yes, ma'am. No staring, head down, not a word… even if you're threatened with your life."

"Good."

Rulem and the boy were close to a bar that's strangely located at the opposite end of the door they went through. The bartender, a middle-aged man with a faint diagonal scar on his left eye, starting from his forehead to his cheek. His lush golden hair was dazzling to the eyes and his stature was fit, with the bartender suit highlighting this. His eyes were unfortunately, and for unknown reasons, closed as he wiped the glassware.

"Appointment number 324, Rulem Erchiban, a Martin Lebour with extra spice please."

"...Welcome."

The bartender began making Rulem's drink, a Martin Lebour that has a kick of alcohol and spiciness. It's for those with a spice addiction while also wanting to get drunk quickly, a hard drink to swallow for regular folks. He did this all the while still closing his eyes, and yet he was able to do it without difficulty like any other bartenders.

"Here it is, down it with pleasure, miss."

Rulem grabbed the glass that's more than twice the size of her palm sideways, and down the entire cup in three long gulps. Once the drink was entirely emptied, the bartender nodded and walked to the saloon door behind him. It was connected to a hallway that turned left as soon as you entered, so one can't really peek inside if they want to.

A while later, the bartender returned and nodded his head.

"The boss is ready for your appointment, miss Rulem."

She nodded back, even though he couldn't see it, and walked to the side door of the bar. They entered the hallway, and turned left where a wooden door was there just a couple of steps away. It was deep enough that no one can see it from the outside from any angle, and it was fairly kept and maintained.

"Past this door, try not to be frightened by his Aura. He'll bombard you, hard, so try and keep your consciousness."

"Yes, ma'am."

At this point, the boy couldn't say anything other than that one line. He came all this way with the aim of getting paid, and so he's willing to face anything that he could handle with his strength.

Rulem knocked on the door, and a voice behind it resounded.

"Come in~."

The voice is chill, mellow to an extent. This made the boy feel puzzled, but he didn't disregard Rulem's warning.

She opened the door, and the dimly lit room came into view.

"Hello~, oh, back already?"

"Yeah… left early because the guy you said that sold the 'very valuable' stuff was out of stock. Did the money I pay you not enough or something?"

"Pardon? Wait… out of stock?"

It was a rather young fellow, working on a fancy, big wooden desk with two big piles of file cases on both sides. His hair was a black color, a rarely seen color in this part of the Human Nation. His eyes were blood red, with a black and white iris. It was a very unsettling eye pattern, enough so that one would say that he's a Devilborn with his unique eye.

''That's… impossible, though? Are you sure that you made contact with the correct one?"

"Yep, brown cloak, friendly and respectable to a very forceful degree. An unsettling Aura, the overall vibe, everything checked out. The only thing that's different, is that he sold it just a few minutes earlier. Something that you did say specifically"

"Really… Well, that's something."

"Hopefully, you're gonna compensate me or your very reputable reputation is gonna get a big hit."

"Let's not get dramatic, miss Erchiban. I will compensate you for my mistake, but, did you at least ask that merchant who he sold it for?"

"Nope, didn't ask."

"Is that so… then, I apologize for my inaccurate information, miss Erchiban. I hope you'll keep this incident confidential between the both of us… and speaking of that, what about him?"

Finally, the man's attention was diverted to the little boy that's been standing with Rulem for some time now inside the room. He flinched for some reason, and this reaction was not of his own will. It was a reaction that's very familiar to him, the feeling of being face to face with a Shinigami.

'A… no way, is he a Shinigami? Like… that Mage?'

His head was now stuck down, his view unable to leave the floor. A suffocating pressure was slowly closing to his neck, choking him of air and making his body shake.

"...Enough, Sam."

"Oops, did I go a little too far? No, he's still fine though? Very.. interesting."

Sam, with his mysterious eyes, scrutinized the boy and took notice of the book in his hand. When the boy noticed that the pressure was now directed towards his hand that's holding the book, he hid it behind him immediately.

"...Say, miss Erchiban. Where did you get that boy behind you?"

"Him? He's just my bodyguard that I hired for a very cheap price. What about it?"

"Nothing… just curious is all. Now, your money was 3 gold coins and 21 silver coins, correct?"

"Yes, nothing less in value than that amount."

"Of course."

The man opened a drawer behind where he's sitting and threw a pouch to Rulem. She caught it with little difficulty, and untied the rope. She looks at the contents, and a few seconds pass before she leaves her eyes from the inside of the pouch.

"Alright, thanks for doing business with me."

"It's my pleasure, miss Rulem. Hope you'll do more business with me in the future."

"Sure, if I have the money for your services that is."

Rulem nodded and turned to leave. The boy followed right after, and his eyes made brief contact with the information broker, Sam, by accident.

'...!!!'

It was a little late, but he could feel a chill run down his spine. Sam, his eyes were close to a dead fish, his mouth twisted upward in an unnatural smile that reached ear to ear. It made the boy's vision unstable, and his entire body shook like there's an earthquake.

[Warning! A mental attack has affected you]

[You have been afflicted with the Paranoid State]

[Resistance has failed!]

[Your Status has been revealed!]

[Resistance has failed!]

[Error… resistance is successful!]

[Status has been protected]

"Kuh…"

A whisper came from Sam, and his eyes closed with a dew of blood flowing from the edge downward. He opened it back the next moment, only for his entire eye to change. Previously red with a unique iris, now completely black with a horizontal split at the middle.

"..."

"C'mon, kid. What're you doing standing there?"

"Ah, right, sorry."

The boy quickly made haste and left the office space. Leaving Sam to himself, with the confused look on his face.

'A priest…?'

He was puzzled, but a smile contradicts that confusion.

'Interesting…!'

Demons truly are a Race filled with easily excitable freaks.

...…..

'...'

This dream was different. It was not a happy memory nor a sad one. It was a memory of battle, one of countless he had experienced in his lifetime.

'...Boring.'

Dreams were something he could control and instill onto others, but he couldn't control his own ironically. He lived by his own mercy in his dreams, whatever his mind concocts and decided to show him, he was unable to resist.

But this time, his mind showed him a boring scene. It was not a torture, nor was it of a past that he wished could've fixed in some way. It was the scene of a battle, one that he couldn't care to remember purely because it had no significance to him, no difficulty to remember, nothing to write about.

"Please, spare… spare my family."

"Kuack!"

"Father..!"

"Hehehe…"

His undead and Shadows were rampaging through a town, with him in the midst. This was in his early years of conquest, when he was the number 1 only for a couple of in-game years.

'...'

His Shadows were different back then, more expressive and able to speak somewhat. They weren't robotic, mechanical in action yet. This bothered Sora, who was used to having full control over his Shadows' every action. But, he was unable to express his displeasure as he's currently an Undead.

"Soul Siphon."

Green spectral 'Souls' collected into his hand and then exploded the next second, providing healing to his Shadows and Undead army. The battle was fierce, with the city guards slightly gaining an advantage at the beginning.

"W-W-Wait! S-Spare me! I-I can give you-"

"Trash."

A sword swiftly decapitates another human, who seems to be a wealthy merchant of sorts as his body and clothes were filled with valuables. Rings, small gems, coins, it was all meaningless to him. He was bored, bored enough that he considered beating some of the Undead to relieve some of his pent up boredom.

"Hide… son."

"Mama…"

Somewhere, Sora picked up a whisper. It was all too familiar to him. Like re-enacting a script, he made his appearance in front of a dying Sister and a grieving son. But, something was different.

'This… is different…?'

He couldn't exactly pinpoint it, but something is indeed different. The surroundings suddenly turned dark, and only him and a spotlight lighting the scene was present.

[Your Title's Passive Effect, Compassionate Shepherd, is active]

[A Trauma of a recent acquaintance is being viewed]

'Ah…'

He remembered he had something like that. A sigh left his mouth, and he watched as the surroundings became whole to the situation. Inside of a burning wreck, a boy was sobbing as he held one hand to his wounded Sister's stomach, which was bleeding profusely, and another at the back of her head.

"S-Sister, w-why…"

"You… are a sweet child, Sawaki-kun. I only… did what is expected of me, but I would do this nonetheless. For you, and everyone of the children."

"S-Sister Fria… n-no, please… don't-"

"Promise me, Sawaki-kun. Will you… be a good boy?"

'...'

''Y-Yes! So please, don't leave me!"

"I will… protect, you, Sawaki-kun. Be a good boy, no matter… what, alright?"

Then, a blinding light exploded as the surroundings shifted to a forest at night. The moon shone, and the boy was left all alone on his own.

"S-Sister…?"

Those were his last words, as the surroundings faded to black, signaling the end of the Trauma.

[A piece of the Trauma has been revealed]

[Do you wish to continue further?]

"...Cancel."

[Trauma experience has been canceled]

[Returning consciousness to the main body]

Sora noted that this System was more detailed, as the last notification was not the usual one he sees. This whole situation was the same, but that last notification was different from the usual procedure.

'This is… interesting.'

Sora wondered if this was because of the AI, ARCEUS, who transcends all of the AIs in his previous World. The AI that runs the game World, World Saga Online, was measured to be at the previous top of 10, while ARCEUS said it was measured to be 12 using the Artificial Intelligence Measurement.

For reference, 10 was able to sustain and maintain a grand archive of more than thousands and thousands of Worlds, not counting the unofficial ones, so ARCEUS with its measurement of 12, it should be able to affect reality and changing it to a whim if it ever gained any sort of twisted free will.

"..."

But, that should be for next time.

The Mage woke up back in his room in the Dead Rats inn. He looks at the surroundings, meticulously examining every bit of the wood of the ceiling. It was to see if it'll phase out, an illusion. But no, that was just his paranoia.

'...'

He sits up, bare feet placed on the floor. His eyes scan the room once more.

The room has a wall mounted shelf, a bed that he's sitting on now, a nightstand next to it with two drawers, a closet at the corner of the room that's below the bed, and the door to the right. His room was the only one to have a window, but it isn't open right now.

'...'

He wasn't tired, not after sleeping for about an hour, and so he decided to check on his surroundings further away from this inn.

'Seems like the book is somewhere southwest… ah, right. They're not as important for right now, but let's check on the Generals as well.'

And so, he spent his idle waiting time checking on the other characters that he had his eyes on.