Chapter 14:
the town of Rikaris
Three days, by that time we already are used to the constant heat, also we manage to store up a lot of monster's loot, pack wolf skin, some fangs, and other weird shit that could sell or be useful later down the line.
Is heavy, but if it can be sold, it's worth a try.
So we are walking over the landscape heading north, Michael is holding up well, but still, for each hour of walking we have to rest for a few minutes, Add that to the fact we are sleeping on the ground and you have a problem with back pain, I try using magic as much as I can to make us keep going.
By midday, I see what seems to be a huge crater covering up the landscape, probably around 3 kilometers in diameter, I'm probably wrong, is far away, and already it seems pretty big.
The thing that stands out is people, I see small dots moving from two points in and out.
"...I think we found it! finally a fucking city!"
"Uh…yeah, let's move then" He's tired, I get it, he moves ahead, and I follow him.
Now at ground level, I see how massive the walls actually are, is quite massive, and we are going to one of the spots from where we saw people moving through, Said spots are cracks in the crater, logical.
As we get close Michael stands still, he's shaking a bit.
"hey hey, what happened?"
"d-demons…" I look, oh the common folk.
Holy hell if it is bizarre, things like orcs, or half-animal people, horns, one thing is…seeing this kind of things in 2D drawings, but this!?.
"...I-I..get it, but…is just the..looks, ok? We're fine".
"a-are you sure?".
"Yes I am, After all, you have this strong-ass girl by your side who kicks like a truck to protect you".
"...ok, I trust you then" I feel grossed out too, but I will have to get used to this, they are people after all.
We get to an entrance where we meet the gatekeeper.
"Hello sir, uh…what's this city's name?" One of the things in the curriculum at the Asura school was multiple languages, one being the demon thong.
"..Rikaris, you are in the town of Rikaris" I used demon language based on the races that are here, I was right.
"o-oh…, thanks then…".
"And, from where you come from?" He's looking at some papers.
"Well…I'm from...Asura, 2 got stuck in a transportation incident".
"...I heard of it…well then, if that's it go look into the adventurer's guild, they might help you".
"Thank you" We go inside the city.
Demon continent…the worst-case scenario, the farthest from Asura, and the most dangerous one, we got lucky then with the monsters we encountered, that or I'm just that good.
Still, adventurer's guild, maybe a letter? who knows, I guess I will have to check that.
"...demon continent…we are on the other side of the world" Michael is also surprised.
"I…saw it coming but, yes, we got the bad route".
"So…where first?"
"Uh…the adventurers guild, If we have to take the long way home, we better get prepared, and also sell the junk we get from the monsters".
"Understood"
The town of Rikaris is big, If it reminds me of something it would be how the Favelas are depicted sometimes, with a middle easter concept with dense yet short buildings, way more alleyways than you could expect, to the entrance are taverns and hotels, and I can see in the distance the huge, pitch black castle that almost feels out of place with how gorgeous it is.
If something, this is like a bootleg version of the sand-hidden village, at least this one feels more real compared to the other one.
Asking around we get to the adventurers' guild, We enter.
And a lot of looks comes towards us, some challenging, other just out of curiosity, and they fade away after a few seconds.
Meeting the receptionist, a quick question about us becoming adventurers.
"Of course, please, put your hand on this, then fill the empty places" She handed us two small cards.
I think I remember this, still, I put my hand on the card, and it starts to glow, and some letters in demon language appear.
"Huh…" The one Michael used is in human language.
"Now pass it to me and answer some questions"
"Okay.."
Is an adventurer's card, It has personal information about your rank and occupation.
Name: Sara Whiteraven Jr.
Race: Human
Job: Unarmed Fighter
Rank: F
Michael's card is like this:
Name: Michael Anemoi Asura
Race: Human
Job: Ranger
Rank: F
I'm an unarmed fighter, she didn't mind that much, no sword in me after all, with Michael was hard, a marksman is not a thing, Mother Sara used to be an adventurer and ranked as a ranged fighter.
I came up with him being a ranger, After all, I may be the only one who can fight for now, but he has been the one with the sharp eyes and quick thinking, he's the brains of the two, Seriously, why they saw him as a failure back in asura? I'm glad to have him helping me.
"A quick question for you two, Do you come from the Central continent?".
"Yes, we got caught by a mass teleportation incident".
"Oh, is that so? I hope you can reach home safely, for now, check the wooden card and see if your name is there".
"Is that?"
"The missing person list is big, but you should be able to find your name".
"Thank you very much" We go to see the missing list, looking for people we remember from Asura.
Sieghart was found, along with Sariel, which is a relief, but Pax is missing, he could still be alive, regarding my parents, Jonathan is alive too, and my mother Sara, on the other hand, is still missing, I'll just have to pray.
"...Matthew…" seems Michael found something.
"...What happened?"
"My young brother, he's missing"
"...oh…" I'm not sure if they were close, or if someone was close to him.
"Still, seems most of my family was found, just me and Matthew left".
"..They sure as hell work fast…".
"...not fast enough.." He is concerned, his face tells me that, this kid, Matthew, must be important to him.
"...Well, we have the money, for around a week maximum staying here…., maybe take some jobs and rank up to something that can give us a steady income".
"It's better to just gear up and skip town"
"I seriously doubt it, we barely manage to survive these days".
"But Matthew is alone! somewhere, I can't waste time on this" he raised his voice.
"don't tell me"
"We have each other, that's enough, we have to find him soon!"
"hear me out here Michael, you can't! we have to take care of ourselves first, we can't gear up with just what we have now"
"Just your kicks and a stone knife, and we manage to endure, one day here and we move out, simple"
"Is not that simple Michael… I'm not saying we going to just ignore it but…we may die trying…"
"...then what? what do we do?"
"...go home, there we gear up, it must be a shortcut..maybe Rude .co has a place here…if so we have a ticket out of here…"
"...better than nothing huh?"
"better than nothing…" he lowers his head, honestly, I won't risk my ass that easily
it must be someone else who can do the job for us, maybe they'll find him in the meantime, that's the best option for now
"...so…what do we do?..."
"rest, tomorrow we search around town, if by midday we haven't found anything we go get a job.."
"...okay.."
Michael not having a firearm is not much of a problem for now, but when we get to C rank the extermination jobs will pile up, and I can't take care of everything that tries to kill us forever.
So getting him a gun is a priority, not a top one but in the long run, is going to be an item worth the money.
With the money we currently have we decided to rent a room at a nearby hotel, we have around a week before we run out of money, it scares me, but I guess that's F rank for you.
Two beds, enough for now, and I don't stay awake for much.
But I do feel aware of my surroundings, ones that are inexistent now, again, in the void, that hitogami ripoff must be here somewhere.
"I hope I'm not interrupting".
Well, depends on what you want now.
"What I want…, you made it to Rikarisu."
Yeah but, that was heading north, if I want to get out of the demon continent I will have to backtrack.
"Trust me, I already tried that, you got killed without equipment".
….Fair, and is not the first time isn't it?.
"No, what's consistent is the exact location, not in which continent you end up"
Guess that much, now, what is the next thing? you know, I want to survive and meet back with my parents and stuff.
"Okay, Rude Merc company has a subsidiary in town, go ask them if they can help you, as they have a spare rifle in storage".
Uh…you sure they will trust me? I'm just a low-ranking noble.
"They will trust Michael though".
You have a point, also, do they have teleportation circles? I remember that Rudeus prepared some a few years back.
"..., uhh…they do.."
Great! That can be our way out!.
"...you won't hear me more right?"
pff…maybe, I do want to go home though
I hear him, sigh "I can't stop you, but I will be happy if you go on foot, Matthew doesn't have much time".
Michael's brother? what now?.
"I'm just saying, he's at the Millis continent this time, and you have just enough time".
…Manipulator.., I won't fall for that, sorry but I prefer to not risk myself as much if I have a one-way ticket out of this continent.
"I know, anyways, that's all, I hope you do right"
It didn't last long until I snapped back to reality, looking at the dark ceiling of the room, It was night.
Sorry man, you may want good but, I don't want to take any chances, this world already has an example of a liar god.
I slightly move, trying to sleep rested to a side, there I see Michael, sitting in his bed, but hasn't slept yet, his face, oddly cold, as if holding feelings, but his eyes show that spark of despair.
His brother is out there, and I stopped him from trying to search for him.
Millis continent…in a year or so maybe we could get there, that's not short honestly, the other could be just taking a portal to the continent, but then what? That place is big anyway, I need more concrete data about Matthew's location.
Either I can go by feet, risk my ass for a year's long search and rescue quest, or just skip continent thanks to a portal, probably letting Matthew die on its own, but in the exchange of assuring my survival.
"...I still have her by my side…right?" Michael whispered with a sorrowful voice-
…Who is he talking about?..., he…must still have someone for him, maybe..not his family besides Ariel to an extent and his lost brother-
….Not even…well, the rest of the figureheads of the kingdom, maybe the guards?..., I'm not sure.
Honestly, after this whole turning point, heh, we only have ourselves as companions, I still want to find my family and reunite but, it may not be the case for him outside of Matthew.
I should just…sleep now, tomorrow will be another day, and I need to sleep.
I closed my eyes, and it took me a while to properly sleep, obvious to say but, I didn't sleep that much anyway.
creator's note: finally I made it, anyways, new chapter, i have proper plans now for the story moving fowards, next is the rewrite of chapter 1, so it will take even more time to get to chap 15, still, i hope you like this fic, as i don't plan on leaving it unfinished
