Chapter 39

Leon grunted as he walked across the plaza, sweat beading on his forehead.

Through continuous efforts to strengthen your muscles,

you have received +1 Strength!

He closed the notification with a grin and ignored the amused stares from the groups of people gathered there. Luckily, it was too early for most people and merchants to show up for the night market.

“You okay?” he huffed, glancing at the brown-haired woman on his back. All his hard work in trying to grow stronger had finally paid off.

“It’s humiliating,” she said, lowering her face.

“Don’t breathe in my ear like that,” Leon said. “It tickles.”

A small group of townsfolk stepped aside, and they leaned in, whispering among themselves. The sun beat down on the stones.

Considering his clammy body, Leon thought it weird that carrying Red didn’t rob him of fatigue. Though, he figured he had gotten a good grasp of what counted towards it. Fighting and other tasks that could bring a profit cost fatigue. Other things didn’t. He wondered if he got it correct, or missed something.

Leon stopped in front of the inn and bent his knees. Red slid off and gasped as she supported herself on the wounded leg.

She took a step toward the door, then turned. “Thanks. I guess.”

“Leon!” a voice shouted.

Soft footsteps sounded on the cobblestone street, and Leon turned around. Ava ran toward him, bag bouncing on her hip.

“Leon, what did you do? You’re hurt!” She stared at his back and reached out a hand to touch him, but stopped an inch away. “Ooh, why didn’t I rest? Now I can’t heal you.”

“It’s not my blood,” Leon said. “Don’t worry.”

“Then whose…” Ava looked from Leon to Red, who pressed down the handle to the inn. “It’s hers? Why?”

“She’s wounded and needed help.” Leon shrugged as the door creaked open and closed. “Where’s Finn? I thought he was with you.”

“Well, yeah, but he said he needed to prepare something, so he got here before me.” Ava looked toward the inn. “Who is she?”

“Another Cleric.” Leon rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck. “I met her on a quest. Kind of seclusive, though.”

Ava paled and twiddled her thumbs. “I’m not good enough, am I? Do you want to replace me?”

Leon chuckled, and Ava looked up, bewildered. “We just happened to be on the same quest, and since she’s a Cleric and has a tough time by herself, I thought I’d give her a helping hand.”

“Why? You already have me.”

Leon patted Ava’s shoulder with his clean hand. “Look. I already told you that I’d help you climb the tower, and I keep my word. But you were in her situation once. Would you have wished that I didn’t help you because I already had a Cleric in the party?”

“But you didn’t have one. So it’s different.”

“No one’s harmed by helping another,” Leon said.

The door opened behind him.

“Ava? There you are.” Finn rested his shoulder against the frame. He pushed a strand of dark hair behind his ear. “And Leon, too. Did you change your mind? If you did, go wash yourself first.”

Ava’s frown shifted into a smile. “Finn! I didn’t know how long you would take, and I didn’t want to pressure you. Am I late?”

Finn shook his head. “Come inside for a drink. Both of you.”

Leon shrugged. “Sorry, I told you I had other plans.”

“What? You’re here already. Let’s have a chat. Me and Ava have some ideas we’d like to bring to the party, anyway.”

Leon clenched his lips into a smile. “Tempting, but no.”

“Fine, whatever. See you at the night market, I guess.” Finn waved his hand, as if ushering him away. Then he turned to Ava. “Let’s have fun. Without him.”

Instead of following Finn’s direction, Leon headed inside, not missing the split-second glare the former gave him.

*******

Leon pointed toward the rustling coming from the bushes. “Try it. I’ll step in if you need help. I think there are two.”

The black rabbit’s ears shifted, and she sunk down on the path, ready to pounce. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like Trouble looked at him for a quick moment before her focus returned to the space between the yellow and green crowned trees. Leon took a step back. It was one thing for him to have the monsters’ focus while Trouble helped, and another when she was the primary target.

Two figures with gray fur and bleak yellow tags sprung out from the round bushes. One continued directly toward Trouble while the other haunched down and growled, showing all its fangs. Trouble waited for the wolf to come close before she leaped into the air and stomped her hind legs on the wolf’s shoulders, pushing it back. It forced her off balance, and she landed on her side. A blink of an eye later, she stood and shook her head. The other wolf launched as the first rolled over, coming back up on its feet.

Leon watched as she dashed to the side, avoiding the snapping jaw, and countered through slamming her weaker front paws onto its skull. She opened her jaw wide to bite down.

“The other one’s coming,” Leon said.

Trouble let out a small whining sound at having no time to finish the wolf off and spun her head to the side. She barely dodged the wolf’s attack through laying down flat on the ground. The wolf landed on the other, sending both monsters sprawling.

Trouble has unlocked a skill: Dodge (Passive) Effect: 5% better chance to dodge hits Special: Progressive

Leon looked up from the box just in time to see her leap into the air once more and stomp down on one wolf. She used the force from the stomp to tackle the second one, which tumbled to its side. The wolf’s paw struck out and left a gash in her chest, and she whined. Still, she got up on her feet first, pressed her paws onto the wolf, and bit into its head. The two beasts disappeared into pixels and Leon ran forward, landing on his knees. He hugged her.

“You were amazing!”

Trouble pushed her head on his shoulder, and Leon grabbed her cheeks. “You even unlocked a skill!” Then he caressed the wound with his hand. “Does it hurt?”

Trouble stepped forward, making Leon sprawl onto his back, and she rubbed her cheek against his chest.

Leon chuckled and pushed her away. “I’ll take that as a no.” He pressed his hand onto the path and stood, brushing off his pants. “Do you want to keep going, or should we stop for now?”

As a response, Trouble turned toward the bushes and took small steps as she hunkered down. Leon smiled, raised his hand to his mouth, and let out a howl.

As two more wolves ran through the bushes, Leon crossed his arms and stepped back. The wolves she’d met earlier were level four, and these level three. Perfect for her to work up some skill. Still, he couldn’t help but to look at the wound from the wolf’s claws. Could a Cleric heal her if necessary? Would a health potion work? He didn’t know her health points, and that was a concern. There was no way of knowing how much damage she could endure and when her life would be in danger. She withstood more than a normal rabbit, a wolf, even, but how much more?

Leon kicked at the wolf that targeted him, and it sprawled back. Trouble took the chance to jump on top of it and slammed her front paws into the wolf’s body three times, the third causing a crack to sound through its bones. Then it lay still, and she turned toward the remaining one.

Leon glanced at his bracers. Could she wear a pair of those? It wasn’t a bad idea; if it worked. It wouldn’t protect her chest, but at least she’d have something. He looked up at a crunching sound, and the wolves shattered into pixels that flew into the already existing pile. Trouble breathed heavy and her head bobbed slightly where she stood. Four wolves. That was good to know.

He walked up to her and scratched between her ears. “Good job. I think this is it for today. You did really well. You deserve some rest.”

Leon considered staying for a while to rack up some coin, but that didn’t feel fair towards Trouble. She’d fought well, and she would sleep better in their room than in his inventory. Besides, soon it would be late afternoon. He made up his mind and opened up the inventory. Trouble took a few slow steps toward him, raised her front paws, and basically crawled into the slots.

*******

Leon entered the pub area after leaving Trouble in the room. In his backpack was the loot from the first time they’d fought the grasshoppers. Now was as good a time as any to sell them and give the divided profits to Hert and Ava. The old innkeeper, Crag, had lit up the area with multiple candles for the coming rush of patrons during the night market, and he’d lined up a row of tankards spanning from one side of the bar to the next, and continued on in the next section. Two new large wooden barrels stood beside the trapdoor, and the old man pushed a small hook into the cork on top of one and wiggled it loose.

“Expecting a busy night?” Leon asked at the foot of the stairs.

Crag nodded and peered over his shoulder. “Night market is always busy.”

“In that case, could I maybe eat dinner now? Might be better for your time later.”

Crag shook the hook with the cork at him. “What’s wrong with your memory, lad? No dinner during the night market. That’s what I told you. There will be plenty to choose from once it opens.”

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry.” Leon walked forward and scanned the room.

Finn and Ava sat on a wooden bench at a table in the corner, and Ava had her legs rested over his, and her arms around his left one. He made a big gesture with his free arm and grinned down at her, and she quickly nodded. Then he took a swig from the tankard in front of him and continued his tale.

Leon peered at the stage in the other room, but it was empty. He’d expected as much, since Red would need some time to regain both her health and her MP.

He continued toward the front door, wishing there was some place where he could eat. The night market would be too busy, since he wanted to be alone. Maybe the general goods store had something.

The door creaked shut behind him, and Leon walked to the place where he’d purchased his new equipment.

As last time, the store would soon close, and the room smelled of fresh flowers. The woman didn’t stand at the counter this time, though, but at the table in the middle of the room. She bent over to brush off a couple of potions with a white, puffed up feather, her brow creased in concentration.

Leon waited with crossed arms, and after a few seconds, the woman straightened her back, resting her hands on her hips.

“Welcome back, Warrior.” She eyed the bottles one last time before she turned to him. “How can I help you today? Are you unhappy with your last purchase?”

Leon smiled. “Not at all. I actually wondered if you had some rations to sell me. I don’t want to wait until the night market.”

The woman frowned. “Sure.”

“Also; do you know if it’s possible to equip animals with armor and such?”

The woman blinked. “No idea. I’ve never heard of someone needing equipment for something like that.”

“Hm. Alright, thanks. Could you open up the sales page for me, and the purchase window for consumables?”

She nodded, and a second later, the boxes showed up.

It wasn’t possible for him to sell the few grasshopper or wolf parts, but he bought a loaf of coarse bread, a jug of water, and a health potion. Oddly enough, bread was the only option for food, and it cost him two coins; the same as a full meal at an inn. Not that two coins mattered that much to him anymore, but it felt a little like a ripoff.

If he discounted the coins that would go to Ava and Hert, he had a little over two-hundred coins left. Leon chewed on the bread as he made his way toward the plaza outside the Drowned Goblin, passing more than a few small groups of people headed in the other direction.

He managed to sell the loot to the crafting merchant just before he packed up, and the grasshopper parts gave more coins each than Leon got from killing a level six wolf. Still, there wasn’t much left when the profit was divided by three. Leon looked at the rabbit’s foot in his inventory while he pocketed the carrots he bought. Trouble didn’t seem to miss it, but then again, it was always there while she was inside the backpack. He wondered how she would react if he finally got rid of it.

Surprisingly, Hert was awake when Leon knocked on his door, and received the coins with a smile. Leon turned and walked toward the night market again.

As Leon entered the plaza, he blinked at the sudden change. Almost all food carts had appeared and people were working on setting up the stage in front of the inn. A quick glance at the time confirmed that he hadn’t been gone for more than half an hour, and he ambled through the crowd, wondering where the heck the merchants kept their wagons. It had to be from somewhere close by in order to whip them out in such a short time.

Ava ran past him, and he stretched out an arm to stop her. Gifting her the money took less than a minute, then she ran again, shouting that she was sorry, but she’d be late for her quest. Leon raised his eyebrows after her. Now that she was on good terms with Finn, he hadn’t expected her to keep the job as a dishwasher. Then again, Margaret loved her, and provided free housing. That had to count for something.

Leon looked into the sky. It would still take some time for the Slums to become dangerous, but did he have enough to try his idea? It would have to be enough. At least he could try to gather some people before it was too late.

He nodded and looked through the plaza, and toward the road he just left. Then he changed his mind and started toward the end of the square, making his way through the steady stream of people on their way to enjoy the market.

He ducked behind a larger group as he saw Finn, gesturing wildly to a broad man of Finn’s height, who stood with his arms crossed. The man wore a leather coat that reached down to his knees and the sleeves pulled up over heavily muscled arms. He had short, dark-blond hair, and nodded to something the ranger said.

Leon bit his cheek, and decided not to go closer. The aura around the broad guy screamed of a strong will to fight, and Finn was just the person to initiate one. Nothing Leon wanted to get involved with. So, he darted behind another group of people, and another, until he’d exited the plaza.

As Leon walked past the arch to the Slums, a guard stepped forward. “Hey, you!”

Leon stopped and turned toward him.

“How did the first floor go? I heard you got some beast following you out of there.”

Leon scratched his head. “Oh, you’re the guard who told us about it before we went in there? It was tough to beat, but you might—” before he could continue, a sharp noise rung through his skull and a message popped up.

‘You are forbidden from talking about the first floor with someone who hasn’t completed it. Penalty for trying to circumvent this is pain, which will increase each time such a try is made. Continuous tries can cause fatal injury.’

“But I might?” the guard asked.

“I can’t talk about it.” Leon frowned and closed the window. If he remembered correctly, the guard in front of him hadn’t beaten a single monster, and Leon wished he could say it would be a breeze for him to get through. But all he could say was, “I’m sorry.”

Instead of getting angry, the guard just sighed. “Figures. Guess I’ll never get to know what’s inside. Well, get going, then.”

Leon peered over his shoulder as he entered the Slums. The restrictions of talking about the first floor made sense in one way, but it would stomp out others’ chance to level up. There had to be some ulterior motive, but that held true to this place existing at all. Why did this world only accept people within a certain age range? Why did it divide the players into classes with boundaries that forced people to work together?

He took a deep breath. Not that he could change any of that. He was happy he got a shot at saving his family. The rest didn’t really matter.

As Leon walked on, he dismissed the boxes from people asking for coins, and instead told the Scabs to follow him. Most did. This was why he’d started at this side of the Slums. It would be more dangerous if he failed, but help him if he succeeded. Leon scanned the buildings he passed, but none were suitable for what he wanted to try. That left the general goods store. He hoped the rat-faced owner wouldn’t cause trouble because of that.

Leon entered the porch of the store and turned around. Before him stood a large crowd of rag-wearing people, staring up at him with shining eyes. They reached their hands forward, and this time, Leon didn’t dismiss the boxes. Instead, he walked to the side of the building, climbed the railing, and after a few tries, he got up on the roof. He crawled toward the edge and saw the crowd starting to amble back to their original places.

Leon swung his legs to sit at the end of the roof and cupped his hand around his mouth. “Do you want coins?”

The people moving away stopped and turned toward him, and Leon opened up the quest, Beggar’s Mercy. He’d given eight of a hundred thousand coins.

Leon took a deep breath and accepted giving coins to them, clicking ’yes’ as fast as he could, and watched the number increase on the quest page. He managed twelve before a message overtook the box, warning him that Beggar’s Curse had come into effect. He dismissed the window and opened up the quest page again.

The people milling about in the street below looked up at him, their eyes gleaming. His vision filled with requests as a few ran up to the store, and the railing creaked as the Scabs tried to climb it. Leon clicked accept on five, and looked at the quest page, biting his cheek.

Quest: Beggar’s Mercy

Progress: 25/100 000

Time left: 493 days 17 hours 12 minutes

Expand for full quest information

[Expand] [Close]

Leon closed the quest box with a smile. The quest would be hard, but not impossible. Not anymore.