Chapter 76 - Vol. 2 - 41

Keiko

The Zayama's feet slid along the wooden floor, trying to keep up with her opponent. The Zayama Mage remained as elusive as he had been earlier, even now, on her fifth try at this fight. At the moment, Keiko was running up to her opponent as it prepared to teleport again. She then used her Spirit Eye to determine where it would go, and once she had the spot in her mind, she turned towards it. 

"Tiron."

The creature materialized behind her, and Keiko was already turning to face it. However, try as hard as she might, she simply wasn't fast enough. 

"Shiron."

"AGH!" The Zayama Mage sent out a bolt of lightning her way that collided with Keiko's sword, knocking it out of her hands. 

Her hands trembled, as the impact of the spell felt like they'd been struck by a hammer. She fell back. The Zayama Mage pulled back a hand, about to cast another spell. Before it could do that, Haruna charged in and slashed across its misty neck, killing the creature. 

EXP Gained: 30

EXP: 240/240

Level Up!

And yet, the words above her did nothing to console Keiko as she let her head hit the wood and sighed. I just can't do it!  She yelled at herself internally. Haruna was at her side quickly, extending a hand to help her up. 

"Good try," Haruna said. Keiko didn't respond. Haruna shook her head and, with a soft tone, said, "listen, as I said, you need some anticipation in this fight that doesn't come from your Spirit Eye. You need to be fast, predict where it might go, and start moving before even using your ability. That's how you beat this thing." 

"I'm not fast enough!" Keiko lamented as she placed both of her points into her Dexterity, leaving her status like this:

Level 23

MP: 100/100

EXP: 0/250

---

STR: 25

DEX: 40

CON: 10

INT: 10

WIS: 10

L: 5

"Patience, you'll get it with enough practice." 

"No, I won't!" Keiko felt herself getting angry. It was a sentiment she wasn't used to, but soon, she was yelling at her teacher. "I'm just not fast enough! I'm... Agh!" 

And so, sheathing her sword, Keiko stormed out of the room. Haruna sighed behind her, quickly moving to follow Keiko as she walked down, all the way to the first floor and out into the woods. Here, Keiko paced back and forth a few times. 

Eventually, she ended up sitting on the dirt below, putting her knees up to her chest and resting her head in her arms. 

Beating this castle at this level, with just a 7 on my sword proficiency.  Keiko thought. I'm so stupid! Why did I think this would work!?

A hand fell on her shoulder and Keiko almost shook it off. 

"Calm yourself," Haruna urged. "Just breathe for a bit. Let your frustration in, and then let it out." 

She glared at Haruna, but then Keiko closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She did this once, twice, until her skin didn't feel quite as hot as before. 

"Good. Listen, it's okay to be mad. That's the feeling that drives us all to improve, after all. But, I won't have you thinking you're a subpar fighter. You're not. You just need more practice, that's all." 

Keiko shook her head. 

"... I need a break," she then muttered. In truth, they'd been doing nothing but fighting since they got here. It was only when she said this that she realized how sore she was. Her arms, her legs, her abs, every part of her ached for some rest. And, now that she was aware of these sensations, they stood out all the more. 

I feel like I've been running up and down a mountain for weeks.  She thought. 

"Okay," Haruna nodded. "That's fine. In fact," Haruna reached down for her to stand up. Keiko did so. "We needed to take a break anyway. We've run out of food after all." 

"Oh," Keiko muttered. "So, we're gonna go hunt?" 

"No." Haruna shook her head. "I figured we'd take a day off and head over to Onyx. Stock up on supplies there, see the sights a little and come back. Would you like to do that?" 

Keiko looked down at her own hands for a moment. Even curling her fingers ached. 

"Fine." 

---

Some minutes later, she and Haruna were walking on the dirt road to Onyx, and Keiko saw the city in the distance, just a short walk away. It looked like a collection of grey buildings, with smoke rising up to the sky from various parts. 

Eventually, they were near the gate, which was made of iron as opposed to the wood that Keiko knew from Jade. At the sides were horses tied up and ropes that connected to the gate's handles. As they drew closer, a guard walked up to them. 

"Identification?" 

"Is the city closed off?" Haruna asked, as though just asking this question was unusual. Indeed, Keiko never remembered being asked for identification at Jade, but she assumed that was because she was traveling with Saviors. Or, because the gates were open to any and all who wanted to enter or leave.

"No," the guard shook his head, as Haruna handed him a card of some sort. He was dressed in black leather. "It's just that recently we have had bandits coming into the city, stealing from stores and running out. It's been happening so frequently that now, we have to check to see if people are registered before they come in." 

"Why?" Haruna asked. 

"Because, with what happened to Pearl," the guard explained, "some, uh, less optimistic people are assuming every city will go down like they did. They're trying to get as many resources as they can before that happens. Paranoid people, basically. Okay," he turned towards someone on top of the walls. "Let them in!" He called out. 

And so, with some mechanism pulling the gates open, their way was cleared.

The card was given back to Haruna and the two Zayamas walked forwards. 

It took just a few more steps before Keiko ran into various things that shocked her. On the sides, there were horses. Except, these were not like the ones outside. These were covered with metal armor, weapons locked in place at their sides. 

She hadn't noticed it before, but as she looked at the guards flanking her now as she walked in, she noticed they weren't carrying swords. Instead, they had oversized steel crossbows, with equally large metal arrows. 

Atop a pole to her right, there was a silver orb, glowing blue. From that orb, a voice emerged and Keiko flinched. 

"Ladies and gentlemen who come from other cities, remember to head to the Citizen's Office and create an ID. It will be needed to reenter Onyx during these trying times." 

It wasn't just the technology that was on her mind right now either.

Being here, surrounded by people who were all dressed in clean, elegant-looking clothes, made Keiko realize she hadn't taken a bath in a few days. 

Oh, no. I must smell horrible!  She didn't even want to lean towards her pits to check. 

"Uhm, where are we going?" Keiko asked. "I... Kind of need to..." 

"A shower?" Haruna asked, laughing. "Yes, yes. I know. We'll rent a room out and get our supplies after that. Come. There should be an inn close by." 

Indeed, it didn't take long at all to find a place, mainly because the words "NEW AGE INN" were displayed on large, glowing, floating letters outside of one of the buildings. 

What the heck is all of this?  Keiko wondered, keeping her hands close together shyly as she walked in, following Haruna. 

Inside, it took just three seconds for them to be approached by people. 

Two workers walked up to them. A man and a woman, both looking like they were around Keiko's own age. When Keiko saw how they were dressed, she blushed.

The girl had on the strangest outfit Keiko had ever seen. With her black hair tied into a long ponytail, it was like she'd been wearing a fully black outfit and decided to have the sleeves and pants cut off, save for some long black gloves she was wearing. Her legs were completely exposed, with black heels at her feet, and her chest was pushed together by her clothing, making her breasts pop out.

The man, on the other hand, was completely shirtless, showing off a thin, but toned physique. He had black bracelets and a black bowtie at his neck, with a black hat on top of his head, almost hiding blonde hair. He wore slim, black business shoes. 

Seeing them both, Keiko turned away, feeling embarrassed. 

"Hello loves, welcome to the New Age Inn!" The girl energetically said. 

"Do you know what you will be ordering first or do you need time to think it over?" The man asked. "Do remember, we do offer  extra," he said with a heavy emphasis, "services if you would prefer those, but only at night, of course." 

"We need a room," Haruna said kindly, gesturing at herself and her student. "With a shower, preferably." 

"Ah, understood, right this way." The man led them to a counter. 

Haruna did most of the talking as she set things up for them. Keiko, mostly, was trying her hardest not to blush harder as she took in more of the sights around her. There were a lot of regular paintings on the walls, depicting landscapes and such, but a few of them were fairly lewd, showing naked men and women doing various things Keiko hadn't been ready to see. At the back, there was an open door that led to a dimly lit room. Music was playing from it, mixing in with festive-sounding people. 

Keiko felt cold, and then she noticed that at the corners of the room were jars containing what looked like flowers made of ice. From them, mist emerged, covering the room. 

"Done, come on, Keiko." Haruna said. 

"R-Right." 

And so, she walked upstairs with her teacher, to the first room on the left. 

It was fairly large, with two beds and another, smaller room on the right side. There was also a dresser in front of the bed, and a large mirror. 

"What was all that?" Keiko couldn't help but ask. 

"Heh," Haruna chuckled. "Onyx is a strange place. I've heard their love for business and industry has slowly come to be matched by their love for other things. Personally, I don't like it, but I do find it funny. Just ignore them, they'll get the message. Anyway, here, come." 

Keiko walked with her to the smaller room. 

"This is called a 'shower'. You flip this knob," she showed Keiko, "and water comes out of there, into this drain below." 

Keiko flinched when that happened, seeing a spurt of water aimed in a very concentrated way. 

"You can close these curtains for some privacy. Well, would you like to go first?" 

"Y-Yes, please." 

"Very well." 

Even taking a bath was strange in this city. Keiko stood there, naked, feeling the water hit her as she ran some soap over her body, and then she was surprised to find the water getting hotter. 

It was admittedly refreshing though, and she walked out feeling like she'd washed ages worth of dirt off of herself. 

Haruna did the same, and soon, they were both sitting on the bed, getting dressed in some of the clothes that were already in the room. Keiko ended up with a long-sleeved, v-neck white shirt and long, baggy, black pants, with some white socks and black shoes that felt like slippers. 

"Okay, well, this room is ours for the next week," Haruna told her. "I realize you may be far more tired than I am. Do you want to stay here for a bit?" Haruna asked. "I'll get some stuff for us to pack and you can rest up. How does that sound?" 

"Um... Sure." Keiko shrugged. 

"Alright then, I'll be right back." 

With those words, her teacher left the room. 

Keiko lowered her head, running her hands over the sheets of the bed, finding that this was the softest surface she'd been on in a while. 

... Everything I'd heard about Onyx had led me to believe they were a business-like people. So far, it feels like that was a lie.  Keiko thought.  Hm. Maybe I shouldn't be too quick to judge though. I don't know. 

Then, someone knocked on the door. She stood up and walked over to it. Opening the door, she found the girl from earlier, holding up a plate in front of her. On it were some strange things that looked like pastries. 

"Hi again, love!" She said, with an energy that reminded Keiko of Kaori. "Some biscuits, for ya." She spoke with an accent that Keiko found almost humorous. 

"Uh, I, um, I mean, I d-didn't order..." Keiko trailed off, clearing her throat. 

"Ah, methinks ya misunderstand, these are on the house! Comes with the room!" Before Keiko could reply, she put the plate in Keiko's hands and stepped back. "Ya clean up nicely, by the way. Name's Caroline, if ya need anything else, don't hesitate to ask!" 

Shocked, Keiko stood there as the door closed, holding the plate full of "biscuits" in her hands. 

I... What just happened?