Maglibot
- to tour; travel around; make rounds
Remi hacks as another spoonful of food enters his mouth. He immediately covers his mouth and tries his utmost best to swallow, albeit a little bit too arduously for his taste. He’s been like this for a while now, which is indeed odd to happen considering that his cooking skills are acceptable. His hands processed the food he’s eating, and what he's experiencing is a little bit difficult for him to take in. The food is edible and tastes the usual as it has always been after his Mom taught him how, but the strange thing is when he tries to swallow, his body doesn’t seem to accept the food and regurgitates.
He has already done numerous inspections with the ingredients he bought in the city market beforehand and cleaned them until sparkly clean and they smell and look incredibly delicious after being cooked, but his body just has another opinion about the food he prepared for himself. Apart from that fact, he dislikes wasting food, so obviously, he’s making things difficult for himself.
As he puts the last spoonful of food in his mouth with difficulty, he immediately reaches for a glass of water and drinks huge gulps, swallowing the food with it. His stomach makes an uncomfortable sound. He groans as he hugs his aching tummy.
“What the hell am I doing to myself,” he winces as he feels another discomfort in his stomach.
It is by no means that his cooking is terrible and inedible. He even has his Mom’s confidence and approval after learning the ways from her. He can cook just fine, but the reason why his body isn’t accepting the food here eludes him. Maybe his body is still unused to the food here?
But when he looked at the food in the city market, there wasn’t any difference in physical appearances and tastes from the world he was in before. The apple here looks and tastes like an apple in his previous world. And besides, the food he ate from Donya Ylaganoa’s restaurant tasted good, and his body didn’t feel uncomfortable or whatsoever. So what can be the reason why?
Remi looks at the ingredients he isn’t able to use with a scrutinizing gaze. After a moment, his eyes seem to capture something. He widens his eyes in surprise, rubbing them after in haste. He narrows his eyes and looks at the untouched ingredients again. He gives the ingredients a contemplating look. It seems like he saw wrongly?
The youth snorts as he keeps the ingredients in another cupboard, separate from the other things.
As if black mist can leak from a vegetable. Remi jokes in his mind and cleans himself for the night.
The next day, Remi does not neglect to do his morning routine (he tried to slack off before, but in some strange way or another, he finds himself doing it anyway. There is this uncomfortable feeling when he tries to forgo them. He doesn't know why, however). Though, this time, he goes to the lawn instead of the dojo. He enters the living room and contemplates in front of the barrel of wooden swords. When his father introduced him to the way of sword when he was young, there’s this unwillingness as he touches the hilt. And until to this very day, he is still against using the weapon, albeit slightly, but it is still uncomfortable nonetheless with him feeling lost and anxious every time he thinks of touching the sword. He doesn’t know why he has this feeling, it suits him fine, however. Fortunately, Edward didn't force him and only showed him the basics.
Deciding to forgo another sword practice for a hand-to-hand combat routine, he makes his way towards the sliding windows. He reaches to pull down the lock, but his arm stops for a moment while he looks down in surprise. Even though the house’s interior hasn’t changed, it seems like few minor ones aren’t too obvious unless he has taken a closer look.
There are some weird symbols engraved in the borders of each window demarcating the lawn and the living room. Remi slides his fingers across the symbols and feels a bit strange. It is kind of peculiar with its noodle-like strokes and periods in weird places. He doesn’t know what those symbols do, but when he lands his palm onto the windows to pull them open, he is surprised to perceive a texture which is not glass at all. “Interesting,” he comments in awe. “Is this because of those symbols?”
He runs his hands around to check the window and realizes that it’s a feeling of woven material. Thinking back, he remembers when he checks the exterior of the house and realizes that the symbols are used to create an illusion and conform it to the design of the house in the previous world. But unfortunately, the runes can only be used to create an image and the reality of how the materials feel can't be changed.
Remi laughs slightly in amazement. "Though these runes have their limitations, creating an illusion from just these is simply unbelievable." He mumbles to himself. "So, would that mean that the interior of this house is merely an illusion? I wonder how the initial design of this house looks like." He then controls his impulsive desire to scratch the symbols off to see how it will affect the illusion, lest it results in something terrible. He stifles a sigh.
Feeling a bit of joy as he discovered something new, he unhesitatingly puts them aside. He slides the window open, albeit with an uncomfortable feeling since the woven texture is giving him the perception that the window won’t slide smoothly, but it does.
He then begins his routine, thinking about the bizarreness of the runes, and subsequently decides to ask some people about it.
Remi strolls into the city and is surprised to find lots of people crowding by the entrance. He quickens his steps to look into what’s going on, but before he can make out what is happening, he hears anxious murmurs nearby.
“Hey, who is it this time?”
“It’s Abel!”
“What? Finally, good riddance! That lunatic destroyed himself! He’s been spouting nonsense ever since he arrived here!”
“Indeed!”
The youth’s face contorts into a complicated expression as he overhears the heartless whispers, contemplating whether to approach the gossiping group or not. After a moment, he approaches them—he is in dire need of information, anything he can gain will make do for now, even if said information is from these people. Actually, these types of people usually have the most information, ironically.
“Excuse me,” he interrupts as he coughs slightly to gain their attention.
“What is i—what is a kid like you doing here, in all places?!” The tall man starts nonchalantly only to hiss in astonishment at the end, his disbelief evident.
Remi shows a sardonic smile and laughs in slight amusement. “Thank you for another reminder I’m not welcome in this place, but I already arrived here. And since something terrible happened, I may stay a little bit longer.”
The other men give the youth a suspicious gaze, nevertheless, a man with a weary expression and a small stature motions Remi to the crowd. “There’s another victim.” He answers vaguely.
Getting more curious, Remi scoots nearer to the men and peeks between the small spaces between the number of people. He lets out a strained gasp as he widens his eyes.
Between several weary-looking Maharlikas standing watch, there lay a supine figure, battered and unmoving. Remi can only see a bit of the body due to being too crowded, nonetheless, being able to witness something he hasn't seen before overwhelms him.
"It's better if you stay away, kid, lest you be contaminated. You just got here, yeah? Your constitution might still be unused to this place."
Still feeling a bit breathless at what he sees, Remi unconsciously takes a step back. He shakily tilts his head to face the man. "Ah, I think your warning came a bit too late," he mutely responds.
The man with a tall stature snort, looking at the youth with a condescending gaze. "You were the one who unhesitatingly snooped around, kid. And aren't you a curious one? Don't get killed."
Remi averts his eyes toward the corpse and back at the tall man. As he calms his heart and the terror of seeing a corpse (a grotesque looking one at that) for the first time somehow abated, he huffs whilst his face contorts into a pained expression. "What happened?" He asks.
The tall man scowls angrily, "Didn't I just warn you, kid? Don't fucking snoop around, lest you become the next victim."
"I'm merely curious, sir. I won't dare fuck around as I still want my life." The youth snaps back with the same energy.
"Okay, let's all calm down, yes?" A placating voice tries to appease the pair's scuffle before it can lead to something worse. Remi and the tall man look at the man in question with a heated gaze. "Shut up, Luntian." The tall man growls, directing a furious gaze toward the youth. "Get out of this city, kid. I bet all the people you met said the same." He hisses before leaving.
The neat-looking man spares an apologizing expression toward the youth and smiles gently as he speaks. "Sorry about that. My friend really means well. He's just a bit aggressive."
Remi lets out a peeved snort. "I noticed," he huffs. "But may I trouble you to tell me what happened?"
The tidy-looking man gazes into the air with a blank stare. "Ah, it's not really for me to tell since I know no more than a normal civilian, but what I can say for sure is that this city is not safe." He utters vaguely after a short moment in a grave tone.
The man looks at his companion and back to the youth, his stare is deep and disconcerting. "From the people you met in this city, what did they say when they met you? Like, anything similar?“
“That this is a God-forsaken place and I need to leave," Remi slowly answers as he looks at the man in confusion.
"But this doesn't make any sense. Just because this place is in shambles, God abandoned it?“ He continues.
The man shakes his head, a bitter expression on his face. "You got it the other way around." He whispers, almost inaudible. "It's because a God abandoned this place that this place is on the brink of inexistence." He sighs as he gazes at the crowd, lessening each second. "You might be tired of hearing this, but you should really leave this place. If you're staying, it will be best to be careful." Then he also leaves, the small-statured man closely following along.
Remi looks at the pair walking away with a perplexed expression, feeling slightly perturbed.
He’s not liking any of this vagueness he’s receiving one bit.
After another stroll around the city, Remi sighs tiredly as he looks at the darkening sky. He gained almost nothing regarding this world since most of the information he could hear was all gossip about the corpse this morning. He heard that apparently, Abel, being the victim, it was only a matter of time before he dies.
He has been spouting nonsense ever since he came to this city, which was a few months ago. Spouting things like he saw a monster dragging someone away from the city, or evil spirits coming and going to the city like they own the place. He also said that he’s seen beings abducting people they fancy.
Remi scrunches his face in contemplation.
If Abel's nonsense is true, then this world is not as normal as what he expects to be. Well, thinking about how he was summoned here, he should have thought of that from the very beginning. He expected magic and some other things, yes; but he should have anticipated that there are demons, or something alike, too.
Then sticking to what the people told him, is that the right thing?
Just to leave this place and let these people die?
It’s the ideal choice for him since he knew his limitations. Sure, he knows some skills in fighting, but that doesn’t mean that he’s some omnipotent being that can defeat anyone. And besides, he's not much of an upright person, that if he hears someone in plight, he will do everything to save them.
He also doesn’t have that particular sense of justice. He still wants his life, thank you very much. Besides, he’s a selfish person. He doesn’t know these people. Why will he even try to protect these people against unknown enemies with a terrifying possibility of not being able to come back alive? It's not easy for him to adapt (and he still is not able to) after arriving at this unfamiliar place and meeting unfamiliar people. And with him literally knowing no one in this place (or world) is simply terrifying. So, he knows that his well-being is, of course, his top priority.
That’s what he says in his mind, but here he is; even if the sun has already sunk and fell asleep, making way for the moon to illuminate the night, he’s still inside the city, looking for likely clues about what happened this morning.
An idiot he is, yes. He knows. It’s like he wants to save them, alright! He just doesn’t want to see people dying! Well, he can just turn a blind eye to this, but he saw the corpse! He doesn’t want that!
Is he a hypocrite? Maybe?
A form of payment to Donya Ylaganoa's food? Remi contemplates deeply. Then he nods, a huge smile on his face. Let's make that the reason. Hehe.
The city does become devoid of people at night, Remi observes, which is not something he is totally comfortable and alright with. Not even an hour before the sun sets, people were already rushing back and locking themselves in their homes and protecting themselves from any possible harm that comes into the city. All people run with terrified expressions, ignoring matters that won’t benefit them.
Apprehension forms in the pit of his stomach as he watches the city shift from a not so bustling city to a terrifying and desolate one. He warily looks around the empty streets as he walks with extreme caution, his steps almost inaudible, but his heart beats incredibly loud in his ears that it feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest.
A shudder escapes his body from the sudden gust of biting cold wind.
The eerie ambiance intensifies the longer he walks within the empty streets and his steps were to put an abrupt stop as his ears catch children’s giggles surrounding the area. He freezes.
In his terror, he quickly looks around. The giggles continue and the apprehension inside him builds up. He runs, his eyes and legs never stopping. Then, he notices. Was the road this long before? He’s been running for so long, why is it that he has never seen the end of it? He remembers that this is the main road and if he runs at this speed, he will arrive by the gates in a minute or two.
Remi gasps. And the giggles become penetratingly louder. The youth stumbles and he groans as his body meets the ground. Another rambunctious laughter surrounds him, but this time, it sounds closer, just like… from his left.
Startled, he snaps his neck to the side to which he heard the laughter, but what he only sees are small figures already turning to a corner of a street. Remi hastily stands up and runs after them, ignoring the pain the fall caused him. He lets out a slight wince, the sting from his scratches distracting for a second. Another roar of laughter awakens him from his daze. Surprisingly, the fear he felt a few moments ago, gone. He runs after the small figures once more, nonetheless, even if the fear is gone, the curiosity is nagging at him.
He quickly runs toward the corner he last saw them and turns, only to find a dead end.
The youth does a double-take. He casually makes a sidelong glance and is surprised to see that he’s in front of Donya Ylaganoa’s eatery. He surveys the area, warily yet meticulously checking whether he can catch sight of the figures he saw earlier.
And as expected, he sees nothing suspicious. He suddenly feels exhausted. Remi lets out a disappointed sigh. No information about the corpse is obtained even after being the receiver of something so terrifying. He lets out a shudder as he recalls the giggles. Even if the giggles were from children, he still found it terrifying. With almost no children in this city, it further puts him on the edge. Moreover, what parents will allow their children to be out during this time, and in a city where it is said to be very dangerous?
Remi chuckles in apprehension, deciding to go just go back home. He may as well take a long rest after experiencing something like that. Hopefully, he will find something about this strange city tomorrow. There is this nagging feeling inside him, urging him. But he doesn’t know as to what.
Maybe if he stays here longer, he will find out. Hopefully.
