14xx/5/5

5th day since arrival…

Welp, Happy Village is happy.

It seems that I came a bit late for the party. The Harpies has already returned home. There was a massive rejoicing on the street. The village was situated on a low hill with the village's chief being on top of the hill. But it was nothing compared to the large tree that shadows over the village. The harpies flew to and fro in the sky, celebrating their return to their beloved husbands in the village. The youth in the village also cheered, happy that their betrothed has returned home alive and well.

From what I gather from the local guide, the Happiness Village was a village with a strong tie to the Harpy Village through marriage contract. The boys in the village would be betrothed to the harpies of the other village, thus ensuring a healthy relationship between the neighbouring villages. He also says that it works to relieve any boys who have hit puberty, preventing the village from smelling like cum through regular masturbation.

That's a brilliant idea. Why can't we have more policies like that?!

Through some legwork I found out that the Harpies have been infected by an ancient virus that enhance their libido and remove their inhibition, in short it means that the virus makes them a rampaging sex machine and will rape anybody regardless of age or health. The harpies loved their human friends and want to protect them, so they quarantined themselves in a tower hidden in the heavy forest. Oddly, the same hero who has defeated the Heavenly Bandit at Iliasburg is the one responsible for their recovery.

Well, my job here is done. All I need to do is to use the Harpy feather and teleport back to Iliasburg.

Or maybe I could check out the cool shit they have here…

It was harmless to check out their wares right? So I did just that, inspecting the wares the marketplace was selling. Beside from the ubiquitous fruit and vegetables, I also found some item that I might need in my journey. I bought some Ilias Herb and some Harpy feathers too. The merchant behind the counter explained to me how it works. He was surprised that I knew nothing about these useful items.

Let's just say that Ilias Herb is the BOMB. I was a bit sceptic about its effectiveness so I tested it with the best option possible; by cutting my left arm. Once I swallowed the herbs the cut just VANISHED, like the wound never actually was there to begin with! Open mind Alex, open mind.

I'm not ready to test the feather yet; I have a blacksmith to visit.

The weapon shop was manned by a family of three youngsters. I can clearly see through their visage and identical eyes that they are twins except the youngest one. The youngest one is a little girl, just somewhere around the age of 8. Through the little girl's insistence, I decided to take a look at the wares they offered. Hey, what do you expect me to do? I like cute little children remember?

While I really want to please the little girl's desire, I really don't need their wares. Again, I don't need a sword, a hammer, or anything at all. What the fuck I supposed to do with a whip or a fan? I recognized the combat fans used by Japanese woman back in Edo period, but a freaking cat-o-nine tails? What is this, a torture device shop? Why would you sell a china plate in a WEAPON SHOP?! Are they actually using them as weapons?! What use does a weaponized abacus serve? Wouldn't a simple iron mace serve a better purpose? Or hell, maybe a simple wooden club?

A feather hat looks promising, but again, why would I need a hat? I know that I'm quite strong, but even I know that carrying my standard 20 kg equipment in heavy steel armour is a bad idea. I seriously considered a good lightweight shield, but I'm afraid the kilojoules generated by a high-strung bow can penetrate the flimsy board it made of.

Try as I might, I just don't need the thing they sell. My KA-BAR knife is still good, if not better for my needs anyway. They are not blacksmith, so I just can't request bullets anyway.

Speaking of blacksmith, they directed me toward the village's blacksmith, who was surprisingly a tiny naked fairy. Her long lock of black hair frames her eternally youthful visage as she cast the iron sword she was working on. I never expected the blacksmith to be a fairy. She was working on a sword for the old man in front of her, who is watching her work in an orderly fashion. The old man said that the sword is for his grandson who will start his training tomorrow.

She specialized in synthesizing weapons, which means that she can imbue certain elements into weapons to make them stronger, or hell even make a new weapon out of nowhere. How it works? She just strengthens the important part like the blade of a sword with certain item such as a beautiful Harpy feather. Then, with her fairy magic she'll fuse it together in order to give the weapon the property of the wind. That piques my interest. I wonder if I can make my rifle spit actual lava?

But that raise a new question. What happen if I try to synthesize a projectile-launching weapon? She says that she only imbues the important part of the weapon. If that was the case, then what part should she imbue to strengthen a gun, or even a simple crossbow? Through that logic, only the launcher itself will become stronger than ever. The gun and the bullets are two different separate components of a single weapon, like a bow and a different type of arrow. If she only strengthen the gun, would that only made the weapon no less effective than it normally was? The power of the weapon came from the projectile it launches, not the launcher itself. What would reinforce a rifle but not the bullet does other than creating an elaborate club?

She only smiled at my question. She said that of all the customer she has faced before, I'm the select few who actually asked about this fundamental question. She said that most people have misunderstood about the actual purpose of synthesizing a projectile-launching weapon such as a bow when reinforcing their weapons.

Turns out, what she did it turns the weapon into a magical CATALYST for the projectile. By giving the weapon the innate ability to imbue the ammunition used, it spontaneously make the weapon much more powerful, as each projectile loaded was imbued with magical properties by the weapon itself. It's like an improvised flamethrower; the flamethrower function as a gas-dispensing machine, it became a wholly different and deadly weapon when a lighter was attached to the nozzle. The lighter is the imbuement for the weapon like the gas-dispenser; the flame is the new product of the projectile enhanced by the lighter.

She said that guns are not common here, but it still exists. How? Back during the Great War several holes appeared across the continent. They call the holes in ground as Tartarus, which literally means abyss in Ancient Greek. Apparently many new frightening creatures and technologies emerge from such abyss, spurring a new cultural and intellectual force in the world. Such technologies or Makina was researched and effectively used by several specialized individual such as engineers. While it was hard to master a Makina properly, the damage output of a Makina in the hand of a proper operator is undeniable.

Funny how a Spanish music genre ends up as a weapon of mass destruction. Gangster rap, eat your heart out; we got a music genre that really inspire VIOLENCE.

The problem is; I don't have the item needed to imbue my rifle, or even my knife for that matter. Plus, I still owe the blacksmith back in Iliasburg for the bullets they made. I told her that I'll be in touch. She smiled, telling me to come back when I change my mind.

Bloom nobly, cherry blossom.

Anyway, my job here in Happy Village is done. Time to test out my new Harpy feather.

The feather WORKED. I mean, actually worked despite my small pessimism. One moment I was thinking about the shop back in Iliasburg, the second I am in front of it with slack jaw and a pair of wide eyes. Open mind Alex, OPEN MIND.

The blacksmith was surprised that I actually go through to my promise, which is all in vain because Papi has already left on an adventure. Oh for fuck sake, gimme a break! I just finished my mission, and then the one who gave me the mission just up and left me behind, just like that! I could've just rob this place, just put a round on his face and be done with it. Hell I can even threaten the dragon girl itself to do my bidding! But no, I have to be the honourable one; I HAVE to repay my debt of bullets to them.

Oh well, good guys are always screwed over. We are all good guys, but in the end we became bad guys because being good doesn't pay much. The only difference between a good guy and a normal guy is that he is good just for a few more moments. The blacksmith somehow manages to keep me at the good guy zone. He says that Papi regretted leaving him behind as she believes that I am an honourable person and she really was interested in my Makina (guns). In return, she said that the blacksmith will produce bullets for me for a premium price, which means that I can buy bullets in bulk just under the price of 10 gold coins. That…was pretty good deal for me. I need bullets.

So far, I've had investigated several cities, or villages in the Ilias continent. I have visited the Happiness Village, Iliasburg and Iliasville. I am thinking about the Harpy Village now because I have already paid my debt to Papi. I can't get over to the region around Sabasa and Grandeur as there was a war going on. I can't get over to San Ilia as there was a huge tempest at the sea route, preventing ships coming and going from Port Natalia to Port Ilias. But I can still visit Harpy Village, Midas, Lost Woods, many dudes says do not go to Lost Woods; that makes me want to explore it even more. And I have a strong feeling for a village named Pornof. Why? Because it's funny as hell! I'm still laughing as I am writing this entry.

My wanderlust is now triggered, and I shall not rest until I have explored every nook and cranny this place has.

Well, I've visited the Happy Village once, which means that I can visit it again right?

Hell yeah I can; I am teleported right outside the village. I can see the looming world tree just a few miles away from my position. The sky was thick with flocks of Harpies and Sparrow Girls flying to and fro between the villages. The harpies and Sparrow Girls looks like a human woman, which to my opinion the Harpies are the better looking one. They stand out because they both have bird legs or claws as they were called. Their arms were replaced by a pair of beautiful feather wings. The harpies are armed with white wings occasionally dotted with blue, purple or even scarlet feathers. The Sparrows are armed with brown and white feathers. Yep, Harpies are the prettier one.

The village of Harpies are consisted of a large interconnected web of tree houses built around the trees. The tree house, inexplicably are actually a substantial amount of earth packed in a box held aloft by some strong construction of wood and metal (and occasionally some large branches). The earthen airborne sandbox is where they built their houses and plant their garden, like a backyard or a lawn of some sort. Some houses as built into the tree with the entrance peeking out at its own personal earth box. How they were connected to each other? A simple system consisted of rope ladder and bridges made up their main locomotion when not using their wings.

This is NOT the place for land-dwellers.

The houses are situated around 30 feet off the ground and spiral upward to the tope, which I believe belongs to the Queen Harpy herself. It means nothing if you're a bird, but I'm not a bird. I can't survive a 100 kilometre fall if push comes to shove. I don't have wings for god sake!

The shops here sell just the same shit as the other shop with little variance. I do admit, it's not like I need 30 different types of spices in a shop anyway. In the end I just bought a simple blouse for Vanilla (the blonde little girl back in Iliasburg). It was nothing too expensive, nor is it too big for a child her size. It's just a simple colour of bright red and white stripes that complements her blonde hair. I have just enough money for another meal. Ach, I can just go out and beat up some Monster Girls for more money. It's not like they needed it anyway. If they did, then why some of them are buck naked?

Fuck, this is how a bandit thinks! He'll just go out there and beat up people, not for self-defence, but for money! That's not how a proper gentleman works, that's not how I work. If they have enough money to drop it on the ground after a fight, then they might have enough money to buy clothes. Maybe…Maybe they did not buy clothing because…maybe they need the money to buy food and they have not enough spare money to buy clothing? In that case, the girls I fought off and scooped money from the ground was penniless, and I just took the thing they needed the most.

Fuck…I feel really bad now.

Oh well Alex, just keep a calm and an open mind.

Using my only remaining Harpy feather I returned to Iliasburg, eager to see Vanilla's joy in realizing that she would no longer be a naked savage any longer. It was all in vain. The merchant behind the counter said that she and her friend's just walks out with some hero and just literally joined her without questioning, the same hero who has defeated them before. Oh come on! I just wasted 60 gold coins for that dress!

I still don't trust that merchant. Why the hell not? If you have a child apprentice under you, who was next to buck naked, do you leave her be in that skimpy outfit and just watch her sell useless shit? Uniform was created for this very reason, to clothe the one who are unclothed!

Oh well, I missed my opportunity. I'll just keep the dress for another little girl if the situation arises. It does not take up too much space in my bags anyway. Next stop; Pornof.

I'm not gonna wait, by the time I'm writing this I should be somewhere along the cobbled lane heading to Pornof. It shall be around 3 days on wagon. I hitched a ride with another merchant laden with spices. The barrels of the spices are covered tightly by cloth, but even as I'm writing this I can smell the sharp scent of the Restorative Roots. Why? I need a transport for the trip. Plus, he said that he doesn't need money, as long as I keep a lookout for other Monster Girls out there. I really wish I bought that lightweight shield…

Plus, I have another darker reason. I need money, and the only way I knew how is to fight Monster Girls and scoop up their money as they run away. I don't know why they threw away their money after losing a fight though, was it an unspeakable rules? That the defeated side must relinquish some money or items to the winning side? Or did they throw those moneys away just to distract their attacker so they can run away?

This robbing defeated enemy…it was robbing, pure and simple. This goes against my belief, but I need to keep an Open Mind about this. If that's how warriors on the road get their money, then I have no choice; I need them moneys.

Fuck…

Its night already and we have pitched our tent for the night. The horse needs rest too, just like us. I took the second shift like always; I need my eyes to be alert to spot any attacker for the next two days. The night was beautiful, just like any other night. The stars on the sky complement the black canvas of the night. The long grass plain at the side of the road somehow shines in a strange mirage of rippled green waves of emerald sea. Using the scope of my rifle, I can see a group of centaur women settling down for the night. They sit down like the horse did, but their human side was peculiar to look at. They lay on what I assume their human stomach, allowing their human part to properly sleep on the ground. That was interesting to look at.

I need sleep. I'll write down the next entry when I reached Pornof. Nighty night journal.