บท 63: Password

How could I have been so foolish? How did I not realize what was happening to her? I bit my lip, my teeth piercing the chapped flesh allowing blood to flow.

"It was so fun watching as both of you felt the other was safe to an extent, waiting for the perfect moment to tear it all down," He sighed and looked at me with a blissful expression. "Now, I'll have your mother watch you be branded, doesn't that sound fun?" He grinned, two dimples forming at the edges of his thin lips.

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I jolted awake, the pounding of my heart the only thing I could hear over the ringing of my ears. I had somewhat grown used to my nightmares, but getting used to and being okay with it are two different things. I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead and glanced around the pitch-black room.

'Indigo? What's wrong?' Al asked.

"Nothing," I ran my fingers through White Bun's silky fur. His loud snoring somehow comforted me.

'Nightmare?' Al probed once more.

"I'll try to resonate with the magic stone now," I ignored his question and pulled out the purple stone from my desk drawer.

'You're not usually this disgruntled by your dreams,'

I sighed, Al was refusing to drop the subject, and I wasn't sure how I should take that "You're right, I... this dream was just too much for me right now. Please just drop it,"

'Fine sorry,' Al finally relented.

"Thank you," I sighed in relief and sat on the bed holding the purple stone in my hand. "What are the properties of this stone?"

'... You could say it is calm most of the times, but when it's mad, it gets quite a temper,'

"Do you ever listen to yourself speak? Do you know how ridiculous you sound?"

'... That's just how it is,"

"Fine..." I grunted. I sunk into my mana core and by the time I opened my eyes after I resonated with the stone, the sun was peaking over the valley. I stood up and walked to the window, admiring the array of colours sprinkled in the morning sky. The blooming sun spread hues of orange and reds into the sky, colliding with the vibrant blue sky. The air was still slightly wet from the frosty night and the dewy wind lashed against my skin, flinging my hair behind me. I took a deep breath of the refreshing air and sighed in contentment.

'Do you like sunrises?' Al's question interrupted me.

"Yeah, I prefer the night sky though," I smiled and closed my eyes. He didn't probe further and let me enjoy the moment. I admired the sky till the colours dispersed and the gentle morning heat turned to a blazing inferno.

I left the inn and headed to the guild. I located the guild by following the swarms of people crowding around a building which unlike the shacks stood like a sturdy fortress. I walked in and heads popped back, looking me up and down. I ignored them and walked to the board pinned with quests. I grabbed a few hunting quests and walked to the front desk.

"I wanna do these three," I placed the quests on the desk and pulled out my guild card. The man at the desk checked the quests and my guild card to make sure I was the appropriate rank to do the quests I showed him and handed my guild card back when he was done.

"Just you?" He looked up and asked.

"Yeah,"

"You're not gonna make a party,"

"No, I don't know anyone here,"

"Good luck then,"

"Thanks, I was wondering if you knew where I could get trade some information," I sat down on a nearby seat and asked. He perked up and looked back at me, staring into my eyes.

"Are you serious?" He cupped his head in his palms and leaned toward me, his dusty brown hair grazing my cheek. His warm cigar scented breath hit my face, I scrunched my nose up and leaned back, putting distance between us.

"Yes, where can I find some,"

He sighed and tapped his chin, "Pay a fee," I slid a silver coin over the counter to him. He slid it into his pocket. "Ahem," He nodded into a direction. I trailed behind him and walked into a back room.

He pointed to a stool; I sat down and he sat opposite me. "If you want detailed info head to the slave market,"

"Again with this slave market, what is that place?"

"Just as it sounds sweetheart, it is just a normal restaurant when you first enter but beneath there is an entire establishment, below that establishment, there is the info trading centre,"

"Something like that must-have requirements to enter, right?"

"You're a smart lass," He winked "To enter you need a password if you want more information you're gonna need to pay more," I nodded and threw two more silver coins at him.

"The trading centre has different levels of info the more you pay the more detailed it will get,"

"You haven't told me the password yet though,"

"If you want the password, then I'm afraid you must win five matches with five of the password-holders,"

"You don't know the password is what you're saying?"

"Precisely, I can tell you, however, that if you want to apply for the password, then you can go to the restaurant called; Silver Spoon, which is also the base of the slave market and ask the guy at the front desk 'Can silver spoons become gold spoons?' and just follow the steps from there. Only do that if you're prepared to lose and face the consequences,"

"You mean being sold?"

"Or made into someone's test subject or sex slave,"

"For a lawless city, you guys are quite intricate,"

"We get that a lot," He smirked and laughed. "I forgot to mention, you can only enter the slave market if you win two of your weekly matches,"

"It won't be a crime if I break-in?" I joked.

"Well, no, but it also won't be a crime for them to kill you for entering," He laughed again. "Well, that's all the information I'm gonna give, don't die too soon or get raped. That would be unfortunate,"

"I'll try," I said and walked out the room.