Chapter 16

'Cloudless Inn'

And it seemed to be the only inn in the village.

It had black stained glass walls on both sides of two polished double doors made of the trees in the forest nearby.

Entering the building, dim lights and chatter entered the senses of Val.

Indrid, who had been following Val the entire time from behind also entered the inn shortly after.

Val walked up to the counter in the center and asked the female receptionist working there about the room prices.

"A room for a night is 10 silvers, the premium room is 1 gold and 5 silvers per night. For longer stays, we accept Aon here. And no, we don't have rooms for two."

"I will take a normal room."

Val responds almost immediately, as she takes two small gold coins out of her backpack and sets them on the wooded counter.

The receptionist takes the coins and puts them in a drawer on the other side of the counter, while her other hand types something on the keyboard.

Mana ripples through the air as a card materializes, it was white with 'Cloudless Inn room 13' written on it.

"Your room is room 13, the keycard will automatically dissipate on its own at midnight in two days."

She hands the keycard to Val, who takes it and puts it into the grey backpacks' side pocket.

"Thank you for staying at Cloudless Inn, we hope you have a nice stay here."

A professional smile stays on the receptionist's face as she says the usual lines of someone in this line of work.

Val makes her way to the staircase off to the side, navigating between the tables and chairs.

"Wait! Val!"

A familiar voice calls out to her, Val pauses and turns around as Indrids avatar enters her sight.

"What do you want now?"

Val asks in an uninterested tone.

"Um... I remembered that I haven't thanked you yet for saving me before."

Indrid responds as he puts on an awkward smile.

"Okay, and?"

Not expecting this answer, Indrid hurriedly talks as though Val would just leave him hanging.

"Ah- and I'd like to repay you somehow! So... if you have anything you have that I can do, please let me know!"

'So he intended to gain a hidden mission from me.'

Val could see through Indrids intentions at a glance.

Truly a pro player, if he were playing other games then there would have definitely been some sort of hidden mission but this was VANHA, and it wasn't like any other game.

"No need. I was only passing by."

Careful not to show anything on her face, Val only responded in a cold voice.

"Really? Nothing at all?"

Indrid kept on pestering the clearly uninterested youth.

"Hey lad, quit pestering the girl. She's clearly not interested in you."

A gruff voice interrupted the young adult, Indrid turned to see a middle-aged man who was sitting on one of the bar stools, a shot of some alcohol in his hand.

Silence reigned for a short moment before getting interrupted by Val, who spoke lazily slow.

"You can find me tomorrow."

Before turning to the older man to the side, nodding in his direction.

"Thank you but I can handle this."

The man huffed and mumbled something under his breath before turning his attention to the liquor in his hand, downing it all in a few gulps.

Val returns her attention to Indrid, who was looking at her wide-eyed in surprise before turning around and walking up the stairs, covering a yawn that was slipping out her mouth.

The black cloak behind her brushed the wooden steps.

She went up to the second floor and the lighting brightened noticeably.

A lemon scent was emitted from the corner as plain white walls contrasted the wooded doors.

On the doors were number plates, to her right were numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. The left side had even numbers that numbered 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10.

'Not this floor.'

Val brought her tired body up the staircase once more, until she reached the top floor.

The doors were considerably fewer. Only 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 were left.

Quickly making her way across the brown carpet, Val taps the surface of the keycard onto the door handle.

Beep

A green light flashes as the door unlocks, revealing a freshly cleaned room with a minimalistic style.

Colors of white, grey, and beige dominated the place with the occasional black and green plant in the corner of the room.

The door closes behind her as Val plops the grey backpack onto a table to the side.

She looks at the fluffy white bed intently before flopping on the surface face first.

Val immediately drifts into a light doze. The first proper sleep in a month.

For a month straight, Val had been fighting against other animals, both for food and experience.

And although Val was primordial, one must know that Val is still in a growing body that needs proper sleep and rest.

That was also why she had been looking so tired the entire time, as she barely had any shuteye even in the last few days traveling to Cloudfall village.

'Soft...'

---

Opening the pitch-black eyes, her white pupils shine in the dark.

Getting up, she brushes her hair back and walks towards the window.

Pushing aside the thin white curtains, she oversees the silent town below.

'I wonder where that player decided to rest.'

Indrid still needed those coins in order to get a room in the inn.

She stares out the window for a couple of seconds before closing the fabric to the side.

A low grumble could barely be heard from Val.

Her eyes flashed gold before reverting back to an abyssal color.

Silently, Val walks over to the grey bag and takes out a few coins and the keycard before walking out of the room.

As she reaches downstairs, Val looks to see no one but the receptionist, who was currently switching shifts with another male.

Nodding in their direction, she beelines for the door and leaves the inn.

Moonlight shone upon the lone figure who was walking on the edges of the streets.

She made her way to a smaller corner store that still had its lights on.

Pushing the glass door aside, she finds herself in a small convenience store.

Looking at the shelved products displayed, Val picks up a cup with 'Instant noodles' labeled on the front.

'2 silvers a cup! LIMITED SALE : buy 3 cups for 5 silvers!'

Grabbing a few more, she moves towards the counter.

"Hello, I'd like to buy these."

Her flat voice shook the young cashier awake, who had dozed off on the counter.

"A-ah! Right, s-sorry about that."

He swiftly apologized as he pushed up the black rimmed glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Val sets the noodles on the counter and pulls out a gold coin from a pocket on the side of her dress.

After paying for the noodles, she pulls them into her arms and leaves the store.

"Keep the change."

Her soothing voice resounded throughout the small store before the door closed behind her.

After walking a certain distance away, Val pauses her steps and taps her foot onto the ground.

A ripple of black mana vibrates throughout the earth as Val pinpoints where the player is.

Turning around, the youth makes her way to where Indrids avatar laid against the wall in a small alleyway.

Val set down a cup next to him, mobilizing the mana and condensing it into a small peice of paper which sat on the cups top.

'You owe me 5 silvers now'

-was scrawled on the paper in small compact letters.

'Atleast I'll make some profit.'

Val thought as she turned around and found her way back to the inn.

Entering her room, she once more cozied into the fluffy blankets.