Chapter 9 – Not Human?
Jack slumped down beside the panting Natalia as they both tried to catch their breath. A strong smell of sex permeated throughout the entire room, the bed sheets soaked in their puddle of juices.
As he calmed down after a few minutes, he rested his head on his folded hands and stared at the ceiling, seemingly lost in thought. A complacent smile adorned his face.
After going through hell, this award was just right. His dream finally came true. He had wanted to bang a girl at least once. What's more, the girl he had banged just now was the sexiest girl he could ever imagine.
Natalia also recovered and stared at him with a gentle smile as she put her hand on his sturdy chest.
"That was amazing, little hero! I don't think any other dick will satisfy me now..." she gave him a sensual wink as she stroked his hard dick, "hehe, this monster is as hard as ever! Do you want to go for another round?"
Jack stared at her in disbelief, "You can still go for another round?" Not long ago, she was laying limply due to exhaustion. Is she pushing herself?
"Fufufu, you underestimate me. I can go for another few rounds," she giggled and Jack shook his head.
"It's already late. I have been here for more than two hours. Mother might be worried, I promised her to return in an hour."
"Fufu, so our little hero is a mama's boy?" Natalia joked.
"Heh, she got to meet her lost son after so long, so she was unwilling to let me go in the first place. By the way, when are we starting our uh, training? You were going to teach me basic things right?" Jack asked.
"Hmm? Yeah, so what do you want to learn?"
"Adventuring… reading and writing…" he answered as he thought.
"Okay, we can start now, but you said you have to go right?"
"Just half an hour won't hurt anyone, right?"
"Hmm, let's buy some necessary equipment first and we can start the training tomorrow… the same time you came today," Natalia suggested and Jack nodded.
They took quick baths in 10 mins and got ready to go to the market.
…
On the ground floor of the guild, some young adventurers were having a dispute.
"...That's enough, Dick! You only know how to bully the weak with your measly strength… I guess that's why your leader abandoned you!" a young boy screamed out his lungs.
"What did you say you son of a whore!" The young man Dick bellowed in anger as veins popped out on his forehead. This boy has finally hit his sore spot. He won't let him go that easily. He forcefully grabbed the boy's collar and stared at his eyes in deep hatred as he prepared to hit.
The boy gritted his teeth with his eyes filled with suffering. Dick had also hit him where it hurts the most, "... Are you deaf, Boogeyman!? I said you don't even qualify to be a human!! Boogeyman!!" he screamed desperately, his lips still shaking, evident to his fear.
His other friends also seemed to be scared of this Boogeyman and so were the other adventurers present, so no one dared to interfere.
But no one noticed the boy clenching his fists in retaliation as black veins popped up on his hands which slowly started crawling upwards.
And just as a brawl was going to happen…
*Clap* *Clap*
"What do we have here? 'Little Dick', it seems you haven't gotten your lesson last time… Should I change your name to 'No Dick'?" A melodious voice rang out.
Dick flinched in fear as he hurriedly released the boy and tried to explain, "N-no big sis, he was in the wrong in the first place… He shouldn't have said what he said…" and although he wanted to protest that his 'dick' is not little, he didn't dare.
"Yeah, yeah, you were never wrong! There is no one more righteous than you in this whole world, is there?" Natalia mocked.
"... Hahaha, what are you saying big sister? I am also wrong sometimes… I guess this was just a misunderstanding, hahaha… I should go to work now…" Dick laughed awkwardly and reluctantly left the guild; not before giving a death stare to the young boy.
"Are you okay Ricky?" Natalia asked the young boy.
The young boy named Ricky calmed down, "Y-yes, I am alright!" he replied as he forced a smile, his lips still quivering.
"Alright then, you shouldn't go near a snake just to get bitten," Natalia said kindly, though the boy took it as a mock. He silently nodded.
"Mr. Hero! Brother Hero! Mr. Hero!..." Everyone present greeted Jack as they noticed him standing behind silently. Jack gave a slight nod in response.
"If that Boogeyman had known that our hero was here, he would have pissed his pants, hahaha!" someone joked and everyone burst out laughing.
Jack just smiled and stayed silent as his mind was somewhere else. He was staring at the young boy named Ricky as he noticed something unusual. He sensed something sinister lurking inside the boy, but couldn't pinpoint what it was.
Ricky also couldn't help laughing, suppressing his frustration. He noticed Jack's gaze so he hurriedly left the guild.
…
"Who's he?" Jack asked as they walked out of the guild.
"He is Dick, one of the B-rankers, always bullies the weak… especially that young boy Ricky," Natalia answered.
"Not that, the young boy, who's he?"
"Ricky is a C-ranked adventurer… His mother was a prostitute who committed suicide last year for some reason… making him an orphan...'' She thought that he wanted to know about what Dick had said before.
Jack nodded in understanding, "If I am not wrong, you are also B-ranked right?"
"That's right."
"I wonder what rank the guild master possesses..." Jack said.
"The guild master, the mayor, and your father are the only three strongest people in our town, all are A-ranked," Natalia said with a smile.
"Is that so? Only three?" Jack gave her a meaningful smile.
"Oh, you will be added to the list now. The one and only, the strongest person of Dulia town who even slew a wyvern with his bare fists!" she said in a playful tone.
"Haha, you sure know how to make fun of someone…" He wasn't talking about himself in the first place. He could sense the mana from everyone and judging from that, Natalia not only appeared a lot stronger than any B-ranker but also lacked the most fundamental component of a living being. She lacked something basic which every living being should possess… An energy which is the cause of a life… like, maybe, vitality?
Is she a zombie? She is connected somewhere…
Thinking that Jack looked in a specific direction, from where the connection originated.
Natalia flinched, "Little hero, why are you dazing in such broad daylight? Let's go, you don't have enough time, right?" She dragged him to the nearest weapon shop which took them 5 minutes to arrive.
'Nothing can stay hidden from this little hero' she sighed.
…
They arrived at a large weapon shop having large golden characters carved on its top. They entered as a female attendant greeted them.
"Hello, how can I help you, Miss Natalia?" she asked respectfully. From her behavior and the beautifully decorated interior, it didn't take long for Jack to realize that the shop was expensive.
Natalia knew that Jack had gotten a pretty good amount as a reward, so she guided him to the best weapon shop in Dulia town, as she didn't want him to waste his time with the low-grade weapons.
"Hoho, it's been a while, Natalia. I see you have brought a nice handsome man, is he your boyfriend?" A deep voice came from a middle-aged man with a protruded belly.
"Good morning Mr. Elric, I have brought the hero of our town." Natalia also greeted.
"Ho? So this is the hero of our Dulia town who slew the wyvern with his fists," he said as he observed Jack while rubbing his beard, "Haha! Great job young man! You are worthy of your title. Alban must be jumping in joy, aye?" he said as he patted his shoulder.
"I must give you some good discount as a reward, right? Choose anything that you like, 20% off especially for you." Elric said as he guided them. He wasn't a fool, he knew everything from the start, or else he wouldn't be one of the top merchants.
Jack observed the shop as he sensed various mana fluctuations coming from the weapons. The weapons were neatly arranged in sections of spears, axes, swords, mace, staffs, etc. with labels that Jack presently couldn't read.
"What's your elemental affinity?" The shop owner asked.
Jack knew what he was asking so he looked at Natalia before answering, "I don't know," with a wry smile.
He had never used magic as he didn't know. He would learn it from Natalia. The 'affinity' word meant that not everyone can use any element they desire, but what affinity they have, he realized.