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[Next Day]
Jesus fucking christ waking up in the morning is the worst, add that by sleeping on a hard floor, no blanket, and no fucking advance air conditioner. I really need money really soon now. There's no way I can live like this. Rubbing my eyes as if it could make a difference I got up and began to walk out my room like a drunk person. Head to the bathroom for a quickie and leave. Walking down to the living room Mona wasn't there, nor was she in the kitchen. Probably still in her room.
"..."
I don't know what to do now. I just head to the kitchen to grab a Sunsettia and eat it like an apple. It's surprisingly sweet. Ah shit! I just realized that there was supposed to be mail in today from Margaret. I exit outside the house and check for a mailbox. Why the hell is it on the floor and not on the stoop? I jump down, accidentally hurting my legs a bit and open the mailbox. We just got a letter. Tearing the top half and opening it up it reads as follows.
"Greetings Righter, we have reviewed your application and would like to move on to the next phase with you. An interview will be scheduled the next day after you receive this letter. Be sure to be present at 3:00 Pm when the interview begins. From The Cat's Tails establishment."
I can't always expect to be hired immediately. But hey at least it's soon. Unless they decide to give me mail next week after the interview. Since there's nothing to do outside besides interacting with the locals I can go home now. I walk up the stairs and enter my home because I pay my fair share despite not paying jack shit and the house is in Mona's name. 5 seconds later in the house. I was a bit surprised to see Mona up right now, I don't think I was outside for that long. She's in the kitchen, probably cooking right now.
Mona: "Oh, hey, Righter. What were you doing outside?"
Righter: "Just reading some letter sent by the Cat's Tails. When were you awake?
Mona: "About 20 to 30 minutes ago."
Righter: "Really? I didn't see you in the house. So were you in your room the whole time?
Mona: "Yeah, I was."
Righter: "Doing?"
Mona: "Just sitting close to the fireplace warming up my body."
Righter: "You have a fireplace in your room!?"
Mona: "Yeah, you do-"
I didn't bother to listen to her and head straight to her room. There it is, ignoring the fact her room is a mess right now. I can see an open space by the fireplace. There's also a soft carpet floor with added bones. I planted my cheeks down and stretched my arms out to the lit fire. "Ahh" It was warm, so peaceful, unlike those pyro slimes that… It's so warm, it's peaceful, it's heavenly. I spent quite a while in her room and she hasn't come to her room to tell me to get out. Does she trust me? Does she believe that I would hold up to our contract? Oh whatever, I'm enjoying this.
Mona: "Hey Righter!"
Sigh… calling me when I'm just enjoying myself for the first time. Wait what? I never once had an enjoyable moment yesterday?
Righter: "What!"
Mona: "I made breakfast!"
I don't believe it will be all pancakes with syrup and a hashbrown with a sausage on the side. But at least I'm getting something to eat.
Righter: "I'll be there in a second."
This is a normal response. The most neutral response.
Mona: "If you don't come and eat right now, I will put out the fireplace with my vision."
Okay apparently that response got her really mad. Not that I think about it. She's acting a lot like my mom. How old is she?
Righter: "Coming!"
10 seconds later. I was already in the kitchen. For breakfast it's some sunny side eggs with chicken mushroom skewer, and a cup of water.
Righter: "Are we that poor?"
Mona: "We're not poor! This is simply the best dish I could offer from what was available."
Righter: "Uh huh."
I began eating my breakfast.
Righter: "This is no hate to your dish, but next time when you cook eggs could you make it into scramble eggs? I prefer it that way."
Mona: "What's scramble eggs?"
Righter: "You don't know what it is?"
Mona: "No, I do not."
Huh, I thought there were scramble eggs in this world. Is there really not? I thought I had really good memories in this game. Guess doing nothing but your dailies will make you eventually forget about all the lore stuff.
Mona: "What is it and how do you make it?"
Righter: "It's not too hard, really. You just need some eggs and a fork.
Mona: "The next part?"
Righter: "You crack the eggs into a bowl and using the fork you stir the eggs until it's nothing but a yellow slime."
Mona: "Is it really that simple?"
Righter: "I promise you, it is.
Mona: "I see, then next time I make you some scramble eggs."
Righter: "Thanks."
Mona: "Don't mention it."
After eating the rest of our breakfast. She cleans the plates like a housewife. I don't know why but it feels weird to see her like this. Though since this is a world without advanced technologies [Ignoring the fact sentient robots exist] I guess most people would be able to do most house chores.
Mona: "Hey Righter, could you do something for me?"
Righter: "Sure, what is it?"
Mona: "Because of some certain circumstances we won't be able to afford food."
Righter: "I know why, but I won't say it."
Mona: "... We need to gather food from the wild."
Righter: "..."
Mona: "Look, you probably don't want to but I need to gather food for us. I'm still not finished organizing my room and I don't trust you that you won't damage my tools. Not intentionally of course."
Righter: "Could we put it off for a while?"
Mona: "Unless you're alright with starving."
Righter: "Ugh… alright, I guess I do it."
Mona: "Thanks, hold on."
She left the kitchen and went to her room. Dear God, I really don't want to go outside. I already had a horrible experience not even within my first hour of being here. I don't want to be torture again. I didn't even want to be in this world to begin with. It's not gonna last forever right? I only need to go outside to collect food and not fight monsters. I also only need to do this temporarily until I get hired and get paid. Still though, I can't help but feel like I'm gonna get torture sooner or later.
Mona: "Here, I drew a map along with some lines to follow, circles to go and collect, lastly an X to avoid monsters."
Righter: "*Breathes deeply* Alright, I'll go."
Mona: "...Thanks"
She said thanks in a soft and kind voice like a soothing mother would speak to her baby. Please don't set a red flag Mona. I took the map and reviewed it, and she also gave me a bag along with it. The map looks similar to the map on Genshin Impact except it's black and white and there aren't that many land markers. I don't know how long it will take since I always teleported, but I have a feeling it's not gonna be a few minutes. Leaving the house, I continued to preview it. It seems like we need some Mushrooms, Apples, Berries, Sunsettia, Carrots, and some meat. Those first five I can do but the meat part, I need to kill a… whatever they're called. Brown hogs or boar whatever it's called. No wait I can kill other small creatures too, right? No wait, actually I don't want to kill any creatures right now. The thought of it makes me shiver for some reason.
"..."
Collecting the first area of the Mushrooms wasn't hard. They were outside of the castle entrance so it was easy peasy. Second area was on the other side of the bridge and it was a treasure hoard. I was able to get most items on the list in large quantities. After that there were three paths I could take but two paths lead to a hilichurls encounter so I took the one to Springvale. I continued on the path walking aimlessly as I saw a couple birds flying by. I walk past a broken wooden cart, now that I think about why the heck does nobody do anything about it. Taking a quick peek on the map the path should diverge into two paths, the one to Springvale should be on the right. Putting the map down to see I saw four hilichurls staring at me. Two of them holding flaming clubs while two others hold a shield and a regular club.
"..."
It's only been 20 minutes since I left. Taking a two second look on the map I don't see an X in front of me on the map. They weren't supposed to be here. Did Mona make a mistake? Did I make a mistake? I can't let this happen again, I need to go back. So I walk back very slowly, but at the same time, the hilichurls also walk towards me slowly but faster than my current speed.
"Ah shit."
I picked up my pace, I started walking backwards at my normal speed now. Still, the hilichurls once again pick up their speed to match mine and faster.
"Fuck."
I turn around and just bolted, I wasn't taking any chances, not after what a fucking hydro slime can do to me. I sprinted and sprinted to my full speed. Not slowing down one bit. I didn't even want to think about what they could do to me. So I ran, ran, and kept running away. After 10 seconds I looked around to see if they were chasing me.
"Oh, Shit!"
They kept on chasing me, they weren't stopping, and they were gonna keep moving till they got to me. I ran and ran again. But they were faster than me, they were stronger than me, and they would probably kill me if they got to me. I tried my best to run but they were faster.
Pant!*
I kept on running but I was getting tired. Why was I getting tired so quickly? It's only been 20 seconds since I started running. Does the game mechanics apply to me? I had no time to think and kept running. They were so close and I was getting scared by the second. I don't want to be beaten to death.
"Ah!"
While looking back, I tripped myself and fell on the ground hard. I quickly tried to get and stand, but just as I was able to sprint again, something hard hit my head with force. "AAIIEEE!" It knocked me to the ground. When I look back up I can see all four hilichurls surrounding me. My heart beat, beat even faster, so fast it was making it even more difficult to breathe now. One by one they all took turns beating me.
"FUCK, AIIIIEEE, SHIT, OWWWW!"
They kept on beating me with their clubs and they weren't gonna stop, like they didn't stop chasing me. They beat my face, my legs, my arms, my abdomen, my everything. The flaming club hurts the most as everytime one of the flaming clubs hits me, I can feel an incredibly hot sensation left on my body, leaving it with burn marks. Again and again they kept beating me. They were beating me so much that I can see the blood on their clubs now.
"SHOMONE HELSH EEE SWEESE [SOMEONE HELP ME PLEASE]."
I tried to scream for help, but my face was already deformed by then. My eyes were swelling up so that I couldn't see anything but my own tears. My mouth was falling apart as my teeth's fell and my jaw broke rendering me unable to speak. It hurts so much. I can't see or feel my face but I imagine it to be all red and mushy. My arms are all loose and limp, I'm pretty sure they're all twisted like a wire. My legs are bent in the wrong direction, I don't know what happened to my leg but the bones are definitely poking out again. Please stop, I was only trying to help with the food problem.
"*Cries* Wahahuhauhuh! *Guts, blood squishy parts moving."
I'm so fucking pathetic. I'm crying to a fucking damn hilichurls. It's so painful. I'm drowning in my own blood. Blood is overflowing out of my mouth, getting harder to breathe. Blood is leaking out of my eyes. Blood is getting in my eyes, getting harder to see. I can still hear and all I can hear is the "thud" noises and the "squish" as they slowly begin hitting my insides. My insides are on my outsides, I think. Ooohhhhhh it hurts so much. I can feel my body move everytime they hit me, and it's so horrible. Eventually my vision begins to darken. I think I'm finally dying. Why did I have to survive this long?
Cuts sound effects*
I don't know what happened, and I sure as hell can't see what happened. But I think the beating stops. My body isn't moving anymore and I heard four hard thuds hit the floor.
???: "Hmph! Were you the one who called for help?"
I don't know who spoke to me, but it's definitely a female voice. I couldn't move my body so this was the best I could do.
Righter: "Shyesh.[Yes]"
The only body part that moved was my mouth and jaw.
???: "I shall take you to immediate help."
Righter: "Shanskhs. [Thanks]"
I feel calm now. So I let the darkness take over my vision
…
..
.
When I awoke I was lying down in bed. I can clearly see now. My body is no longer in pain. This feeling is similar to being healed by the statue of the seven. Looking around it's quite a fancy room. There are several beds in rows with a desktop nearby. I noticed there wasn't anyone here, so I'm guessing once I was fully healed someone left to do some other things. Sigh.
"Hold up."
I looked around to see if there was any bag I had with me.
"Ah."
There was my bag next to my desktop. Opening it up, I can see it's all the fruits I picked today. I don't know exactly when but clearly the sun is still up right now. I lay my head back on the bed just to think to myself. I don't know if I should go now since I'm already healed, or stay put for some further analysis. I'm not sure about the medical, hospital, or anything about the situation I'm in. Never been to a hospital in real life before, so I can't say for certain.
"...This place sure is nice."
The windows were quite beautiful, it's showing like an image of a person, though that's all I can make out about. The room was incredibly clean, not a speck of dust insight. It's like a hospital room in those movies. I'm not going to be paying for an expensive bill, right? ….I don't know what to think now. So I waited and waited till I heard a door open that was unseen through my point of view revealing a church girl. Wait, she's Barbara!
Barbara: "Sir, have you woken up yet?"
Righter: "That'll be a pretty weird question to ask an unconscious person. But yeah I'm feeling alright."
Barbara: "You were critically injured today. Your whole body was cover in your-"
Righter: "Stop, I probably feel sick and bad if I heard the rest of it.
That wasn't a lie, my stomach was getting all sick and my head was dizzy a bit. Wow, who knew I can feel nausea just by hearing my horrible graphic details. Shaking my head a bit with my hand up I calm myself before asking her.
Righter: "So where am I right now?"
Barbara: "You're currently at the Church of Favonius.
Since when did they have a hospital room? Is there extra in it that isn't accessible? I haven't really entered the church since the main story so I have no idea.
Righter: "I see. Can I leave now? I have somewhere to go."
Barbara: "You may, but please be careful. If you go out then it's best to have someone affiliated with the Adventurers Guild to accompany you."
Oh, that's right. I could've put up a commission to have a bodyguard. No wait, I don't have any mora so I couldn't hire one if I wanted to. God dammit, having mora would fix a lot of problems. Putting my thoughts away. I got up from the bed and took my bag.
Righter: "Thank you, no wait, who healed me? I want to personally thank them."
Barbara: :Umm… that would be me."
Did she use her skill to heal me or something else like the statue of the seven. Got to figure out how the game world logic works, like the Sunsettia. Now that I think about it, eating breakfast didn't make me feel better, was it because last time I was hurt and only works when I'm injured? Wait, does that mean eggs can literally revive people?!
Righter: "Seriously? Thank you so much for healing me."
Barbara: "Yeah… no problem."
Going into the direction in which she came from I left the room. The next room I was in appears to be the same as before but looks slightly different from what I remember. I'm pretty sure they didn't have a confession booth, tables for whatever reasons, and a fountain. I don't know what to think of these besides changes in this church could also mean changes to the world more or less. I left the Cathedral Church and spent the longest 5 minutes of my walk. There wasn't anything interesting, it was mostly the same. Now back at Mona house, I knock a few times before making myself home.
Righter: "I'm back!"
I yell like those 80s shows where the husband yells to his wife to being back.
Mona: "Righter! Where have you been!"
I can't think of a way to ease her worries. I don't know how long I've been out. Fuck, I should've ask Barbara how long I been out for, so I could get the time reference. Time to bullshit my way out of this.
Righter: "I was just lost."
Mona: "Really?"
Righter: "Really, I got lost when collecting plants and without landmarks on the map, I had to rely on guessing."
Mona: "Oh…"
I feel so… incredibly happy to have some worry for me. It's making me all warm and fuzzy. This is good. But she seems really worried and has a bad face, like a guilty expression? Don't know why she would have one.
Righter: "But hey, I got the good stuff. Though not all of it."
Mona: "Thanks."
I handed her the bag which she took with hesitation. She rubs her eyes with tears and moves to the kitchen. She opens the storage and places the stuff I collected into it. Feeling weird for staring at her I went over and sat on the couch twiddling my fingers. She was soon done and took a seat beside me.
Mona: "Did you encounter any monster on your way?"
My first thought was to sit no, but I thought about it for a second. If I said yes, she might stop me from going out. If I said no then she made me continue collecting some materials. Though that will depend on the next question.
Righter: "Yeah, I did."
Mona: "Were you hurt?"
I can say yes, but then why didn't I say that earlier? I could say no, but then why didn't I include why the monster was the reason I took so long to come back? Man, I really just trapped myself when I answered the first question.
Righter: "No I wasn't."
God please help me, give me a Neuvillette or an Arlecchino.
Mona: "Was the monster the reason why you took so long to come back?"
Righter: "No, when I spotted them, I just avoided them."
Mona: "So nothing happened?"
Righter: "Yup."
Why am I not telling what actually happened to me? Do I not want to make her feel guilty? Am I just an idiot? This doesn't make any sense. I want to tell her but I'm not for some reason. This feels like another conversation with my mother. Strange.
Mona: "Well, alright then… don't hesitate to tell me anything if something amiss happens "
Rigter: "Got it."
That was a fucking lie. After the short conversation. Mona got and went to her room leaving me alone. Is she still not done cleaning her room? Well she was messy in the morning. So only assuming an hour passes, it will be messy I guess. Now what do I do with my free time? I did my fair share of work.
…
I'm going to her room. Up, walk, and knock I yell out to Mona.
Righter: "Hey Mona, mind if I help you a bit?"
Mona: "Hmm? What do you mean?"
Righter: "Like help you clean your room."
Mona: "Mmm... .sure."
The cleaning process wasn't any different from what it was yesterday. I use a duster and some other stuff I won't name. While Mona just moves some of the space stuff and makes plans on how to organize it. Though what I will say is that it took longer than expected. Didn't think her room would be that big. After some time her room is mostly clean besides the large amount of astrology stuff hiding in the corner.
Righter: "Jesus christ, didn't think it would take this long."
Mona: "Jesus…christ? Anyways I found a trap door. Over here."
The hell? How did I not notice it? I walked over to the area she was in and asked.
Righter: "Can you open it?"
Mona: "Yeah, hold on."
Grasping on the handle, she lifted the trap door up to which it revealed an empty dark place. It's a bit creepy, especially when the only way leading down it is a ladder, so you're kinda vulnerable.
Righter: "Should we leave it, or go in it?"
I pray for there not to be a monster there.
Mona: "Hang on, let me get a lantern."
Righter: "Alright then."
I waited. Leaning over the basement which I'm pretty sure it's what it is now. I still couldn't see jack shit. It's also colder than the current room, and the ladders are dusty as hell.
Mona: "I'm back."
Yeah, I don't want to go in first.
Righter: "Wanna go first?"
Mona: "No, I'm not really comfortable with the dark."
Righter: "But, ladies first?"
Mona: "Whatever is there is your's to keep."
Righter: "Ugh! Alright sure, hand me the lantern."
Getting over my grumbling quickly she gave me the lantern, I held it in my mouth while I climbed down to the floor. Once I reached the floor I held the lantern normally and walked slowly while waving the lantern around. Mona was behind me and quietly followed me with her hand on my shoulder.
Righter: "I think this room is bigger than the whole house.
Mona: "I think so too."
Righter: "Which leaves me confused. Why isn't there anything here?
Mona: "If there isn't anything, then you could claim the basement as yours."
Righter: "Yeah but it's in your room, I don't want to go to your room every time I want to go down here."
Mona: "Wanna switch rooms then?"
Righter: "Eh, maybe later."
We continue to move around the basement. With how horror potential this basement has it feels like a maze. But it's just a basement without any light. What the hell was this room used for before? As I was getting closer to a dead end. Something caught my eye.
Righter: "A chest?"
Mona: "Definitely a chest."
Something the owner wanted to leave behind? Oh well, thank you. I handed Mona the lantern which she took and made my way over the chest. I caress the chest in a smooth light manner. Petting the very good adorable chest.
Mona: "What are you doing?"
Righter: "Shh! Just let me."
Mona: "Ok?"
Giving the chest a peck to which Mona made an uncomfortable sound. I wipe off the dust from my lips and open the chest very slowly.
Righter: "AHH! It's so bright!"
Mona: "Yeah, you get used to it."
The fuck? This is considered normal? Once the light dies down the chest slowly disappears and reveals some average stuff you find in the game. When I look back at Mona she only shrugged back at me. Apparently this world follows in game logic very seriously.
Righter: "Well, looks like I have money now.
Mona: "No, that's ours. You can keep the other stuff that's yours."
I struggle against Mona to claim what's mine. Thankfully since she was carrying a lantern she only had one free arm, so I got most of it. The other stuff was a feather, so I'm assuming it to be a piece of an artifact. A dull sword, don't know what I could do with a dull sword if it follows in game logic besides sell It. Lastly a purple crystal I forgot what it's called but I know what it is and what it's used for.
Righter: "All of this is mine correct?"
I gave Mona a slight glare, she lied to me once and I won't have her lying any more.
Mona: "I promise besides the mora we share, all other stuff is yours to claim."
Righter: "Alright, sure… Let's go back now."
Leaving the cold, empty, dirty, stinky, unlovely, lonely room. We head straight back. I carried all the other stuff in my hands while Mona stashed the mora away in her bag. Took us about a minute of walking when we finally got back.
Mona: "Here, hold this for a second."
She gave me the lantern so she can climb the ladder safely. Looking up I got a pleasant view.
Righter: "Hey Mona!"
Mona: "Yeah?"
Righter: "I can't really climb with all this stuff on me, so can you pull them up from me?"
Mona: "Sure."
One by one she leaned over while I tiptoe and handed her all of my stuff. It was a bit of inconvenience, but I needed my stuff, I'm poor I tell you! Who am I talking to? Once all of my stuff was upstairs I climbed the ladder and shut the trapdoor.
Righter: "I don't know what to do with this empty room besides using it as a storage room.
Mona: "I'm sure it will be quite useful in the foreseeable future."
Righter: "...So how much mora we got?"
Mona: "Hmm, well I believe I only snatched up a few hundred mora in my hand."
She shows me her palm and shows many tiny mora in her hands. Aww~ I didn't know mora would be this small. I took out the mora from my own pocket and gave it a rough estimate.
Righter: "I can't tell how much honestly."
Mona: "Looks to be around a thousand."
Righter: "So is that good?"
Mona: "For our situation, yes.Though this won't be enough for two months."
Righter: "So how do we get more mora?"
Mona: "One could always get a profession."
She gave me a side eye, as if telling me it's my responsibility. Fucking bitch.
Righter: "Hey! I already applied, so I'm just waiting for the interview."
Mona: "Other ways of acquiring mora, such as being part of the adventurer's guild."
Righter: "Uhh, other ways of getting more mora?"
Mona: "There are several ways of obtaining more mora, but I personally wouldn't recommend it."
Righter: "Ugh, great."
Guess my life will be working at the Cat's Tails up until I die or get back back to my own world at the end.
Righter: "I don't know when I'll be working, so we need to save as much mora as possible. Possibly getting begging on the side of the street."
Mona: "I'm not a beggar!"
We could probably make a lot of money if you did beg. Just a thought though. We had a short unproductive conversation, regarding making more mora. We moved from her room to the living room.
Righter: "So, should we save this more for later or use it now?"
Mona: "There's no telling what emergency would require us to use more. So I say it's best to save it for future use. Also if ever I need more ingredients, then I'm available to help you out."
Righter: "... Maybe next time if we really need food.
Mona: "*Sigh* Alright, but I have you know that we are already low on ingredients.
Righter: "What about the ingredients I gave you not too long ago?
If what I picked today wasn't enough then how many ingredients do we need to not like a hobo?
Mona: "They will only sustain ourselves for today and tomorrow."
Righter: "Oh, seriously?"
Mona: "Seriously."
(Lazy writing here ladies and gentlemen )
That was disappointing, I really don't want to go outside. I've already been through a lot of pain from yesterday and today. Opening up the common chest was the happiest moment of my life. I always disregard it back in real life but my first kiss was a fucking common chest.
Righter: "You help me in what way?"
Mona: "By killing the monster of course."
Isn't she a support? How can she even kill the monster? Unless it's by drowning them? I really wish the world logic was the same as the game logic.
Righter: "OK, but we'll do that tomorrow. We already have food for today."
Mona: "Sure."
Righter: "Ah, also I have an interview tomorrow at three I think. So we either go out before or after three."
Mona: "Got it, I keep that in mind."
Ending the conversation she returned back to her room. I just pretty much did nothing but laze around the couch, and maybe occasionally go to the bathroom to admire my new body that I forgot about. I waited, ate poor dinner with Mona and waited until the moon replaced the sun. In my cold room, my mind ran with ideas and imagination on what I could in this world. Looking at my pile of stuff in the corner, especially at the sword. I imagine what I could do to be stronger and how I can kill those damn hilichurls.
(Who allow me to write? Oh that's right I did but ignoring my ass stupid question, How did I forget to write? Especially Mona? I know that I don't need to be an Author or be good at writing characters speech. But there should be at least a set standard. Well I like to spout random shit out of my mouth so maybe some of my writing came from that? Try to enjoy it.)
