Peaceful days
10 days had passed since the duel that day. During that time, Peter stayed within the village, spending his free time with walks, conversation and training, both Luka's and his. For Luka's training, the kid was progressing swiftly, in fact, he could even be called a prodigy. He had understood the three stages thrust in only two days, and while he still had a lot to perfect, the fact the he could reliably pull off the technique attested to his talent with the sword.
Peter still remembered how happy the child had been when he first managed to hit Sonya during sparring, something he couldn't do just a few days ago.
For his own training, he focused on studying Qi and Mana. Unfortunately, it seemed that he didn't have much talent for Mana manipulation, even though he had quite a lot of it, the first time he tried to use a simple fire spell, the only thing Peter managed to do was set his clothes on fire, quite spectacularly in fact. Thankfully, his dense Qi and Mana protected him from the full heat of the magical fire, and a few healing spells and seals later (some of it being his own) had him walking around without even a single scar. Magic sure was useful.
Qi was another story though, Peter seemed quite competent with manipulating that one, and he had managed to transform that small accident in the bath into an actual seal, a healing one. It was not all powerful though, while it can mend and heal flesh pretty quickly, bones and internal organs healed much more slowly. "Chakra", was what the other martial artists called it. Qi could also strengthen the body, invade other people's bodies to make them weaker, intimidate others and protect yourself against said Qi attacks.
Those were the basics of using Qi, and knowing how to do these things is expected of any martial artists worth their salt. There were other, more advanced techniques, such as reading the opponent's energy signatures to predict their movements. After she had healed up, Young Chun commented on how she had tried to use that against or protagonist, with limited success. Still, as Peter was a beginner in using Qi, he prioritized the basics before trying these sorts of things out.
What surprised everyone was how Peter was unaware of how to use Qi, even though he was clearly a competent martial artist. After a brief conversation, he managed to convince them that his family had trained in this style since before the magical renaissance, and so they didn't have any instruction in energy usage. When they had asked about the origin of the style, Peter simply made up a story about a bald warrior from the east who had taught it to one of his ancestors. Somehow, as the days passed, that story got blown out of proportion, from the offhanded remark about a bald warrior, the adventurers and guards started talking about how that martial artist had acquired said style.
"One day, while travelling from city to city, the bald warrior witnessed the incredible battle between a dragon and a harpy. Observing the dragon's fierceness and strength and the harpy's grace and agility, he found the keys to his own style!"
Can you guess who made up that one?
Seems like that silly nickname was not going away anytime soon. People were suckers for legends like that.
Thank you, Young Chun.
She had also been pushing him to give a formal name to his style, something Peter personally didn't care much about. However, it was a big deal in this world's martial arts circles, a good name gives prestige and stays in people's minds. While Peter still wasn't quite sure if he wanted the attention right now, he came up with a name just so people would stop bothering him.
Flood Boxing.
He thought it was quite appropriate, since that combined the strength of the tiger with the fluidity of the crane.
Though Luka and Sonya though the name was cool. Lucifina and Erika used every opportunity they could to tease him about it, his nickname also didn't help. Although they still stayed clear of sensitive topics, Lucifina, Erika and Lazarus were also some of the people he got quite close to. Conversing with the two tricksters was always fun, and he even helped them with their job every now and then, Erika with setting up her stand and Lucifina with her cooking. It was a good thing that last one, cooking, one of the other things he was proud of. Not as good as Lucifina, but still enough to satisfy the customers. Getting to eat her food after was a bonus, it also was a nice combo to teaching Luka. Soon enough, he had upgraded from being called "mister" to "uncle". Pretty heart warming.
Lazarus was much more laid back, inviting him to drink every now and then. Peter always won that particular contest, partly because he was naturally resistant to alcohol, partly because he Qi body strengthening increased resistance to poisons. And of course, walking with Lazarus meant getting to know Sonya.
The teenager had been right in his initial impression, she was a tomboy through and through. She liked to fight, particularly with clubs, something Lazarus was teaching her. She was also quick to get into trouble over "adventures", especially when Luka was involved.
Speaking of Luka, he was also more of a troublemaker than he let on. He would often obsess over "adventures" or "missions", from simple things like buying vegetables to doing practice swings. He sometimes even insists on having dinner in the mountains, in the name of "exploration", something Lucifina never allows.
Well, up until now, that is.
Today she has agreed to have a picnic on the mountains, with the condition that he behaves. Of course, Peter was also invited. He had heard there were slimes on the mountain, hopefully the were as inoffensive as people said, because if that's the case, he was quite curious about seeing them.
Now, he just had to finish this sparring session and get ready to go!
The one of the guards tries to punch Peter's head with a reverse punch.
Peter easily dodges the attack and applies a hammer fist to the side of the guards head while walking to the side, getting out of his other opponent's line of attack.
They were currently training combat against multiple opponents, 5 guards vs Peter. They had tried again and again to corner our protagonist, but they were simply too slow. Every time they got close, Peter did circular footwork and found a gap in their formation, applying what would have been a finishing blow to a few of them in the process.
That happened again and again for many minutes, by this time the guards were exhausted and Peter had barely broken a sweat.
The wonders of Qi.
"Stop!", ordered Peter, who was wearing a blue and white trainer's uniform from the church.
With tension leaving their bodies, the guards slumped to the ground. Peter waited for them to regain their bearings and stand up so he could finish the training session.
Going back to formation, one of the guards said he was too tired and wanted to go to the bathroom before he got sick. Peter, thinking that he had done a good job keeping up with the training, allowed him to leave.
These first few days had been hell for the guards. Peter's training regimen wasn't exactly the most intense in pure strength training, but it was continuous and oh so very long. It was very cardio heavy, so those not used to it could get a little dizzy during the first few days.
Still, it was much harder than the play fighting they had done before Peter became an instructor.
"Very well, practice is over lads! You are all dismissed!"
…
Heading back to the bath, Peter relaxed together with the other guards in the hot water. During their first days of training, they eyed him quite suspiciously, probably looking for extra appendages or weirdly coloured skin as proof of his supposed monster heritage. After realizing Peter had nothing of the sort, and that checking another dude out for days on end was kinda gay, it seems they got embarrassed and stopped staring.
Speaking about sexuality, it seemed this world was also filled with perverts. Practically everyday he heard, whenever he ate with adventurers and guards, about their honestly pathetic rape wishes. Not everyone agreed, thank god. But the fact they didn't have enough shame not to declare it public, and that it didn't look like an isolated case, made Peter just a little bit closer to committing suicide out of sheer cringe.
When some adventurers had invited him to go to the mountain and fuck some slimes, Peter had difficulty holding himself back from slamming his foot into their mouths.
For one, he doubted monsters were very keen on the concept of using protection. And he did not want to be father. Moreover, he was simply not interested in that kind of stuff. He might appreciate physical beauty, but going in there and fucking was not something he was very comfortable with.
Moreover, he also did not like the idea of having sex with beings that had a literal rape culture, even if the local slimes sounded more chill about that kind of thing.
Honestly speaking, Peter had difficulty thinking well of anyone who though the rape thing was in any way acceptable. Monster or human, he wanted to stay far away from these kinds of disgusting people.
Removing himself from the bath, Peter put on his casual clothes and went to Lucifina's.
…
After a few short greetings and hugs, Lucifina, Luka and Sonya headed towards the mountains. Lazarus was not present as he had drunk too many the night before.
Passing through the slightly stinky pastures and into the dirt road, they calmly walked towards the nearby mountain chain.
Peter had offered to carry the food, and so he did. With his hands full, our protagonist observed the green and blue landscape.
It was still cold and humid outside, thanks to the nearby Great Ilias river that bisected most of the continent, it had rained a little at night, so the ground was still humid and a lovely smell flowed in the air. The sun, who did what it could to warm their bodies, had yet to reach mid day.
This calm scene mirrored Peter's life in the last few days, where he spent his time in peaceful, though quick days. Even then, in his spare time he researched about Tartarus, his probable way back home, and of this world in general.
In a few words, it was unbelievable something like this existed, this wanker's dragon quest world. Even then, places like this had peace, something he had wanted for some time. Most of his immediate objects have been fulfilled by now, but the big one, the Tartarusi, still seemed quite far away. To enter one of the expeditions, he needed to get inside one of the factions that did so, that basically meant the church or the local governments, but the church was the one with the highest ongoing projects in that area, it also helped that they were the most widespread institution in the world.
However, entering the church meant diving head first into politics, as the church and its main region, Natalia, who already has enough politicking on a normal day, is currently undergoing theological turmoil.
Simply put, the old doctrines are no longer viable in this current world. They need magic if they want to survive, they need makina if they want to survive, and they need diplomatic relations with the monsters if they want to survive. It is less a matter of faith than the church's continuous influence.
Anyway, it sounds like trouble, but Peter will probably need to deal with it if he wants to enter Tartarus. It also meant figuring things out with Klaus. Things have been amicable with him so far, but something is still a mystery.
Klaus is hiding something, something that could get him into trouble. That's the only explanation behind his previous actions, what he did was not about Peter per say, he had given the young man too much leeway for that. What he wanted was to keep Peter in check, to make sure he didn't go sniffing somewhere he shouldn't.
But there is something interesting about this situation. Remember what Klaus thinks Peter is: a half-youma noble's son from Natalia.
Knowing a bit more about the region, some things can be deduced.
First of all, anyone with that description would be a bastard, legal marriage between humans ans monsters is not allowed by the church. Commoners can go around that by marring through monster means, but that is not possible to Natalian nobles. They are nobles by the church and for the church, it is a theocracy after all. Moreover, to be the son of a youma of all things, if it were some weaker and more docile type of monster, maybe things could be different, but not a youma.
Youma were practically a symbol of monster kind and the monster lord herself, tending to be the ones most culturally separated from humanity as can be. In a way youma were the archetypal monster.
There was no way for a half-youma to live peacefully within such circles.
He either left on his own, or he was banished.
Either way, somebody powerless.
Bingo.
If he says he was hidden away while young, there might just be a way to explain why nobody knows him. And his supposed parents…
They might just shut up about him. That story can be fabricated with a few choice words.
Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, Peter found a plausible plan to make sure Klaus sees no problems in recruiting him.
As to Klaus's secret, he might just discover it on the way.
…
While walking up the mountain together with the group, Peter saw a weird blue shade in his peripheral. Turning his head quickly to catch whatever it was, the young man saw nothing but an old tree trunk that had fallen.
"What is it?", Lucifina asked him curiously.
"Oh, nothing. Just thinking I saw some blue thing in my peripheral vision.", Peter answered nonchalantly.
"It must be them, the slimes I mean. They are very curious girls."
"Will they cause any trouble?"
"Probably nothing like you're thinking, besides a few harmless pranks every now and then."
"Hmmmm, and will they come out eventually?", he wondered aloud, also somewhat curious about the mysterious beings.
"Want to see them?", she sincerely asked Peter.
"Yeah, I'm kind of curious. My previous experiences with monsters have not been the best, you see? I'd be nice to meet someone decent for a change."
"I see…", Lucifina paused for a moment and wondered what she should do. Looking towards the tree trunk, she smiled softly.
"Nurana, you can come out." she said towards the trunk.
To Peter's surprise and curiosity, from behind the tree trunk came out what looked like a humanoid amoeba. She was completely blue with a few bubbles here and there, her "hair" reached a bit past shoulder length, she had a curvaceous body, although the weirdness of being made out of slime kind of dampened the appeal, in Peter's opinion.
She looked very cheerful, with the biggest smile on her face. On her forehead could be seen her core, what was essentially her heart, brain and "true" body.
Her cheerfulness was contagious, and dropped Peter's guard. Something Sonya didn't seem to agree, as she hid behind Luka.
"Purupurupuru, You've found me again, Miss Lucifina!", Nurana said in one of the most high pitched voices he had ever heard in a grown woman.
If she was a grown woman, that is.
"There's no need to hide around me Nurana. Come on, they are curious to see you.", calmly said Lucifina as she pointed towards the rest of the group.
Nurana slides across the ground towards the group, looking them over with them most exaggerated serious face she could muster.
"You look strong! Though a bit short and feminine looking, are you the son of a monster?", Nurana innocently said things that would have sounded rude if it have come out of a mouth any less childish.
Peter had heard the slimes around here where pretty much like cute children, at least mentally. He now saw that said description was pretty much spot on.
Now it made what those adventurers said back then much more disgusting.
"Yeah, I am.", he said as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
"Name's Peter, by the way, I'm a fighting instructor in Ilias temple"
"Wow! So you're the one that trains the scary men in armour back in the village?"
"Yup!"
"Purupurupuru! That means I can count on you when somebody tries to steal my fishies Yay!" Nurana raised her arms up high and cheered.
Aigh, that's adorable.
"What's a Purupurupuru?", Luka tilted his head to the side and asked Nurana.
"Purupurupuru is Purupurupuru!", said Nurana seriously.
"I think, therefore I Purupurupuru", said Peter in a deadpan.
"Void is the shape of Purupurupuru and infinity is it's essence!", Nurana said in a crescendo.
"I am who I Purupurupuru", solemnly said Peter.
"EHEIE", said Nurana.
"EHEIE", said Lucifina, getting in on the joke.
For some reason, as soon as those words left her mouth, Lucifina had a feeling she had just committed some kind of blasphemy.
"Damn it"
Having witnessed what looked to be cult-like behaviour, Luka got even more confused. Moreover, why had even his mom partaken in this bizarre gag?
The minds of housewives are as deep as the Mariana trench.
…
Later that night…
A boy and a girl walked around the mountains, they had been grounded for playing pranks and decided the best way to get back at their parents was to run away for a day and hide themselves in the mountains.
Cheeky as they were, these mountain were not uncommon to them. Many times before the had spent a night under the dark skies and crying insects, under the warmth of a fire and the sweet oil of fish freshly caught.
This was such a case, as they laughed and joked around childishly like their age suggested, the boy decided he would go pee. Announcing it loudly to embarrass the young girl, he succeeded, and was pushed away by the young lady with a blushing face.
As he entered deep within the wild forest to find an ideal place, in the background noise he could hear… sliding? Yeah, the sliding sounds slimes made.
He wasn't afraid of slimes, the ones in this mountain were such crybabies that any measure of aggressiveness would make them instantly cry and apologise. So he was not worried a single bit and continued walking forward.
Strange, why this place so quiet?
And what was this strange smell?
And why was that smile so big and red?
"Ah"
…
The boy was taking too much time. The girl was starting to get worried.
As much as she tried to hide it, she couldn't stand the dark alone, she just accompanied the boy because he forced her to!
Shut up! It's not like she liked him!
Gathering her courage, she went into the forest to go and give him the lashing of his life for playing such a prank on her.
"Arhhhh"
"Huh?"
What was that weird moan she had just heard?
It was gargled, like it was said underwater.
As she got close and closer, the moans got louder and louder, but also more and more distorted.
Ah, it's behind that tree.
"…"
"KYAA-", before her scream reached its highest point, a tendril of slime entered her lungs.
Burning and suffocating her, she tried her best to make herself seem threatening.
After all, wasn't that what worked against slimes?
As she hit her forearm against the tendril, it was quickly enveloped in it.
Her skin and muscles slowly dissolved, but she could not scream.
Looking towards the feral smile that was about to kill her, she saw it.
The boy, half consumed, his internal organs exposed and white blobs of semen being consumed in the slime's body.
She tried to scream.
Her lung burst.
"What a lovely meal", the slime said seductively.
…
Hello, John here!
Ya'll tough the adult tag would not come that much into play huh?
Well ya though wrong!
From now on starts the first part of the story, though the overarching plot is still to be introduced, this here will be the first major conflict Peter will face in this world.
It didn't feel right to put the omake after that, so I'll do it another time.
As always, your opinions are precious!