NOVEL WEB Chapter 117: Unfounded Fears
I did it, I finally arrived at the border… The Tree of Life… if God will not show me the path, I will need the strength to pave it…
Kai left the Guild Headquarters, holding another receipt in his hand. Onyx followed closely behind him, turning the heads of newcomers, who whispered amongst themselves upon seeing his larger-than-usual figure. The older members rolled their eyes, having already grown accustomed to seeing his fluffy tail wag behind the young boy.
“Looks like we’re going to need to take on tougher jobs… However, fuck, my rank is still too low.” Kai told Onyx as he sat on the bench, letting out an exhausted sigh as he stared at the moon. “I never thought I’d ever need money… but Barhm, that bastard…!”
Images of Dark Crystals after Dark Crystals, medicinal plants, and tools flashed in Kai’s mind, accompanied by how much everything cost. He raised a hand to his heart, the pain of watching his parents’ money be washed away for a scientific experiment imposed upon him by a foreign will pounding against his chest.
Damn it Rodney… I can’t even read his notes, why are you doing this to me? He yelled inwardly as if the memories could respond. Of course, Kai knew that mere memories could not affect his state of being, however, who else could he blame for his irresponsible spending? Truly, it’s his fault… haha. Chuckling to himself, he took a deep breath, despite the mask’s best attempt to suffocate him.
“Woof!” Onyx barked, jumping on the bench and laying his fluffy head on Kai’s lap.
“Well, you’re still heavy…” Kai joked, petting his companion’s head as the two stared at the people passing by. Despite how far away this city was from Mnatu - The Demi-Human city - They were still present in large numbers. From Mnatu people with animal limbs to people covered in fur and a human head, or to people with a split body, the Mnatu race was by far - according to both Kai and Barhm - One of the most interesting races in this world.
I wonder how they even came to be… actually no, I don’t want to know.
As he got ready to leave, a familiar set of footsteps rang in his ears, and a wave of warmth ran down his spine as he turned his head. Him again… is he stalking me?
“Ah, Ichor, what a surprise to see you!” Raymond said, face full of smiles.
Is it?
“Mister Raymond…” Kai sighed and brushed Onyx off of him, standing up to meet the man. “What a coincidence.”
“Indeed,” Raymond said, the smile never once leaving his face. “I was wondering what our young adventurer was doing.”
But then, a light chuckle escaped his lips. “It’s funny, you always sit down here after exiting our guild.”
“Well,” Kai said, his face red. “I just enjoy having a bit of time to digest events. And the night here is beautiful.”
Raymond sighed and looked up, his blue eyes reflecting the stars, and said in a heartfelt, sincere voice. “It truly is, not even the capital compares. It’s one of the reasons I moved here…” He turned to Kai, and his tone suddenly changed. “And I’ll do everything in my power to protect it.” His voice held a faint threatening aura, unlike before, sending an eerie feeling down Kai’s spine.
“Luckily this town is away from most problems…” Raymond said as he stood up, giving Kai a firm pat on the head and handing Onyx a piece of meat.
That guy’s got a loose screw… Kai thought, rubbing his head and staring at the disappearing figure. I don’t even know what to make of him.
Onyx quickly ate the meat, disappearing as soon as it entered his mouth, and he licked his lips as he too looked at Raymond with a wagging tail. Kai raised an eyebrow and smacked the obborik on the head, clicking his tongue. “You trust strangers too easily.”
“Awr…”
…
As they walked through the alley, the weird feeling of being followed sprung up inside Kai once again, however, he couldn’t confirm his suspicions. He circled a few buildings and passed from the south side of town to the north, then back to the south again, until he felt like he was safe. Then, he cast a concealing spell on him and Onyx, and snuck back toward Barhm’s place, quickly phasing through the wall.
Barhm raised an eyebrow at Kai’s rush, and quickly got up from his couch, throwing aside the document he was reading and immediately pulled out a few dark crystals. “What’s wrong? Where’s the war? Who are we killing?”
Kai took a deep breath and turned to the boy, who looked ready to cause a massacre. “We’re not killing anyone, at least, I think so.” He said, pulling his hood down. “But I think someone’s been following me.”
“Following you?” Barhm put away his weapons and looked at Kai with a bewildered expression. “That’s it?”
“What- what do you mean that’s it? Isn’t it a big deal?”
“Well, not really.” He brushed away Kai’s worries with a wave of the hand. “Not like we’re doing anything illegal.”
“Illegal, maybe not, but it sure as hell is suspicious!”
Barhm rolled his eyes, and let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Suspicions can always be cleared. Plus, didn’t you follow me? What, are you scared of having another research member?”
Kai paused for a moment, stared at the boy, and his right eyelid twitched as he let out a sigh. “It’s not the same thing… Who knows what kind of weirdo will just… barge in here!”
The boy looked at Kai, his expression as cold as a glacier, and scanned his appearance. A fox masked with plenty of holes, always hooded and hidden, wearing a couple of layers of clothes and walking around with a ‘Mutant Great Wolf’. “Yeah… wouldn’t want any sort of weirdos in here.” He said in an ironic, almost mocking tone. He turned around and walked toward the makeshift lab, signaling Kai to follow.
“Huh, what’s that supposed to mean?” Kai asked, chasing after him, however he got no answer whatsoever. Instead, he was welcomed by a stack of neatly arranged papers on his desk, right next to the yet-to-be-assembled microscope. Darky - now sitting in a cage much bigger and stronger than before - stood almost motionless as the void of its fur escaped through the bars.
“What’s all th-” Kai stopped himself mid-sentence as he looked at the much too familiar, messy handwriting, and similarly familiar language. <
“Not all, but most of it.”
“Wha- Why?” Kai asked, a smile almost beaming through his mask.
“I got tired of you butchering my language,” Barhm said, without adding another comment and getting back to his work.
“Heh.” Kai chuckled, and sat down, grabbing the papers and devouring all the information on them like he hadn’t eaten in several weeks. Onyx sat next to Darky, glaring at the beast, however little to no malice could be seen within his yellow pupils. Instead, he nudged the weird beast with his snout and yelped in short bursts.
Darky’s head raised, its violet eyes glowing through his thick fur, and let out a similarly sounded yelp, imitating Onyx.
Looks like they’ve grown closer to each other. Kai thought, his ears twitching. Well, I guess it’s better than being left alone… then again the best course of action would be to let it out, but at this point, I’m scared of what it might, or can do.
Pulling out a few pieces of meat, he threw them at the two, much to Barhm’s disdain, then went back to reading the translated papers.
…
“I think we’re close…” Barhm’s voice broke the silence as he finished scribbling one last thing onto his papers.
“We are?” Kai quickly turned and almost jumped to his feet as he approached the boy’s desk.
“Yes, look.” He placed a piece of raw meat onto the table, then took out a vial from his ring. It was small, very small, no bigger than his pinkie, and it seemed to be empty. However, as he opened it, and poured a drop over the meat, it gradually disappeared before Kai’s very eyes, much like Darky’s invisibility. He reached to pick it up, however before he could even get close enough, it turned back visible. Its shape, now, however, was rotten, aged, and inedible.
“What the”
“Well, I didn’t expect that,” Barhm said, nonchalantly, and placed the vial back within his ring. “Back to the drawing board, I guess.”
“That was…”
“A failed experiment.” The boy interjected, leaning back on the chair. “But it’s progress. You need to hurry up assembling that thing, I think I will have better success if I can see what’s happening.”
“Yeah- I’ll get to it soon… soon enough at least.”
Barhm sighed and got up, scratching his back. “I’m going to take a nap, this whole thing is exhausting.”
“Mhm, sure,” Kai replied half-heartedly, his eyes glued to the documents. Unbelievable… so much detailed information and research. This is months' worth of work… even if it’s almost illigible… haha. He was captivated by the information, his curiosity fueled by the desire to learn, and, paired with Rodney’s memories, he was able to translate and understand the majority of the documents. Despite not being able to see the changes at a molecular level, Barhm still managed to almost successfully replicate its effects. Is he a genius?
Kai asked himself, questioning the boy’s old identity. I don’t fully understand what he’s doing, or who he’s working for, but he isn’t running around like a headless chicken, unlike me. He let out a light chuckle and continued his lecture, with the sound of Barhm’s snoring accompanying him.
…
Hours passed, and Kai felt the crack of dawn rapidly approach. I don’t want to crash at his place again… He sighed and leaned on the chair after putting down the paper he was reading. Glancing at Onyx, a smile creased his lips as he nudged the boy awake, signaling with his head.
Onyx yawned softly and got up, lazily dragging his feet toward Kai. He took a short look at Darky, who seemed to be sleepy and walked out the door alongside his companion. Passing by the sleeping Barhm, Kai scoffed and quickly phased through the wall
He had to get home quickly, lest he spend the day outside. Luckily he left just in time, so the sun would not be able to harm him even if he took his time. However, he ran, afraid of the consequences if he got caught by the star. Even with several layers of cloth, the sun still reaches my skin… it’s so annoying! But if it were that easy to escape it, there wouldn’t be any need for him to only go out at night.
Hurrying over to Karfi’s place, he slammed the doors open and let out a breath of relief upon feeling the comfortable security of the place he’d been calling home for the last couple of months. Now, besides the usual Karfi, Tausi, and Natasha, sat at the bar with a leisurely expression. There were new additions - Yasa, Lutha, and the large man. They’re here again?! Kai asked himself as he awkwardly passed by, approaching the counter.
Lutha didn’t waste any time and brought out a piece of jerky, which, after giving Kai a glance for approval, Onyx went to and ate it from the man’s hand. “I thought you wouldn’t come back.” Kai grabbed the glass of water Karfi gave him, and sipped it with a straw.
“Well, we’re going to leave south soon, I just wanted to visit one more time before going,” Yasa said, staring at a half-empty glass of alcohol. “I still miss those guys even though so much happened between us… Why am I even telling all this to a Kid?” She sighed and downed her liquor before letting out a satisfied sigh. Karfi chuckled, slightly, and poured her another glass.
“It’s unlike you to say such things so easily.” Natasha played with her drink, holding the glass by the rim and softly rotating the alcohol around. “Has that kid gotten under your skin so fast?”
Yasa glanced at Kai for a moment, then scoffed, leaning her elbows on the table as her lips parted. “As if.”
Kai glanced at her as well, then turned around and finished his drink before jumping down from the chair. “I’m a bit tired, I’ll go to sleep early today.” He yawned and glanced at Onyx, who seemed to be enjoying himself. I’ll leave him be I guess…
Karfi and Natasha nodded with a soft smile, while Yasa looked at him with a curious expression. “Does he sleep all day?”
The two glanced at each other and gave a helpless nod. “Yeah, pretty much, honestly I’m surprised we even stay up this late.”
“Why… why though?” Yasa looked toward the door that Kai disappeared behind. “Isn’t that… a little suspicious?”
“Hum? What do you mean by that?” Karfi asked, raising an eyebrow. “You think he’s…?”
Yasa’s heart skipped a beat and gently shook her head. “No, no, that’d be insane…”
…
In his room, Kai let out a heavy sigh and took off his mask before making sure the window was tightly sealed with the curtains, clothes, and magic, and that his bed was nowhere near where the sun would shine. He locked the door and took off his clothes. First his cloak, then his shirt, and the shirt below that, and the last one below. Same for the pants and shoes. Despite all his precautions, however, new scars appeared next to the old ones he incurred during his reckless actions.
He sighed and rubbed his newly acquired wounds, taking out his wand, and placing a light concealing spell over the window just to be sure. That’s gonna burn through a lot of my mana throughout the day… But I can’t stand waking up to so many burns, it’s like a dozen mosquitos all over my skin. Kai closed his eyes and crossed his legs, pulling a red pill from his ring and ingesting it as he focused on healing his body. I don’t want any permanent scars after all…
Taking a deep breath, and exhaling gently, the new wounds on his body slowly began to heal/ Some of them disappeared, whilst some would remain forever, marking his body. He clicked his tongue but knew that it was better than nothing. However, when even the moon hurt him through a thick layer of clothes, he couldn't help but worry. After all… things can only get worse. He thought as he remembered the taste of fresh blood on his lips. Shaking his head as he shivered, he decided to distract himself by circulating his Mixed Core Technique. Although it barely helped him make progress, there was some progress, and he was happy with it.
At least I can reach the next rank at this rate… in a few months. This is annoying- I wish I could advance at a normal rate but… he sighed again. At least I can train.
He kept circulating the technique, gathering as much mana as he could and sending it toward his core. The more he did this, the less effective his technique was, although he had no other choice for the moment. Kai kept going until his eyelids trembled, and he fell asleep after doing one last cycle. He covered himself with two large blankets and tucked himself in, letting out a large yawn and turning away from the window.