Chapitre 47: Decision?
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[21 Oct; late in the evening]
Sam lay in bed; wide awake but desperate to sleep.
The window was open halfway; allowing the slight night breeze in. Actually the winds were pretty strong; but due to the many buildings haphazardly erected in the "planned" townships making up the metropolis, the paths for winds and roads were convoluted - and thus the winds were not that strong.
It was only 11pm.
Snowie was who knows where; bounding and hopping about exploring the city (and looking for weaker animals to bully like rats, cats and dogs).
The others were "busy" downstairs, spilling beer and alcohol in the name of quaffing.
Quaffing was an art; drink too little and others would call you out as a poseur; spill too little and you'd not be able to keep up with those who drank by the barrel! And the art of spilling ~70-80% per quaff was something often debated in the upper courts of the beer halls; how to angle the cup the best? How to swish and swirl the liquid in the mug? How to purse your lips to prevent too much going in while still looking like your mouth was wide open?
There were countless paths and approaches to quaffing; some more popular than others. But there were some that were established and popular - simply because they worked.
Among these, the most well-respected and established were two - the first; voluminous beards thick enough to even conceal whether the quaffer even had a mouth or not; or was some sort of alien life-form that drank with it's facial hair.
The second; big swords. Really big swords. And big muscles. And lots of guards. Enough that no-one would call you out as a sissy or p*ssy even if they noticed you blatantly pouring it on the floor...
(Enough about quaffing...) God knows why Sam's mind was spinning round and round on the topic of quaffing. If only she had that level of intellectual thought for other areas, such as mathematics, combat or cooking!
(Mmm... Cooking...) Her mouth watered, dripping onto the bed; then she shook her head violently! (No no no no! Sam! Sleepy weepy time!!!) She held her head in her hands; agonising over the past 4 hours she had spent in bed - even to the point of; by the gods; skipping dinner!
She had registered as an adventurer on the spot; paying the 30 silvers cost from Khadir's pocket. As friendly and big hearted the man seemed; prying money from him was as hard as prying it from a dead-man's hand - Sam had to drag the bag of coins out of his hands.
The cost might seem high; but that was a deterrent - to ensure that only the capable would dare to take on the job.
She received a flimsy wooden badge - indicating her rank as the lowest of the low, in respect of her level 1 (recorded) stats.
"How many ranks to Mythical...?" She'd asked the registration lady; a demure professional of the customer service industry who memorised countless Frequently Asked Questions and was a living, walking FAQ devoid of emotions.
The glasses-wearing, dignified middle-aged looking registration lady laughed in Sam's face; spraying specks of spittle which Sam tolerated and wiped away.
"Did you hear what the level 1 girl asked? How far is she from Mythical??!" She shouted over to the 4 other counters; drawing amused looks at first, then uproarious guffaws from the workers - and the loitering adventurers.
Face burning with shame; Sam reined in her anger. If shame was the cost of getting that bag of infinite food, then she was willing to go through it! Whether wind or fire or rain or dragons; nothing would stand in her way!
Not so soon after; the laughter and giggles settled down; and Sam was still standing there; sincerity in her gaze. Realising that Sam wouldn't go away without an answer, the registration lady, Amanda, wiped away the sweat from her flushed face - she had laughed a little too hard and ended up sweating.
Clearing her throat and resuming her perfect professional face, she recited the ranks to Sam:
-Wood 3,000 AP to rank up to Bronze
-Bronze 10,000 AP to rank up to Iron
-Iron 25,000 AP to rank up
-Steel 50,000 AP
-Orihalcum 100,000 AP
-Mythril 175,000 AP
-and Adamantine 300,000 AP to rank up to Mythical
"Above that are Semi-divine and the Divine ranks. Come back once you're Mythril and I'll tell you."
Sam nodded and turned away.
Surprised at how calm the young level 1 wood-rank adventurer had taken it, Amanda felt a little bad; and sought to warn her from setting her ambitions too high.
"Young lady! Wait!" Amanda called out to her, ignoring the next adventurer queued in front of her. Sam turned to look over her shoulder at the lady; surprised.
"Don't push yourself too hard, take your time! That's what we, every adventurer knows. Life is the most important; and missions will come again - let someone higher rank take the most difficult missions! Okay...? Just..." This time the glasses-wearing lady looked worried for her. "...Just come back safely each time from the missions, alright...?"
Sam nodded; then turned to leave before she remembered to ask one more question.
"Old lady!" Amanda, who had just taken the registration form from the next aspiring adventurer, frowned; face turning sour the instant she heard those 2 words.
"Old lady? How many Myth-rank or above adventurers are there in Lyon...?"
Amanda smiled; the irritation erased as she said the next words. "Well, out of the 20,000 or so adventurers, let's see...." She held up her fingers to count. "Less than 30 people...?"
Satisfied that this number should smack the face of the disrespectful girl who couldn't recognise a 25 year old beauty; Amanda pretended to examine her fingernails; waiting for Sam to be shocked and discouraged.
But she was disappointed; Sam just said, "Oh..." And walked away.
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Sam only had a few silvers and some bronze coins left with her. So when Matilda offered to pay for the room they were sharing; she grudgingly agreed - not that she was going to pay herself anyway...
And after another 30 minutes of lying wide awake in bed, excited for the next day to start the journey to Rome and begin her adventuring days; she heard the door open. The tall and burly room-mate opened the door carefully; not wanting to startle the young girl lying in bed.
Matilda moved with a light step; showing good footwork and control. In truth, she was not bulky; she had a slightly muscled body with good proportions. It was just that she was taller than Albert; around 2.2m tall - which made her tower over most men; and appear even bigger than she was.
Matilda tip-toed over to her own bed; throwing a glance at Sam - "Oh! You're still awake. Can't sleep...?"
Sam nodded; wide-eyed and innocent.
Matilda grunted, acknowledging that she heard the girl; then started to undress from her coarse brown tunic; she wore surprisingly feminine silk inner-wear beneath.
Then the slightly older woman lay down on the bed. It was plenty big - big enough for people 3m tall.
They lay there quietly for awhile. Then Matilda tilted her head to her right; looking at Sam who was also looking at her. She asked a question.
"Why do you have to go to Rome to be an adventurer, Sam...?"
"Well... I don't know...?"
Bemused but not surprised at the girl's answer; Matilda sat up slightly to make the conversation more comfortable.
"Why not stay here in Lyon with us...?"
Sam tilted her head, looking away slightly - a sign of her thinking.
"It's not like you need to do anything in Rome, right...? And there are plenty of runes, equipment and treasures available to exchange for; and also plenty of missions to take here?"
Matilda leaned sideways, turning her entire body to face the young girl whose bed was a little more than an arm's length away; leaning on her hands to balance herself.
"Stay here with us, Sam. Khadir's a good leader; he might be rough sometimes; and he's got a really nasty accent..." Matilda reached a hand over to place it on Sam's bedside; she was tall enough to reach over the gap.
"And he treats all of us like family. You've seen it right? I heard how you met Adormain. Even after a few years apart; he still treats Khadir like a big brother - because Khadir was the one who urged him to go after that girl..." The mighty woman gave a gentle smile; nostalgic and slightly sad. "Else I would have nabbed that handsome skinny man myself! Heheheh!" She laughed, trying to break her own sad mood.
Sam smiled; not really looking at Matilda. But the warrior was used to the girl's way of communicating; not taking it personally.
"Sam. You don't even know that Albert that well, right...? I'm afraid..." She frowned; unsure if she should speak the words. "...He might just be using you to corroborate his travel record from Pari."
Sam thought about it for awhile; laying back and trying to stare at the stars through the multiple floors of wooden ceiling (all she could see was wood).
Meow~~~!
Her eyes perked up; snapping out of the thoughts as Snowie came back.
"Hi dear! What do you have in your-- Oh, it's an underwear."
"WHOSE CAT IS THAT??! I'LL SKIN IT ALIVE I TELL YOU!!! DON'T LET ME FIND OUT WHO OWNS THAT BLOOD BASTARDLY DEMONIC CAT!!!" A noble looking man was hollering; face completely red with rage and embarrassment. He wore opulent, extravagant purple garb, a slightly lopsided circlet and had a ripped apart pants; his [omitted] now covered by cloths held by his attendants.
Snowie licked her paws in satisfaction at her revenge against the cat-bullying prince; while Sam petted her on the head, saying, "Good girl Snowie~! Another one for your collection, huh?"
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The next morning; the duo of Sam and Albert were at the train station.
She gave a parting hug to the 5 adventurers/ mercenaries; and now stood before Matilda.
"Sorry big sis! I need to go to Rome..." Sam looked a little sad; but smiled anyway. "I've gotta go see a boy I like in Turin first; and..." She gripped her fists and pumped them in a "guts" pose; "I'm going to learn from the best martial arts fighters there and be the strongest!"
(And I'm sure the food there is even tastier...) She kept her mouth closed so her saliva wouldn't dribble out - oh, it overflowed and dribble out anyway.
Matilda smiled. "Just... Take care of yourself okay...? And remember, even though we've not known one another for long..." She hugged Sam tightly, in a bear hug.
"You'll always have a family here in Lyon... Urgh!" Taking the larger, stronger woman's bear hug to be approval to return a bear hug, the ogre-like girl...
You get the idea.
And so, the group of 8 parted ways; with one injured lady lying on the floor.
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