Chapter 26 - For Anemus - Juefu And New Class

Getting to Juefu was extremely difficult to reach for ordinary people like merchants and warriors wanting top-of-the-line equipment.

These people, if coming from the east would have to go through dense forests and full of dangers, and after surviving the forest, they would have to climb the mountain and again pass life and death tests.

For those coming from the west, they would have to cross Sigma's great desert, a swamp full of monsters, and then climb the mountain.

From the north or south it was the same, but with different challenges, the mountain was surrounded by dangers, but those who conquered them received their rewards.

However, this was not a problem for anyone who could reach the city from the sky.

After a day and a half of travel, Athena and Lunnia could see at the top of the mountain, the city of the exiled dwarves, Juefu.

The city was nothing like the other cities Athena had seen so far.

The houses were like small fortress with smoky chimneys. Square, with roofs and walls made of stone, and the streets were no different. They were made of stones perfectly aligned and leveled on the ground.

But the biggest difference Athena saw was that the city had no walls. They were just neatly lined houses and neat streets at the top of the mountain.

In the distance, anyone could mistake the mountain for a volcano active due to the smoke.

When they landed, Athena was impressed because even though the city was difficult to access, the city streets were just as busy as those in Reiden and the Citadel.

There was possible to identify several races, humans, elves, half-orcs, beastmen and mainly dwarves. All were from a diversity of classes. They had warriors, paladins, archers, wizards, sorcerers and others.

All were there for one purpose. Get cheap, well-made equipment by dishonored dwarves.

Juefu was built by dwarves who had fled a civil war, but now the city was primarily a haven for talented exiles.

Because of their reputation as exiles, the equipment, tools and weapons created in Juefu were cheaper than in Qartur, the nation of dwarves.

A sword in Qartur could amount to hundreds of thousands of gold coins. Already in Juefu, it was no more than thousands.

At the entrance to the city, Athena had her eyes shining. The houses were actually forges where she could see in almost all of them, muscular, bearded dwarfs using a large hammer to hit hot metals.

For someone who was a fan of dwarfs, seeing this scene was inexplicable. Every step the women took, Athena stopped and admired the work of some blacksmith.

"Athena, if you stop at every forge, at least let's rent a room at the inn. The animals are tired too." Lunnia said.

Athena looked at Kima who seemed to be sleeping as walked and at the pegasus Lunnia named 'Achilles' after Athena insisted, and he also looked exhausted.

"Okay! Let's go to the inn. Let me ask the blacksmith here, where we can find an inn and also a bank."

"Bank? What's up about the bank?"

"I need another class scroll."

***

Athena and Lunnia were trying to rent two rooms. But due of the high number of visitors to the city, most inns, hostels and hotels were fully booked.

"Room and stable space? No, girl, we have a room but no stable space."

"We have a spot in the stable, but we don't have any rooms available."

"No room and no stables. Didn't you see the 'full' sign outside?"

These were the answers they got everywhere they went. They considered putting Kima and Achilles in one place and going to sleep in another, but Athena didn't want to. When they were about to give up...

"We have a room and two spaces in the stable." Said the owner of the inn, a fox-man gentleman.

A smile spread across Lunnia and Athena's tired faces.

"We want it!" They responded at the same time.

The room was of modest elegance and had a ceramic bathtub in the corner of the room that looked very attractive to the two women.

"Do you want to go first?" Athena asked.

In that moment, Athena had become a savior goddess for Lunnia. Lunnia quickly removed her armor as the tub filled with hot water.

Athena watched Lunnia's process of undressing. Her attentive green eyes followed the woman's every move without wasting a second.

"…Are you going to keep looking at me?"

Lunnia was dressed only in a cotton shirt and brown wrought-leather pants and was about to take off her shirt when she noticed the bright eyes of a smiling Athena.

"Don't mind me, we're two women. Go ahead.", 'I'm so glad I became a woman!!!!'

"No but..."

"Don't mind me.", 'Take off those clothes!!'

"That..."

"Hm..." Athena kept smiling and looking at Lunnia no matter what she said.

In an attempt to make Athena lose interest in her, Lunnia took off her transformation ring, revealing her hybrid appearance which she thought Athena would hate because of what happened the first time they met.

However, when she turned around after taking her clothes off, she found Athena naked and more willing than ever. If she had a D***, that would definitely be up and beckoning to Lunnia.

Lunnia sighed in resignation and climbed into the tub followed by Athena. But unlike the half-demon imagined, Athena looked like an old woman melting in hot water.

The two shared a peaceful, relaxing and restorative bath without incident. After the bath, they had dinner in their room and because of the heat that the city emanated, they slept with the window open and with little clothing.

*All: I hope you didn't think too much. :v*

*J: I thought a lot. For me it happened.*

The next morning Athena went to the bank and after a few minutes there, she returned to the inn and with Lunnia present she threw dozens of scrolls on the bed.

"Are these class scrolls?" Lunnia looked curiously at the sealed silver parchments.

"Yes, it's some of the ones I have. I need to get rid of my current one. [Inventory]"

Lunnia jumped in fright at the sudden appearance of the red wooden door in the middle of the room.

"W-what is this?"

"A skill! An original version, I think, of the 'dimensional bag'."

Athena filled up her arms with scrolls of the soul, left the [Inventory] and the door disappeared.

"First I'll try with all these paladin scrolls."

"By the way. What's your class to you want to change so badly?"

Lunnia sat cross-legged on the bed. She wore only her cotton shirt while Athena wanted so badly to be naked. The day was hotter and muggy than the previous afternoon and evening.

"Right now? I'm a reaper." Athena said and Lunnia frowned.

Reapers were known as beings working for the life cycle goddess, Death, not as a class.

In general, reapers wore black robes and always walked with a lamp in hand to guide the dead. If you saw one, you were either dead or you were going to die in a few hours.

Lunnia could understand what Athena meant and Athena saw it from Lunnia's expression and laughed.

"No need to look like that. I don't understand either."

Athena took a paladin's scroll, ripped the seal and read the parchment as Iris had taught her long ago. Athena smiled longingly at the receptionist and then scowled as she used a soul scroll.

"Why hasn't it changed??" Athena complained but didn't give up.

She used ten paladin scrolls, five archer's, twenty swordsman's, two sorcerer's and lost interest in the second, discarding the classes that used magic as a main feature and continued.

On the bed, with the exception of the various scrolls of the sorcerer, wizard, cleric, druid, and elementarist, there were six scrolls.

"There are two left for the knight, one for the warrior, and three for the assassin." Lunnia with some excitement.

"Why are you so happy?"

"Because it looks like those street lotteries. You never know if you're going to win or not and you probably won't, but you're still excited by the possibility."

"Remind me never to go to a casino with you."

"Hm? What is a casino?"

"Forget about it for now. I'll go with the warrior's scroll as it's the last one." Athena took the parchment and nothing.

Athena swallowed her saliva as the tension built. She didn't want to be an assassin and that's why she left that option for last.

With the knight's scroll in hand, she repeated the procedure and the scroll burned into a bluish flame. Athena felt her muscles tense and an energy try to build inside her and then disappear.

Athena frowned tightly and took the soul scroll, using it but afraid to open it.

"A-open you!" Athena tossed the parchment at Lunnia's legs, turned and closed her eyes. Wishing with all her might that it had worked.

"Athena..." Lunnia called after opening and reading the parchment, but Athena didn't turn around. "It worked and it dont worked at same time."

"H-how so?" Athena's voice was squeaky and shaky.

"Better see for yourself." Lunnia said and opened the parchment in front of Athena's face.

"Huh?" Athena couldn't believe her eyes and squeezed them shut to make sure she wasn't having a nightmare. "D-Death Knight?"

"Congratulations?" Lunnia smirked and shrugged as Athena looked ready to fall hard to the ground.