Vol. 1 - Chapter 12 - Opening the Bestiary

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The first night spent inside Satisfy was a unique experience for Mathias, especially the sleeping part.

'Do I really need to sleep like a normal person? Hmmm, my stamina bar is quite low, but it should recover without me actually sleeping, correct?'

Walking out of Fayrene's private room, he arrived in the shop's front room, which was used as a reception. After getting here, he looked around using the candle lights and could see that this room needed some cleaning.

Like this, without waiting for someone to put him to work, he started cleaning up the counter that he deemed perfect for a bed.

After cleaning the counter and laying on it to check its strength and resistance under his weight, he moved around the room, looking for something.

"Good, this counter is strong enough to not collapse with me. Now, I need at least something soft for my head. The rest should be important. Lucky it is spring, and the weather isn't so bad."

As he said that, he began searching for something to use as a cushion. Doing his digging around the shop, he found a closet that had cut fabrics and all sorts of clothes that had an amateurish seam. However, this seaming on those fabrics gave a stylish feeling to those clothes thrown in a buddle.

"Are these her failures? Why would you throw them away? Aren't these clothes just fine? The seam can be fixed. Sigh, why do I remember now mom telling me that I shouldn't throw away good fabric clothes made out of cotton and silk."

" Well, for now, I will use them as a sleeping pillow."

He began taking the ones that seemed the worse from the bunch and started forming a roll shape. Finishing that, he moved towards the counter, climbing on it. He placed the made-up pillow on it and took a sleeping position while arranging the pillow.

"This pillow is so soft." (*Sniff* *Sniff) "Ahh, such nice fragrance, smells of lilac and roses. Don't tell me she wore those clothes? Hmm, my bad. Well, some weeks, this wouldn't hurt anyone."(A/N: He refers here to the pillow made out of Fayrene's clothes – Normal reaction for any human male, don't deny you would most likely do the same)

Slowly his eyes began closing, yet he found himself not being able to sleep at all. His mind activity was similar to someone who drank 10 coffee cups. It felt like his brain was throwing a party, but he wasn't invited to it.

Yet not feeling like disconnecting himself from the game, he was checking the interface that stocked his recordings, to the point where he began rewatching Corvus' lecture.

Corvus moves were played out infront of Mathias's eyes, starting slow before it reached an intense level of speed where his eyes couldn't pick up his movements, feeling like the recording was bugged.

"The last part of his movements seems like the recording got a virus or something because I can't figure out what he did there. Tsk, I need to go out and take some fresh air and settle this inactivity problem."

His ingame clock showed that it was 01:20 AM and the one that told him how many hours he spent inside the game, which was displaying 5 hours of playtime.

Getting off the counter, he turned his gaze in the direction of Fayrene's private room before leaving the shop using the spare key he received from her.

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Once outside, he could feel the vibrancy of the place and the activity of the pubs and other locations relatively close to Fayrene's shop. Closing the door with the key, he started walking around the streets of this notorious district of Titan.

He walked towards the central part of the district, where the people were still gathered, talking while drinking beers from wooden mugs. Others were coming out of the tavern nearby, holding mugs of beer in their hands.

The atmosphere in the district was a view he didn't expect when he heard of Fayrene's story on how dangerous this place was at night.  Yet what entered his sight was something familiar, like the feeling of a nightclub, only that it was outdoor and had a medieval flavour.

Yet what entered his sight was something familiar, it felt like a nightclub, only that it was outdoor and had a medieval flavour.

"Kiddo, come drink some. It is on me!" said one middle-aged man with scars on his face and a hunter's attire.

Mathias looked around himself as he walked and could see no one in proximity. Still, he pointed at himself while asking the man.

"You are referring to me?"

"Yes, kiddo, come here. I just came back from a successful mission and have some money to spend for my brothers in the neighbourhood." replied the middle-aged man while downing a mug.

"Haha, what are you staring so weirdly at us, kid. With brother Michael back in town, those bastards will not even dare acting up. Enjoy the night with us." said another man, standing close to the guy who had a silver named tag 'Michael'.

Mathias scratched his head a bit before nodding, approaching the group of men seated on the stones of a run down fountain. Once he got there, the one named Michael looked at him for a bit, smiling with a mark of drunkness in himself, after that saying to one guy who just came back holding 4 mugs in his hands.

"Helber go back to the tavern and buy another round of beers. We got another friend who joined us."

"Ahh shit, again? Boss, I think we should also save some money from the Griffin hunt. The Count only paid us so little."

"Why bother? Hunting that monster was easy, and I even got some money doing that. Now stop whining. It is not like you did the actual fighting. You only carried my equipment and journey supplies."

No longer commenting on Michael's orders, he walked to the tavern again. While doing that, the hunter asked Mathias some things.

"Kiddo, you are new around here. I haven't seen you in this neighbourhood before."

"Boss, that's because he is a 'cursed one'. They are said to appear at the will of Goddess Rebecca."

"Hoh, really? Then this means you are someone special if someone as grand as the goddess willed for your appearance." said the hunter with a curious expression while looking at Mathias.

"I am still the same as any other human, apart from receiving the blessing from the goddess. There's nothing grand about me. On the contrary, I think you, Michael are greater than me."

"Tsk, a bunch of you 'cursed ones' created an entire mess. There's even been a decree from the Palace ordering for the increasing alertness of the Black and Red Knight's in the peripherical districts. Some of your kind got killed by the knights and later appeared like rabid dogs to strike back. I saw it with my own eyes how those bastards died and later appeared attacking the knights." commented one guy close by with some annoyance in his tone.

"Wait, wait. Don't generalize and put me in the same pot with those idiots. I am someone like you. I breathe like you, spend my time like you. There are many others like me, but it seems the scoundrels who made a mess caused you to have a bad impression of them and in so also creating a bad image for me."

Michael started laughing and patting on Mathias's shoulder before saying with a smile.

"Kiddo, you are worrying too much. No one cares if you are one of the gods or a saint in this district; it is a matter of money here. Power and money, to be specific."

As he said that, the subordinate he sent to buy beer for Mathias came back holding 5 mugs in his hand.

"Here, man, be careful. It is strong." said the man, handing the mug to Mathias.

Looking inside the mug, he could see the liquid's golden color and the foam and bubbles at the top thanks to the large torches placed around the square. The smell was also something unique only to beers.

He felt the gazes of the men on the square who seemed to want to see Mathias drink that beer.

'Don't tell me there's something wrong with the beer? Nah, they won't bother to put something in it just because of me.'

Thinking that Mathias looked at Michael and bumped his own mug into Michael's before saying.

"Cheers and thanks for the free beer."

"Cheers, kiddo." replied Michael back while downing first the beer mug.

Mathias didn't postpone it and took a mouthful of beer that began working on him from the first contact with his tongue until he passed his throat and went for his stomach. His face instantly changed compared to the calm expression he was sporting, turning into something contorting in disgust.

"Argh, how the heck is this a beer? This feels like whisky. Damn, and you guys are fine constantly drinking this stuff?"

"Haha, this is the old man's unique beer. It will put any dwarf to sleep after 15 beers." said Michael with an easy-going manner, laughing at Mathias for his reaction along with the rest.

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Then slowly, Mathias began hearing more stories from Michael and the others as he drank the strong beer from his mug. They opened up to discussion under the effect of alcohol. Even Mathias, who finished his first mug of strong beer, began asking questions like a curious kid.

"Hah, you want to know about my journey toward the winged beasts? Listen here, young Mathias, the journey from Titan to the County of Chiritinas is quite long and annoying. We got the letter from the Count himself stating that he would pay us well if we could get rid of the pesky beasts damaging the surrounding villages close to his capital.

I had to start from Titan, after accepting the quest from the Count, and slowly make my way towards the Duchy of Toulmont, the territory of Duchess Basara, by walking the route through the Silverpine Forest.

An annoying place infested with pests, impish monsters called 'Edemp' and 'Graesp'. Ahh, even now, I am tired when thinking about how many of those rats I had to kill on my way out of Silverpine Forest. I feel the knight has done nothing for adventurers. Is like they expected that we would clear those nasty pests.

"Imps? You mean demonic monsters?" asked Mathias while taking a mouthful of beer.(E/N: are u drunk Math, he used the word "impish", he didn't say "Imps")

"Not really, but I feel like they are related. In a sense, they look similar to the legendary imps from the stories of Hell. However, those ones we have here are cowards who only attack the weak using dirty tactics."

"Boss, just like the goblins." completed another guy close by, helping out Michael.

Michael took a mouthful of beer from his jug, burped, and shook his head.

"No, no. You are bad-mouthing the goblins. Those sneaky green bastards are smart creatures and actually have a decent civilization in Alterac Mountain. I've seen it with my two eyes. They even fooled Duke Limit to not be dried down by taxes they have to pay to the Imperial Treasury. However, that tribe is only one exception. The rest of the goblins I encountered aside from those are indeed like those pests, creating a disturbance in unprotected villages Now shut up and don't butt in. Let me tell Mathias my journey."

*Burp* "Aye, boss." added the guy while burping, looking visibly drunk.

Michael turned his head to Mathias, but not long after that, he said to his aid. "Helber, go fetch some more beers for us."

His aid, who was holding his head as if the world was spinning, next he raised his head and not long after that he turned to walk to the tavern.

"Now, let's get back to the story. Where was I?"

"You passed the Silverpine Forest after dealing with the Edemps and Graesps." reminded Mathias, who felt the alcohol kick in his mind, along with the alerts of the game.

[You consumed a quantity of alcohol that your body can't take]

[You will enter the 'Drunken' state]

'Okay, no need for you now. Turn off notifications.' Thought Mathias, annoyed of seeing so many notifications windows popping up in his vision.

[You have turned off notifications]

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"Right, so I killed many of those bastards, but they are breeding faster, just like the orcs from the Whiterocks Mountains, so if you make a journey there, you will still encounter lots of those rats. After I passed Silverpine forest, I entered the region of the Duchy of Toulmont, where I finally could take a break without having to worry about being ambushed.

Not lingering too much on the Duchy, I began moving to the County of Chiritinas using the new route made by the knights after the main road was attacked by crazy mages.

This path was through the Weeping Forests, a creepy place where I had to fight off giant spiders that could eat you whole. Aside from these spiders lurking around and spreading out their web traps, there were also other dangerous creatures such as Ogres, Grunters, a strong species of battle hogs, Troggs, and lastly, a pack of mutated wolves called Dark Worgs in the forest.

Luckily I haven't encountered those dangerous ones. but I spotted a camp of ogres from a distance, at that moment, we started rushing towards the county, not wanting to risk a fight with the Ogres, who had a decent understanding of magic and could fight us equally.

"I see, you got lucky, Michael." said Mathias when hearing about all those beasts mentioned.

"You think so? Maybe you are right. Things seemed stable, and the monsters there didn't jump us. However, the group of wolves took notice of us and could be heard surrounding us when we were about to exit the forest."

"Wow, you got out without a scuffle against a pack of mutated wolves. That's really something."

*Burp* "Indeed. I am that good of an adventurer and hunter." added Michael, boosting about his accomplishment.

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Then Helber came back with mugs of beer in hand, barely walking straight while behind him was an old man walking with a wooden cane after him, looking at his back with a stern expression.

Other guys came to take their beers. The same was for Michael, who got up, taking his and Mathias's mug while greeting the old man moving slowly to them.

"Pops, you are still able to walk?"

"Hmph, compared to you drunkard kids, I am faring far better than you can imagine."

Helber, who was left without a single mug in hand, looked at Michael and said to him with some effort.

"Boss, my head is spinning too much. I think I will go to sleep."

After he said that, he dropped to the ground and started puking, making everyone on the square laugh like idiots at the unfortunate man. Even Mathias was among the group intoxicated by alcohol tagged in to make fun of Helber.

"Tsk, I knew he was weak with alcohol, but for him to be such a sissy to collapse and puke. If he was in Talima, those dwarves would have stripped him butt-naked and then strapped him on the statue of their ancestor to hang in the view of everyone." added Michael as he gave Mathias the other beer mug.

" Those dwarfs, are they tiny like in stories?" asked Mathias when he heard the mentioning of the dwarfs.

"Yea, they are like kids with bodies of adults. Hah, they can beat the crap out of you. I even lost at arm wrestling against one of those drunk bastards. Damn, I remember a saying around the streets of Toulmont, those idiots talk about how some messed up guy drank the piss of one dwarf and got put to sleep from drunkenness."

When Mathias heard that, he looked with big eyes at the hunter while the other guys were laughing as if they heard the funniest thing ever.

"Damn, disgusting fucks."

"That's also what I thought when I heard it. *Burp* Still, I believe it is a cheap method of getting wasted. Just as the dwarf to piss for you and done, enjoy the drunken state. Even Duke Diworth, who is praised as the drunkest person alive, would feel disgusted by those idiots drinking the piss of dwarfs as an alternative to booze."

"Bah, disgusting. Continue with your story Michael." said Mathias feeling like puking after all the dwarves fiasco.

"Right, so I got away from the pack of Worgs. Nasty beasts, I hope you don't encounter them. Moving a bit more on a safe route, I entered the territory of the count. There were still some days I had to walk until I got to his capital to get more details from him and also negotiate the sum of money I would receive for killing the Griffin making a mess in his territory."

"How much?"

"The sum of money was 20.000 gold on paper. Tsk, that cheap noble after boosting he was the richest noble in the empire, boosting that his son is the Pope of Judar Church and other bullshit. I had to do the fight of my life against that monster, for guess what?"

"Half the sum?"

"Nah, if it was that, I would be so annoyed and disgusted by that Count. I got 4.000 gold."

"That bastard. Really? That noble was so scummy to sign the contract for 20.000 gold and yet not deliver."

"Don't worry, young Mathias, I got repaid fully by my plunder. Who does that snobbish noble thing that I, Soul Sword Michael, am? I am no slave or lapdog to any noble bastard. Heck, I even refused the offer of getting a high ranking in the Red Knight order serving under Emperor Juander."

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From a corner of the square, a man with black hair that seemed drunk heard Michael say that and raised his sharp eyes to see who he was and only commented under his breath.

"So that boosting fool came back to Titan? How long was it since he departed? About half a year."

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Mathias was impressed by Michael's story and adventure, which filled his desire to explore this world even more.

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"Hich* "Mathias, if you want to explore the empire, you should go toward the Nivermar River and climb the Gravelmark Heights. Is relatively close to Titan and also offers quite a nice view since it is the starting tributary of the Saharan River." added Michael after listening to Mathias plans to explore around for a calm place to relax.

Nodding his head, Mathias looked around himself and saw as the other guys were in a murky situation like him, drowned by alcohol.

"I think I should also go home. Bye guys, thanks for the good company."

"Aye, are you already going, home kid? Right, what time is it now? Pops, do you know?"

"Tsk, you stupid kids, it's already 03:25 AM. Just go already to sleep since I will close my tavern. I need my sleep; otherwise, I will have you guys dig my hole."

"No way, pops. Let's go guys, time to get home. Let the rats also breathe some air. They could barely breath in our presence." said Michael, while raising on his feet, teetering a bit.

"Mathias, I hope I hear more of your name in the future." added the hunter while looking at Mathias, who was holding for dear life on a bench.

Feeling like puking when he got on his feet, Mathias only waved his hand to the guys and started the arduous path back to Fayrene shop.

Step by step, his world started to shake even more, and when he got to Fayrene's front door, his shaking reached a pinnacle. Then from nowhere, a puke came along right at the front of Fayrene shop.

"Fuck, I think I will go sleep."

Dropping on the floor beside the door while not far away from him, the marks of puking were clear,  like some wasted guy. His world started darkening before not long after he found himself back to his apartment inside the VR capsule.

"To be damned, to think I will get wasted in a game and still feel the after-effects of it in reality."