Day 12
She definitely looked like she was going to be sick.
"I…You….I will get my master." She retreated into the back of the shop, leaving me alone for the moment. I heard her footsteps rapidly moving deeper into the store building.
I felt dizzy and leaned on the counter. I breathed in and out, forcing myself to stay standing. The aches in my joints and the weight of my backpack were sitting heavily on me. I wanted this over quickly.
After what seemed like an eternity, the girl came back with another man following her. She paled again, seeing the pile of rats. The other man's reaction was very different from hers at first.
I focused on him and began to wonder if I was tripping.
He wore clothing stained with various chemicals and alchemic compounds. Each was a bright and glaring colour. The stains were also on his skin, but it was his hair that had me questioning my eyes. His hair was white, with different colours mixed in; it was wild and unkempt. He looked to be about thirty years old, clean-shaven.
"Oh my! This is amazing." He walked over to the pile and began inspecting the dead rats. He picked up different bodies, examining them and put them back down. As he did so, I picked out flashes of other colours in his eyes as he used different skills on the corpses before him. He started mumbling about the experiments he was about to prepare and the ingredients and compounds he would need. He seemed utterly oblivious to the fact that his apprentice and I were still standing in the room with him.
His assistant prodded him, causing him to look at me.
"Thank you for delivering…" He paused and looked closer at me, his eyes flashing again. "By the Gods, you are ill. Is it black rat fever?"
He walked around the counter to a gap and approached me. I felt uncomfortable under his intense scrutiny. He was looking me up and down, taking in my condition and appearance. He seemed to be evaluating me to determine which services he would offer.
"You have contracted a nasty disease, Adventurer…" He paused, realising that he did not know my name. I found it slightly refreshing that he wasn't falling into the overtly formal speech pattern, which is most often used when dealing with strangers.
"Hector." I supplied.
"Adventurer Hector. Black rat fever is an incredibly fast-acting disease that will leave you bedridden and very best for a week. You must seek medical assistance as soon as possible. Lucky for you, I sell several different tonics and alchemy potions that can assist you." I could see he was genuinely concerned about my condition while trying to hawk his wares.
"Alchemist Greyscale," I replied, confident that this was the man who posted the quest. If he wasn't, then the city had more than a few highly eccentric alchemists. "I've had black rat fever before and know how to deal with it. If you don't mind, I would return to the Guild and register the quest to complete and finally retire to my bed."
He blinked rapidly at my reply and seemed confused. "Are you sure, Adventurer Hector? My products are highly respected throughout the city and guaranteed to at least alleviate your symptoms."
"I am. You requested twenty dead black rats, and I have supplied them." I indicated the pile. "The quest you posted has been completed, and now I must offer you my apologies as I must be away."
I was speaking more slowly than usual, collecting my thoughts before I said anything, remembering to use the correct speech pattern. He might have ignored it, but I didn't want to come off rude and make a social faux pas. I have spent many weeks practising it before arriving. The staff at the retirement home I was at had attempted to use it as an excuse to block my joining of the third wave, claiming that I was mentally unsound. That had been quickly rejected.
He nodded slightly, and that was good enough for me.
I turned and left the shop without bidding him farewell, for I was deteriorating and wanted this day to be over. As I left the shop, I saw his reflection in the door's glass pane and the odd look he was giving me. I could not unpack it right away as I needed to get to the Adventurer's Guild.
I set the map to my next location and set off at the best walking pace I could manage, which wasn't quick. The more I walked, the more my joints ached, and the heavier my backpack felt.
I've come to really hate black rat fever.
I eventually reached the Adventurer's Guild and had to lean against the wall before entering. The short journey had been extremely tiring. My stamina levels had depleted completely as the disease drained away. I looked down on myself, noting the mess I was, but didn't really care right now. I opened the door and walked in. There was a receptionist down the far end at the desk I had only met once before. Another person was sitting in the room, and he looked up, inspecting my condition as I passed. I gave him a brief look and recognised him as another adventurer.
As I approached the reception desk, the wall behind it still had a smile, but I could see she was using it to hide a grimace.
"Good evening, Adventurer. How can I help you?" She said when I reached her desk.
"Good evening, Madam. I'm here to register a completion of the quest." I was doing my best not to sway on my feet.
She nodded at me and began typing on the mechanical keys in front of her. The orb above the device glowed white, and I placed my hand upon it after pulling it from my gauntlet. In less than a second, it glowed blue.
The receptionist nodded as another sheet of paper emerged from the device, then pointed to the System shop. It seemed that she wanted to get rid of me as quickly as you could. I couldn't blame her and wanted to be gone myself.
I walked over to the silver cylinder, and it opened when I placed my hand upon it. I stepped in and closed behind me. The orb was before me and had lit when I entered, but I hadn't placed my hand on it just yet, as I was enjoying the sudden access to air-conditioning. The fever was making me feel much warmer than I should have been, and I was sweating profusely. The air conditioning and this little cylinder were blissful, and I just stood there for a few seconds enjoying it.
The growing itch and burning in the back of my throat forced me to focus on finishing so I could go back on.
Reward is being calculated. Experience is being calculated.
Reward: thirty-five silver coins.
Attention! System debt completion. System debt will reactivate in 6 days.
Attention! Level up detected.
Attention Skill earned: Brawling!
Attention Resistance gained. Black rat fever!
Do you wish to accept these rewards?>
I had expected a short message, but the System had other ideas. I forced myself to read through the list before me several times to make sure I was understanding at all.
"Yes."
The coins were automatically transferred into my dimensional storage ring. I opened my character sheet and levelled up before investigating what else I had gained. I looked over my character sheet and assigned the single point to my endurance.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Character Sheet
Name: Hector
Avatars Age: 30
Level: 3 (+)
Titles: Summoned Crusader.
Eldritch Corruption: 0%
Health: 38/110 (-10)
Stamina: 0/110 (+)
Mana: 100/100
Free Stat Points: 0
Stats
Dexterity: 10 (-1)
Strength: 10 (-1)
Vitality: 11 (-1)
Endurance: 11 (+)
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Luck: 10
Spells
None
Skills
Weapons Skills
Pistols: 10%
Clubs: 25%
Crafting Skills
None
Magic Skills
None
General Skills
Identify: 11%
Brawling: 10% (+)
Resistance (Black Rat Fever): 10% (+)
Title Details
Summoned Crusader – An individual summoned to this world by the Gods to oppose the Void. Allows resurrection at temples, but at a cost. But know this, the People and Gods of Hylore are watching to see who you are.
(Negative Status Affects)
Black Rat Fever.
A lot was going on with my character sheet. I can see the adverse effects of black rat fever, but I also feel slightly better now that my endurance has improved, although not by much. I looked over my two new skills and read their descriptions. The problem was that the level up had not healed me or restored my stamina. I would need bed rest for that. The system debt had been recalibrated now that I was level 3, not level 2, and had reduced the amount of credit I had built up.
Brawling was rather obvious. It seems that my bar brawl and fighting with the rats in close-quarter combat have earned me the skill of brawling. Acquiring it now showed that I understood the basics of kicking and punching as means of inflicting damage on an enemy. When I was back on earth, I had never really fought since I was a child, so I was surprised to have gained this skill, since I thought I would need more experience. Turns out I was wrong. Desperately fighting against black rats in enclosed spaces was good enough.
The resistant skill was far more interesting. It was a passive skill that did not require me to activate it, so there was no stamina cost. Every time I suffered the risk of contracting black rat fever, the skill would augment my endurance to protect me from contracting it. It seems my constant exposure to the disease has given me this resistance. Part of me was unhappy that I got it, but another part was happy that I had an increased chance of not contracting it again.
I notice the flashing icon in the corner of my vision and mentally click it.
"Yes."
It is added to my logs, and I can read it later. But right now I wasn't in the mood, and the problem would persist for the next two days. I had six days before my system debt forced me to work. I was going to need to heal and probably another day or 2 to have my gear repaired.
I would have plenty of time to read it.
I withdrew my hand from the orb, and it went dark. The door opened behind me, and I stepped out. I miss the air conditioning in the cylinder instantly. I pulled out my canteen and took a heavy swig from it. This was my backup, as the primary was already drained. I nodded to the receptionist and made my way out of the Guild. The other adventure turned and looked at me as I passed again, and I was clearly being evaluated.
Right now, I don't care. My focus became one thing: bed.
I changed my map to point to the tavern I was staying at and set off.
The city streets were far less crowded, lit by oil lamps on posts. Most people who were crowded around the taverns at night had now fallen. Others were going to and fro, either heading home or towards the taverns.
I did my best to avoid everyone. The state of my armour, clothing and the various stains, along with my smell, kept everyone away from me. I suspected the city's pickpockets took one look at me and thought, "Not tonight." Even those who were starting to become drunk saw sense and avoided me.
I reached Low Town and was close to the Poor Man's Dream and my bed. The promise of sleep and rest gave me a brief second wind to move more quickly, which, in my condition, wasn't much at all.
I was only two streets away now. When I turned down the first of them, I came across a scene that both annoyed me and, strangely, didn't surprise me the way things have been happening today.
Jarrod and his goons were harassing a man and a woman on the street.
I watched the scene for a few seconds, wanting to walk away. I was ill and exhausted. Today had been a bad day, but that voice inside of me kept reminding me why I was here. Looking down the street at the young couple, I was reminded again. I knew this was going to cause trouble, and I wanted to end it quickly.
I walked towards the group, and they had not yet noticed me. I pulled my pistol out of its holster and planned what I was going to do. This was an open provocation to the city's Watch when they realised what I had done. I suspected I would be getting a visit from the local captain again, but right now I didn't care.
I walked forward, resting the pistol on my shoulder with the barrel pointing up and away. Now that I was close, I could hear the woman's voice speaking.
"Please leave us alone, sirs. We wish this to go home." There was a pleading note in her voice, and the young man looked angry yet tried to control himself.
"Here that boys! Sirs!" Jarrod was speaking with his back to me as I approached. "Maybe we should get that pretty mouth to work some more."
From the way he moved his arm, I suspected that as he spoke, he reached down and grabbed his groin. The young man was getting visibly angry, and I knew that they were trying to provoke him. If he swung first, they could claim that they were only doing their duties as members of the Watch, bringing him down. That would explain the number of injuries he would sustain in the process. The other three laughed evilly as they understood what he was doing.
They were so focused on the pair that they still had not seen me coming. I was almost right on top of them now. Before I could say anything, one finally spotted me.
"Jarrod behind you!" One called out, and the big man spun around. He came face-to-face with the business end of my pistol, not far from his face.
"Evening, gentleman. It seems that we have once more encountered each other in a rather unpleasant situation." I kept my voice as light and pleasant as I could. "Maybe we should allow this young couple on their way? Don't you agree?"
To punctuate my words, I pulled the hammer back with a loud click. The street had gone deathly silent. The tension was so thick in the air you could cut it with a knife. One wrong move would lead to violence, and we all knew it.
Jarrod spluttered for a few seconds, trying to get the words out. "This… You… This is a threat against the Watch!"
"Is it? Or am I just helping a young couple along their way?" I was surprised by just how calm I was. I was standing here in the middle of the street with a loaded gun pointed at the head of a member of the city's Watch. Three of his colleagues and a young couple watching me were shocked into stillness.
The second dragged on, and I noticed that one of Jarrod's crew was starting to move slowly to get around out of my line. I knew I could allow him to do that.
"If your colleague there takes one more step, I'll pull the trigger." The one trying to flank me suddenly freezes, and Jarrod's face goes pale.
"You wouldn't dare." He says. But I can hear the uncertainty in his voice. He was afraid that I would. And right now, I'm not sure I wouldn't.
"Please test me and find out. Today is not the day you want to push me." I could hear the stern tone in my own voice, and it disturbed me somewhat. When did I become this person?
Jarrod and his crew were clearly unsure of what to do. The young couple was standing there, completely terrified and frozen to the spot. As long as they didn't do anything stupid, they would be okay.
"Walk away, and this ends well. Don't, and you're the first to die." I don't know why I said it; maybe it was exhaustion, or I was just tired of all the bull shit. I want to go to bed and sleep, but here I was standing in the street staring down a crooked squad of the city's Watch. This was not why I came to this world, but it was what was happening before me.
I can see Jarrod gulp as you realise my threat was serious. One wrong move and I would pull that trigger. He lifted his arms, palms towards me, to show he was not making any hostile moves, and began backing away. The rest of his crew quickly followed suit, pulling back. No threats or jeers were uttered, but the looks I was getting told me retribution was coming.
I would have to deal with that another day.
When they were ten steps away, they turned and walked faster down the street, heading in the opposite direction I was going. The one at the back looked over his shoulder constantly to keep track of where I was. As they walked away, I uncocked the gun and let my arm fall. The young couple were still looking at me, completely shocked.
I put my pistol back into its holster and looked at them. "You'd best be heading home now in case there is more trouble."
They blinked as they tried to register my words, but it suddenly got through to them, and they nodded quickly. I watched them promptly hustled away, not looking back.
I sighed as I watched them walk away, thinking I just brought more trouble to my life than I needed. I, too, then turned and walked towards the tavern.
By the time I reached it, it was pretty busy with a night drink in full force. As I approached, they parted at the sight of my appearance and smell. I walked through the common room. Isabel approached me, and her nose wrinkled as she got close enough.
"By the God you smell! Have you been in a sewer?" She asked.
"Yes, I have," I answered. "Can I call upon you for a bath and several jugs of drinking water sent to my room?"
"As for the bath, I would insist upon it. The water I can. Do you want any food?"
"I'll take any leftovers," I told her honestly. I wasn't that hungry, but I knew I would need the energy to fight off the disease and help with the healing. My avatar's body still required food to repair itself. I didn't want to neglect this body.
"They'll be right up." She turned away and began giving orders to the wait staff.
I pulled myself upstairs. I was so close to my bed.
I got my room and unlocked the door, closing it behind me but not locking it. The food and water will be here soon. I walked over to one of the lanterns and ignited it, filling the room with a soft light from the flame. The window shutters were already closed, so I didn't have to worry about them. I began stripping off my gear, looking at my bed lovingly. I was down to my underwear when the knock came.
I opened the door slightly, stood, and saw that it was the food and water being delivered—two jugs of water and a bowl of soup on a tray with bread.
"Thank you." I took the train with the young girl and closed the door. I placed the tray on the desk and picked up one of the jugs. I began drinking, and before long, I'd finished the entire thing. By the time I finished the water ride for my bath.
I quickly cleaned myself and then dragged myself off. I picked up the bowl along with the bread and sat on the bed, eating what I could. I could only eat a small amount because my stomach was a bit queasy. I put them aside and climbed into bed after extinguishing the light.
I crawled between the sheets with my head resting on the pillow. It had been quite the day, and I knew that there would be consequences, but for right now, I was focused on trying to sleep.
The fever and I were in for a long night.