"Finally," Jade sighed. "Good job, Leo. That was a smart use of that spell."
A hand tousled Leo's damp hair. He took a deep breath as the cold seeped into his bones. The water gently rocked against him. His body floated, bobbing on the surface. It was almost peaceful after what he'd experienced in the slime.
"Thanks," Leo said. His teeth chattered. "But I wouldn't have been able to do it if you didn't teach me that spell."
It was true. If Jade had taught him any other spell, he'd probably be dead right now. If it were a monster that couldn't be purified, well, maybe they would all be dead.
Jade laughed. "Yeah? Then maybe I do get some credit." She grinned. "Now get out of there before you freeze to death."
Leo groaned, turning as his wrinkled hands gripped the stone ledge. His arms trembled. The cold air bit his soaked skin. He could barely lift himself out of the water.
Two sets of arms hooked between his and hauled him out.
"Are you okay, Leo?" Roland asked.
A heavy hand nearly knocked Leo over as it patted his back. He was cold, but that was about it. If anything else, he'd find out later, but for all he knew, everything was okay.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'll probably take a health potion to make sure," Leo said, unhooking one from his belt.
Roland nodded. "Alright, that's a good idea."
"By the way, your necklace is there," Jade's voice echoed throughout the silent reservoir.
His necklace.
He forgot that he had one. The interface never actually told him what it was exactly, even when he first picked it up. Snile gave it to him, so it was probably something special.
Leo turned, and there it was. A dark string floating in the water with something blue shimmering beneath the surface. Beside it was a sphere the size of a soccer ball made up of three pieces.
The water stung as he reached for the necklace, like it was guarding something sacred. His fingers wrapped around the cord, the chill racing down his forearm.
[Bluescale Necklace]
CONDITION: Ancient
RARITY: Mythic
TYPE: Accessory
PASSIVE ABILITIES:
[Shallow Soulsight]
'Grants wearer the ability to see the general stats of others.'
'A necklace formed from the legendary Bluescale Gecko's...'
That's interesting. So he can see the general stats of other people if he wears it. That doesn't seem too useful, but at the same time, it could help him learn more about the world. Maybe he could see the levels of Jade and Roland.
"Who gave you that?" Jade asked. "It seems pretty mythical."
Leo looked up at her. What should he say? If he told the truth, it might seem weird. But somehow Jade could tell that it looked somewhat mythical.
He must've looked scared or something, since she didn't give him a chance to answer.
Jade laughed, sighing as she undid the bun on her head. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to take your necklace."
That was kinda reassuring. She could be lying, but it wasn't time to be all skeptical now.
"Someone in the prison gave me this before I left," Leo answered. The blue scales seemed to glow as he spoke. "I forgot that I had it, though. Thanks for reminding me."
"Ah, that makes sense. There was a weird snake dude next to your cell," Jade said. "Must be something pretty special, even if you barely knew him."
Leo laughed. "I guess so."
Water splashed from beside them. They turned to look.
Roland reached into the water, grabbing the ball. Each piece of the ball was a different metallic color. A piece was a matte red, one was slightly yellow, and another was an off-white. The pieces each had a circular hole punched into them, making them look like the letter L but flipped.
"Here's the artifact inside the slime," Roland said, rolling it in his hands. "This is the legendary item. I'm not sure what use this would be for us, but maybe we can sell it back to the city."
"You're kidding. We nearly died for this thing?" Jade scoffed, tossing her head back. "That literally looks like a magical toilet scrubber."
Roland tucked the ball beneath his arm. "It can clean almost anything. That's what it says in its description."
"So what?" Jade asked. She picked up her lamp and headed towards the corridor they'd come from.
Leo followed her, shivering. The legendary item they came for sounded more like a glorified filter than anything.
"I believe it tried to purify the sewers on its own," Roland explained as heavy footsteps rang throughout the reservoir. "But the sewage was too corrupted and it spawned the Sewer Slime."
"Sure, sure," Jade waved. "But how does it benefit us?"
"We can sell it for a good price," Roland said. "If not, then we can use it to clean things...I suppose." Roland's nose scrunched with his last word. If he was hiding his disappointment, he was doing a pretty good job.
Their footsteps drummed in the dark as they made their way out of the reservoir. For some reason, the corridor and the sewers felt safer. It was still as quiet as ever. No squeaks or scratches around them. Not even the sound of running sewage.
"I better be getting paid big money," Jade grumbled.
"You will, especially after we sell this," Roland sighed. "Since you want to so bad."
Jade's head swiveled over her shoulder, eyes gleaming. The hair on Leo's arms raised. She looked like a cat ready to pounce.
"Oh, so that's how it is?" Jade grinned. Her words dripped with malice. "I don't want just money, though, I want something legendary!"
She lunged forward, snatching the Tri-Sphere from Roland's grip. In a blink, a dagger appeared in her hand. She wedged the tip of her dagger into the seam of the red segment, tilting it as she licked her lips.
Roland's eyes widened. "Hey, stop that."
Roland lunged past Leo to grab the sphere, forcing Leo to sidestep out of the way.
Jade cackled as she tilted the blade upwards. "There better be something inside it! If not, I'll make sure they regret it."
"Stop! You're gonna break it, Jade!" Roland pleaded as he grabbed the sphere.
Then there was a metallic crack.
A large crevice formed along the red piece of the sphere.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Roland's eyes widened. Leo's did as well.
"Oh," Jade stopped.
Roland's lower lip trembled. "L-look at what you did..." His voice cracked, half heartbreak and half anger.
Leo blinked. What did he just witness? This was odd coming from them, especially Roland. Roland had never reacted like this before. Leo wanted to laugh, but now was definitely not the time.
But it was for Jade.
"Haha! I did it! Now there's no going back, Roland," Jade lilted with a smug smirk.
Roland's eye twitched. He snatched the ball from her hands, smacking it on the side of her head.
"Ow! What was that for?" Jade pouted.
"Shut up and get us out of here," Roland sighed.
They twisted and turned for a while. Jade spent the walk pestering Roland with nonstop questions. It wasn't long before they surfaced.
"Finally, fresh air!" Jade shouted with a deep stretch. "Next time, Roland, don't take a quest like that again. I think we can afford to skip those."
The breeze brushed against Leo, drifting into his nose. He wasn't sure if the spell had worn off yet, but the air was clean. It smelled like a fresh summer breeze and tasted like a pure icy spring. The sun was still high in the sky. He never learned how to tell the time based on it, but it wasn't too hard. It was a little past noon.
"Don't tell me what to do," Roland glared, pinching the crack in the Tri-Sphere together. "Not after what you did."
"Aw, come on. We're going to sell it anyway," Jade waved.
Leo gasped as the air hit his damp clothes. He wanted to change into something dry, but there was a problem. There were no clothes to change into.
"Um, so what now?" Leo asked. His voice cracked from the silence he kept earlier.
Roland scratched his jaw. "Well, we're going to go claim our reward."
"Mhm. At the Adventurer's Guild," Jade added.
The Adventurer's Guild.
Leo's heart skipped. This was only real in fantasy stories, and now he was living in it. He couldn't imagine all the different people he'd see thereâthe various classes, races, gear, weapons, and even more. This was something that only happened in dreams.
"Alright, let's go," Jade said.
As they walked through the streets, Leo could feel the stares. Elves' eyes bore into him until he disappeared from view, humans stared and gossiped, and dwarves stole glances. Leo's head dropped, biting his lower lip.
Damn it. He was dropping his head in shame by instinct. It made his skin crawl that he did. If he looked odd before, he looked even more out of place now with his damp hair and soaked clothes.
That's right. Jade and Roland are different. They treated him with more respect than any of these other people did. They treated him like he belongedâbut he didn't. He wasn't a human, a dwarf, or an elf.
He was a Dwendol.
"What's up with that? Why is that Dwendol with them?" a voice whispered.
Leo's muscles tightened. His eyes widened.
"I thought they were supposed to be near the outskirts?" another asked.
A lump formed in his throat.
Jade slowed down, probably noticing that he slowed down. Leo thought he could hear Roland sigh.
It was okay. All he had to do was keep walking. His eyes locked onto bloody, blue feet. Leo's heart drummed. Why him? Why was he the only Dwendol in the city? There had to be othersâ¦right? He couldnât be the only one.
The world blurred. Red on blue on yellow was all he could see, blended like a low-quality photo.
No. Just keep walking. That was all he needed to do. These words and stares were nothing. He didn't care, right?
Sure enough, the words seemed to get quieter.
See? It wasn't that hard.
"Did you hear that a Dwendol killed a man?"
Jade stopped briefly. Leo bumped into her mindlessly.
It wasn't that hard...
His throat clamped up. Each breath shallower than the last. The low-quality image before him turned crystal clear. The drumming in his chest was real, very real. Those bloodied, crooked toes were his. That Dwendolâwas him.
It wasn't that hard...to kill a man.
"Murder, you mean," a man scoffed.
Leo bit his lower lip.
It wasn't murder.
"I think we should seriously consider kicking Dwendols out for good. If they're willing to murder us, then who knows what else they're willing to do?"
No. They don't deserve that. His mother, father, sister, Aunt Maggie, and everyone else back home deserved to stay. It was he, Leo, who did it. Not all Dwendols are killers. They're loving, just as loving as any other race. They suffer and feel joy just like everyone else. Why couldn't they understand that?
They stopped, Leo's head pressed into something.
"We're here, Leo," a woman called to him.
He didn't know who, but they knew his name. It sounded familiar. Their voice was calmer than he was used to. Warmer. Softer.
"Leo, you're brave, you know? You're stronger than you know," the woman said.
He didn't say anything. It didn't matter how strong he was if he was hated. If there was no love. If this strength he had caused that run-down Dwendol village to get exiled, what was the purpose?
The thing in front of him moved, turning around.
"It hurts to be hated, but are you going to let that affect you forever? There's always at least one person who loves you," a slender hand tangled in his hair. "An adventuring Dwendol is a rare sight, rarer than diamonds."
Leo looked up.
Green eyes were waiting for him. Their golden locks glowing against the blue sky.
Jade.
A warm smile spread on her face. It was the first time he'd seen her like this with a genuine, compassionate smile.
"Live. And if you can't, then live for yourself, for your dreams. Because Dwendols dream too, you know?" Her smile turned into a grin.
Leo's heart thudded erratically, eyes widening as they stung with tears. Teeth sank into his lower lip as he blinked them back.
There were still good people in this world.
There was still good.
And just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Jade was back to normal.
Her warm grin changed. "Anyone tell you that you cry a lot?"
Leo blinked. "Oh, uh, yeah...I heard that quite a bit."
"Hah! Well, I'm the second person then," Jade laughed.
Leo looked at Roland. A warm, small smile was on his face.
So this was what Roland meant.
Leo sighed, a smile working on his face as well. His heart ached the wider his smile grew. He didn't realize it, but he took them for granted. Luck was on his side for them to meet, and they might never see each other again.
His eyes looked at the grand building before them. This was one of the buildings that towered over all the others. It was amazing.
The Guild looked more like a palace than anything he'd seen online. Yellowish brick walls formed the entirety of the Guild, while vibrant, blue bricks and shingles covered the roof. Large windows were placed on the front, revealing the life inside. Stairs lead the way to large, embroidered wooden doors. It looked too good to be trueâlike even the highest-ranking adventurers didnât belong.
The sound of someone's breath sputtering broke his trance.
"Haha! Gotcha good, huh? That's not the Guild, dummy. Itâs that one," Jade laughed.
She pointed to a crowded wooden building with a hole in its wall.
Leo blinked. âOh.â His face flushed. That made a lot more sense.
"I hope you didn't think ragged adventurers would live like nobles," Jade grinned. "We're all in this together, even if it reeks of beer and blood sometimes."
The real Guild looked nice and towered over houses, but it was very modest compared to whatever this cathedral was. It was more like what he expected. Large, wooden, pretty nice, but nothing special.
"Yeah, the Guild is over there. This is the Royal Crest Vault, which holds valuable items and money," Roland added. "It also holds the valuable rewards from the Guild."
"That makes sense," Leo said. "Well, I'll be outside waiting for you two."
Roland nodded. "Alright, it shouldn't take long." Then they left.
Leo sighed. Alone againâand soon, heâd be alone for real. This alliance was temporary. His heart ached. With a deep breath, he plopped onto the grass.
It sucked. It really did. At first, they were a crutch, an escape plan. But now, he cared about them. One day was enough to see the genuine, good-willed nature in Jade and Roland. And he didn't deserve to stay with them for that exact reason.
His eyes scanned the plaza. The vendor stands were packed, kids kicked a ball across the square, and people walked their separate ways. A warmth formed in his heart. He wanted this. To live freely. He wanted to visit each vendor's stand, make friends, buy a home, and maybe even find love.
He looked at the sky. Clouds floated across the blue canvas as birds circled in the air. The hubbub of the plaza complemented it so well. He wanted to live, but why? Jade told him to live for himself if he had nothing else. To live for a dream, but he wasn't sure if he had one.
A sigh left his chest. How long has it been already? His clothes were already drying, and his mind was running in circles. Every time he closed his eyes and thought of the future, there was nothing. It was like he had no future. There was nothing for him after this.
He plucked a blade of grass.
But that probably wasn't true.
"So we got our money, that's fine with me," Jade's voice said from behind him. "But why didn't we sell that magical toilet scrubber?"
"We can always sell it later," Roland answered. "Besides, I think this is something to keep for memory's sake."
Leo looked over his shoulder. There they were, walking towards him. The Tri-Sphere was in Roland's hand, and the crack had somehow been repaired perfectly.
"Yeah, yeah," Jade said, shaking her head. "We're back, Leo, here's your share."
She handed a leather pouch to Leoâthe faint outline of coins pressed against its seams.
He stared at the bag for a moment, then he lifted his hand. Tremors shook his arm as it reached towards the reward. His heart ached as his breaths grew shallow.
Why was he feeling this way? Did he just have to cry every time or something? He was tired of it.
His eyes stung with tears. He blinked hard, biting his lower lip.
Then he grabbed his reward.
Their time had come to an end.