The crystals embedded in the ceiling changed into a darker shade, reducing the amount of light that radiated from them.
Ocelio exited his room and climbed the stairs to the third floor. For some reason Ocelio was staying on the first floor on his own, the second floor was where all the resident Bloodrainists lived.
Giving it a glance with his blood sense, he noticed that the second floor was void of presences.
When he reached the third floor, he saw a long corridor made of the same brown wood as the rest of the building, on the ground was laid a delicate-looking square carpet made from the fur of a magical beast.
At the end of the corridor was a French window, large enough to pass his body through as if it was a door.
On both sides of the corridor were two doors with coloured signs: one represented a bathtub filled with water, the other had a table with a board game and chairs surrounding it.
Without hesitation, Ocelio entered the room on his left.
The bath room was just as Eucliedes, the receptionist had described. It was like an indoor hot spring. Two small openings on the tiled wall brought a stream of hot water into a large pond.
On the other side of the room was the same apparatus as in his room with containers and buckets to wash one’s body.
The difference being that the water was warm and a relaxing smell floated in the air, alleviating his tiredness.
After undressing and storing his clothes inside a basket, he dipped his body in the pond, allowing the burning water to massage his body.
His skin was pale white but it was different from the feeble glow from Synthea’s body. His, was unblemished, appearing without defect as if he had kept his baby skin.
A sigh escaped his lips, his body sunk deeper into the water, leaving only his head outside the surface.
From moments unknown, Ocelio seemed to have become immersed in this comfortable experience, forgetting his surroundings.
Two men and a woman entered the room, their chatter came to a stop when they realised someone was already inside the pool.
Ocelio used one hand to part his soaked black hair from his face, glancing at the Bloodrainists with an emotionless expression.
They appeared perturbed by his stare; their eyes avoided looking at the pond where Ocelio’s nude body could be seen through the water.
[Please forgive our interruption, have a good bath.]
One of them, a tall man with short hair of 3 different colours announced in a calm voice before turning around.
[It’s okay, this place doesn’t belong to me. You’re free to use it.]
While Ocelio was speaking, the woman with long curly hair peeked at his body with the bearing of a shy young lady.
The youngest among them, a young male with brown hair mixed with green stepped to the changing area with a grin on his face.
[Thank you sir, it feels so good to relax in a bath after a tiring day isn’t it.]
[What tiring, all you did was sit at a table, drink and flirt with the waitresses.]
[How mean, I helped them in the kitchen in the morning! And I even taught them how to cook some of my dishes, it’s difficult to be a teacher you know…]
The two of them kept their chatter low but Ocelio could hear all their whispers as if they were speaking in his ears.
On the other hand, the tall male didn’t seem to talk much, he went to wash his body on the other side of the room as soon as he undressed.
Ocelio’s face flushed when he saw all of them walk around naked, in particular, the woman would meet his eyes with a smile whenever he glanced her way.
When this happened, he would sink deeper into the water, hiding the lower part of his face.
After the three Bloodrainists finished washing their bodies, they entered the large pool without restraint, leaving at least an arm’s length between them.
Ocelio appeared intrigued by the tall’s man hair colours; his short brown hair had a soft shade of silver tufts at the crown of his head and light-yellow trimmed sideburns by the side of his ears.
Noticing his stare, the man lips curved into a thin smile. He passed his hand through his hair, speaking in a relaxed tone.
[Peculiar isn’t it. I wasn’t born that way, I used to have brown hair like everyone else with strands of yellow hairs. But one day, some of it just turned yellow, even to this day, I still wonder if someone painted my hair this way while I was sleeping.]
The younger Bloodrainist hid his laughs behind his hands, raising his thumb at the man’s colourful eyes.
[It makes you look cool. Everywhere you go, people can’t help but turn around to stare at you.]
The man shook his head with a smiling expression as if he was used to it.
[It is our first meeting with sir, us three are part of the local Bloodrainists serving as the city defenders. It’s a pleasure to meet you.]
The woman played with her long curly brown hair, the black strands behind her head and on the sides contrasted with her mellow face.
She batted her eyelashes, her clear voice introduced each of them with a gentle smile hooked on her lips.
[The little one is Lampus. When he’s not outside the city with us, he can be found in the restaurant “Trios Atlas”. It makes tasty food and is famous for its spicy dishes, I do not know if it would suit sir’s taste.]
Lampus light up with joy at the compliment, adding: [I’m also a cook!]
[This handsome man is our most reliable member, Mnasyllus. He’s not talkative but when one needs help, he’s the first we would rely on.]
Mnasyllus nodded at him, his face remained a mask of calmness.
[As for me, my name is Korrito. I supervise our Bloodrainist team, I handle the maintenance, information gathering and the trade of the goods obtained in the wilderness.]
[She’s also an excellent blacksmith. As long as the weapon doesn’t break, she can fix it on the field, using the nearby resources to mend the sword.]
[Please don’t listen to him, I’m only subpar. I’ve been an apprentice in a blacksmith store in my younger days, but I was chased away before qualifying as a proper blacksmith.]
She waved her hand in front of her face to deny his claim. Her gestures made her bulging bosom bounce in the water, creating ripples that reached Ocelio’s chest.
His blush was noticed by all three of them. A smile appeared on their faces at his reaction.
[Sir doesn’t need to be shy, you can touch them if you desire so. Compared to sir perfect body, mine is worthless.]
Her flirtatious voice seemed to tickle Ocelio’s ears, the way she glanced at his body with a glow in her eyes made him try to hide his body underwater.
[I’m leaving. Have a good time. It was a pleasure to make your acquaintance.]
Mnasyllus went to dress and left in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Korrito swam closer to him, revealing the curves of her body with alluring movements.
Seeing this, Lampus sank his head into the water, only showing his eyes and hair as he peeked at the scene.
She sat beside Ocelio and despite the thin mist, the clear water exposed every spot of skin on her body.
When her arm touched his, his blush reached his ears before shaking his head.
[Miss Korrito please do not tempt me; I am not interested.]
Hearing him, she froze, she appeared surprised by his words. She examined his face and his lower body; seeing his reactions to her presence, the smile returned to her face, her crescent-shaped eyes shone with satisfaction.
[Too bad. If sir change his mind and require my assistance, please do not hesitate to call for me, my room will always be open to you.]
She stood up from the pond and walked away right in front of him. Her legs took slow, yet large steps, exposing the movements from her round buttocks.
While dressing herself, her body was hidden by the mist, displaying only her silhouette to the peeking Lampus. However, to Ocelio her figure and curves were as clear as the water.
When the door closed behind her, Lampus released a long sigh.
[I envy you sir. Korrito is admired for her beauty in the city. Even though she isn’t in the top 5 of the prettiest women, if she was ranked in allure and charm, she would be number 1 by a large margin.]
Ocelio smiled at his words, even though he still appeared embarrassed by what had happened, he seemed to enjoy Lampus presence as he started to relax.
[Among our group, apart from Mnasyllus, she has received presents from everyone, with some even being precious. Yet, she has always refused bedroom requests. She’s 27 and still single. If sir wants her, she appears willing to serve you; you could even bring her with you to be your maid.]
Ocelio laughed at the mention of making her his maid.
Lampus appeared to take his reaction as an encouragement to continue.
[If sir is willing to listen, I am willing to share a secret with you regarding her past.]
He placed his hands in front of his mouth as if trying to hide his lips from those who would eavesdrop in the conversation; however, his words were loud and clear.
[She, Korrito, ever since I’ve joined the group, she has only invited women to her bedroom. I’ve heard from Sosilus that she has never spent a night with a man ever since she became a Bloodrainist.]
[Alright, thank you for the information but that’s enough. I’m only 17, she’s too old for me.]
At the declaration, Lampus eyes widened in their sockets. He appeared shocked by what he had just heard.
[Sir is even younger than me?]
[Stop calling me sir. I have a name too, I’m Ocelio. You can call me that. But yes, I’m 17.]
[And sir Ocelio is a Bloodrainist?]
[Yes.]
He stood up from the pond, almost jumping above the water.
[That’s incredible! You must be a genius!]
Ocelio watched his excited reaction with amusement. It had been a while since someone had called him a genius, a small smile formed on his lips as his eyes stared at the mist in a daze.
[Sir Ocelio, if it’s not improper, do you want to be my friend? I’ve always dreamed of leaving the city to explore the world. I would love to hear stories of the outside world from you.]
Ocelio shook his head, returning to reality.
Lampus appeared to have taken his reaction as a sign of rejection. A sad smile emerged on his face.
[I am sorry, I must have become light-headed from dipping my head in the…]
[Okay. I can be your friend.]
The next second Lapus made an exaggerated expression as if he couldn’t believe what he had heard.
Ocelio peals of laughter resounded within the room, genuine enjoyment was on his face.
[But I can’t tell you stories, I don’t know much about the outside. I’ve spent most of my life in seclusion, training to become stronger. Rather, I’m eager to listen to what you know.]
[Eh, really?! I know a lot of good stories.]
Time passed without them realising. Nobody came to disturb them as Lampus recounted one story after another while Ocelio listened, commenting from time to time.
Lampus was a valuable source of information, he appeared to know what had happened in the city even before he was born. His interest seemed to spread in a wide variety of subjects, he switched from how the water they soaked in was produced by a water plant and fire plant that had been captured by a Bloodrainist from a previous generation to how the Warrior Association had been built using the white stones from a quarry in the south-east of the region, where magical beasts of the larva type resided.
He described their weaknesses and strengths and how they had to dig deep to find rocks after every journey there due to their habit of throwing themselves into the pits to eat the remaining rocks, making it easy to kill them, but harder to find another pocket of rocks to mine.
At one point, Lampus seemed to become dizzy from staying for too long in the water.
[It’s better if we leave. The water properties dissolve tiredness in the body but also disturb the energies in our bodies if we stay too long. Though you seem to be doing fine.]
Lampus was right. Ocelio had yet to show the same symptoms, the effect from the water appeared to be different depending on the person.
[Thank you for today. I’ve learnt a lot thanks to you.]
While they were dressing, Ocelio expressed his gratitude to his new friend. Lampus shook his head, before showing hesitation.
[It’s I who should be grateful. All the others in our group make fun of me and treat me like a kid. I’m 23 but in their eyes, I’m not their equal. You’re the only Bloodrainist I’ve met who treated me as an adult. Thank you.]
He paused for a second, he had already finished dressing but did not leave yet.
[If you have time; at night, me and the rest, we’re gathering in the room next door to chat and exchange information. Tonight’s about the elf issue in the south. If you want, you can come, but I must warn you in advance, Kerkyon and Sosilus are somewhat unpleasant to talk to. You’ve just joined our city’s branch so they will not show too much joy at your presence. Though because of your status, they would probably not dare to be disrespectful.]
Ocelio appeared interested in the gathering. But his eyes betrayed the confusion he felt.
[What is an elf issue? A magical beast?]
Once again, Lampus showed an exaggerated expression, shock filling his face.
Ocelio laughed when seeing his eyes opened wide and his mouth gaping.
[Elf, elves! They’re not magical beasts, they’re another race, just like us.]
The two of them left the bath room chatting in a joyful mood.
However, when they entered the social area, the sour ambience from within made them freeze.
Korrito stood with her fist on Sosilus’ face, the rest of the men watched the scene from the side.
[I’ll cut your dick you son of a b****!]
