Chapter 27: Cell Mates 1

Allen Stryka and the low-cost cowboy did not resist the arrest nor did they fight back when the city guards approached them.

Because of this the people wearing military-issued uniform did not go rough on the two. They were quickly taken to prison. Or rather the city jail which was the size of a two-storied building.

They were then led to their cells which was apparently right next to one another. It seemed that the two were 'destined' to share the same fate even in captivity.

Of course not!

Allen shook off such nonsensical thoughts as he observed his cell. It had an area of around three meters by three meters. There was a toilet bowl on the far-left corner.

There was a small window up on the rear wall. It had vertical bars on it which was pointless because the hole was too small and it was too high to reach normally.

The bars of the window though were of the same diameter as the bars used on the front wall. In fact, it was entirely made up of vertical bars with some horizontal ones to mesh out any possible attempts of escaping through the gaps.

On the left side facing the rear wall, was most likely the cell of the low-cost cowboy. He could be heard calling out and saying something. But the young man chose to ignore him completely for now.

*yawn*

The time was around five in the afternoon. This was way past the time for Allen to take a sleep. He lied down on the make-shift bed of his cell. Which was actually a mat on the cold floor of the jail.

Allen smiied wryly. He could not believe that he would miss the confined space of the cheapest lodging unit of the city. Nonetheless he lied down and closed his eyes shut.

He fell asleep immediately. He was surprisingly too tired from the events that occurred this day.

Although the injuries he received from the mutated frog had closed, they were still present. He also had to release the restrictions of his second skill which was mentally exhausting.

And then he had to face against the low-cost cowboy. An annoying person who kept on saying 'no, you!' even on the young man's slumber.

He soon dreamed of the taste of the stew he had eaten this morning. The delicious taste of the meal had him hooked. And the loss of a potential sumptuous meal from the stir-fried meat cutlets had clouded his judgement.

He had no doubt screwed up this time.

He should have not used the city-wide detection of his second skill. Nor he should have fought back when he was provoked by the annoying cowboy.

However, the unforgettable taste he experienced had gotten the best of him. He was only a human after all. Prone to making mistakes that may be considered as foolish.

But this also meant that he still had room for growth. He should just get past the blaming and figure out a way to improve himself instead.

He would just have to deal with the consequences of his actions once he had rested.

Time passed and Allen soon opened his eyes. Basing from the dim light coming from the small window, he assumed that it was around seven or eight in the evening.

He then heard a voice calling him out,

"You awake now sleepy-head?"

"Not really."

The young man answered wittingly. He was massaging his face to shake off his sleepiness. He then heard the voice laugh dryly,

"Ha, very funny."

Allen smiled when he heard the reply. At least the owner of the voice was now cool with a few snarky words. His expression could not be seen but the young man was sure that the other person was not offended. Probably.

The young man rose from his make-shift bed. Which was actually a simple mat. He sat on the floor and leaned his back on the wall opposite of the low-cost cowboy.

Allen had to jog his memory with the events that happened a while ago. So he decided to humor the person who was on the other cell. He asked,

"How long have I been out?"

"Around a week."

Allen froze. He did not expect that he was that tired. Perhaps he was more exhausted than he assumed. He began to panic. He was searching his cell for any evidence of the claim.

But then,

"Nah, I'm just messing with you. It's only been about three hours. Four tops."

"…"

Allen fell silent when he heard the person on the other wall snickered. He had forgotten that the person was headache-inducing whenever he spoke.

The former was also foolish to consider that the person was cool with snarky remarks. He was definitely offended!

The young man would have wanted to give a piece of his mind on the cowboy but he did not. That was because his stomach rumbled.

Man, that stew was really indulging.

Allen sighed. He had been used to the lifestyle of not getting too hungry too quickly. He would never know when he could search for a new prey to hunt after all.

But that tempting dish had changed him.

He then recalled the food ration that was thrown by Gurim before he was locked up in the cell:

'You're food. Don't expect anything else anymore. All of your earnings are confiscated due to your offense.'

Or so he remembered if his memories served him right.

Allen searched his pockets. He was then overjoyed when he found the packed meal with him. He held the ration dearly.

But then his expression became serious. He should start considering other issues now aside from his rumbling tummy. He called out the person on the other cell.

"Hey."

Allen placed the energy bar on the floor outside his cell. He then slid it towards the neighboring area. He continued,

"I'm willing to share if you are."

Indeed. He could have just opened the packed meal and eaten it by himself. But he chose not to do so. There are a couple of reasons why he did this.

The first one,

The energy bar was slid back towards Allen's cell. He quickly reached out his hand and grabbed the food ration. He observed its condition immediately.

As I thought.

He nodded to himself. The energy bar was now cut in half. This would imply that the low-cost cowboy could still use his ability.

However, his silence was misinterpreted by the person on the other cell. He said,

"Don't get any funny ideas. I made sure to cut that ration equally."

"No, it's not that. I was just surprised that you can still use your ability despite being locked-up."

Allen replied quickly. He was even waving his hand to deny the accusation. Which was pointless since the other person could not see him anyway.

The person on the other side of the wall harrumphed. Then a sound of a packaging being opened could be heard. Well, probably half a packaging that is. He answered,

"Of course I can. Are you saying you can't use yours?"

"No, I can use it as well."

"Then why are you surprised?"

The voice on the other side of the wall now sounded a little annoyed. The young man hurriedly explained,

"I'm just trying to make sure, okay."

"Pfft, you're really weird."

No I'm not. You're the one who's weird!

Allen wanted to shout out when he heard the chuckling remark of the other person. But he should know by now to not worsen the situation here any further.

For all he knew, the 'no, you!' phrase was just around the corner.

And besides, the second reason he had for sharing his only food was to gather information from the low-cost cowboy. He should stop antagonizing the other person and rather talk to him properly.

That was why the young man decided to divert the topic towards something else instead. He reasoned out,

"I'm just wondering why you did not resist the arrest. Or better yet, escape this jail with that ability of yours."

"Ha, you're quite naïve, huh. Did you not know that a Tier 2 Ability-user is guarding this jail? Try to escape and that will be the last of you."

Allen nodded when he heard the explanation he received. He then contemplated what he just learned.

If a skilled fighter like the low-cost cowboy would not try to challenge a Tier 2, then that would speak volumes on how the jail warden was stronger. This would also imply that higher Tiered individuals held a position in the city.

At least the information regarding the higher Tiers he had gathered from the green-haired broker was mostly legit.

That was when he heard the noise on the other cell. The low-cost cowboy was munching on his share of the packed meal. He chewed his food slowly. Then he continued,

"Fighting the city guards on the other hand is rather tasteless. Most of them are Tier 0s after all. Hurting them is not the way to go."

The low-cost cowboy then paused. He probably took another bite of the energy bar. He chewed for a few seconds. He then added,

"And besides, you did not resist arrest yourself."

Allen smiled when he heard this. He was just amused on how the other person was enjoying the food ration in his own way.

This was the third reason why he shared his only food. The person on the other side of the wall was not that bad.

Someone who considered the well-being of other people was most likely not an evil person.

The young man fully opened the sliced packaging of his share. He took a bite and tasted the bland – ehem, subtle taste of the ration. He then answered,

"Well I needed a place to crash tonight. That's all."

This was actually true. If Allen fought his way back then, he would have to flee the city for the evening. He would not have time to cultivate if he were to be chased down all night.

This time, the person with blue streaks on his hair was the one who seemed amused. He was chuckling but there was no hint of disdain in his voice anymore. He then asked,

"You're not really a food thief, are you?"

"No I'm not."

"I see."

Allen answered concisely. And he was quite surprised that the low-cost cowboy did the same. He did not even add any snarky comments at the end.

Perhaps they had both reached a certain degree of understanding.

It might have taken a while but it was nonetheless a start of an interesting relationship.