25 – A Fighter’s Wise Words

When Brunch started pushing that land in the early morning, Alan had not yet woken up.

"Al! Al!" Celia rocked Alan's body, but he didn't budge. Not giving up, the female fighter whispered into the young man's ear. "Right now, I'm not wearing pants, you know."

"You don't need to use something like that to wake me up." Alan sighed while still closing his eyes. "Let me sleep a little longer. I stayed up late to study that blueprint."

Celia put her hands on her hips. "We're almost at the city of the bridge."

Reluctantly, Alan straightened up, forcing his heavy eyes to open. He was then stunned.

A few seconds later, he stood up. "This…."

"That's why I want you to see it from afar before we get there," Celia smiled. "Magnificent, isn't it?"

The city of bridges consists of hundreds of separate lands. And as the name implies, the lands are connected to each other by bridges.

The bridges are made of scraps and ropes. So, they are not really beautiful. However, it still fascinated Alan.

In all his life, he had never seen anything like it. Whether in the real world or even in games.

Brunch increased the speed so that Alan and Celia could get there faster. Before reaching the nearest land, a male armored guard held a sign saying STOP from an open floating building.

"We mean no harm!" Alan shouted, reminding him of his confrontation with Paul and the villagers. "We just want to visit this city!"

"That's okay!" A female guard accompanying the nameplate holder replied. "But pets that big can't enter! Can you leave it far enough from here!? We will send someone to pick you up, but there is a small fee!"

"That would be awesome!" Alan was getting annoyed at having to shout into that long distance.

The male guard turned the board over, showing a large red heart.

"Well, at least they're friendlier than Paul and the others." Celia shrugged, then she patted Brunch, who was beside her. "You're fine being left alone again, big girl?"

As usual, the wyvern just nodded.

"Do you need me to accompany you?" Celia asked, then glanced at Alan. "I feel like I must look after our friend, though."

Alan could tell that Celia was referring to their chat yesterday.

"Sorry, we have to leave you again, Brunch," Alan added.

***

Alan was a little lost when he first entered the city because the arrangement was quite complicated. It took a while until they arrived at the merchant's area.

"I have to admit, crossing bridges that sometimes sway because of the wind like this gives a particular sensation," Celia commented when they came to a materials store. "It's like using a squat toilet the first time."

Those words made Alan stop walking. "What?"

"You've seen squat toilets like in Japan or some other Asian countries, right?" Celia shrugged. "When you first use it, you're afraid you'll trip over, and your butt will hit your own poop…."

"I see." Although he did not understand the meaning of his friend's words, Alan continued on his way. He had too much headache with the blueprints from Elaine.

"Welcome." The shopkeeper, a slightly tanned man, greeted Alan and Celia. "How can I help you today?"

While Celia looked at the colorful stones on the shop shelf, Alan took one of his wind crystals from his bag. The shopkeeper gasped at the gleaming cyan-colored object.

"How much are you willing to pay for this thing, good sir?" Alan's smile grew.

"I'll buy it for 70 gold coins." The shop owner also smiled back, returning his expression to how it was before. It was obvious that he didn't want Alan to read her face.

"Thank you for your time, sir." Alan put the crystal in his bag again. "Have a nice day."

The young man turned and started to walk away. Celia, who didn't know anything, froze for a moment, then followed her friend.

The shop owner cleared his throat. "How about 80 gold coins?"

Alan didn't even slow down.

"100!" The shop owner started to panic. "That price is high already!"

"Maybe we need to find another shop, Celia," Alan muttered as he reached the shop's entrance.

"I'll pay you 150 gold coins, god damn it!!!" A loud snort escaped the shopkeeper's nose. "That's the highest price! You can ask any other shop, and the answer will be the same!"

"How about we go find some good food after this?" Alan smirked at Celia, then spoke to the shop owner again. "Do you know who could make a propeller thruster, sir?"

"Get your ass here and sell that crystal." The shop owner snorted again. "As long as you do that, I will answer your questions."

***

While munching on his waffle, Alan scanned the people passing by. So far, he hadn't found any other players. There were the regular people, armored soldiers, and people carrying weapons that reminded Alan of adventurers in fantasy games.

"This food gives me the sensation of meeting a gorilla for the first time." Celia suddenly muttered.

With stiff, robotic movements, Alan turned his head to that young lady, then asked with his mouth full. "What?"

"Gorillas are cute like bunnies, and cute is related to the word sweet, right?"

Celia's words were more difficult for Alan to understand than before. And why does she think gorillas are cute, just like rabbits? Did Celia put the two animals in the same category?

"I see." Once again, Alan decided not to think about what Celia had said, or he might go mad.

"Announcement." A thunderous sound suddenly appeared from a direction. "Please gather at the Goat's Leg Monument to hear this news. There will be a competition with a big prize."

People flocked towards the direction the sound came from while the announcement sounded again.

"Wanna check it?" Alan asked. "Before we go to the propeller maker?"

Celia shrugged. "Sure, although I'm more curious about that goat's leg monument, anyway."

As the announcement said, people gathered around a land decorated with an upturned goat leg statue.

There are two people on that land. One of them is a witch. She pressed her magic staff against the neck of an armored guard. Alan guessed that she was amplifying her partner's voice with magic.

"Did they use the symbol of the goat's leg because it represents eternal youth?" Celia, standing on a bridge with Alan, mumbled again. "Goat leg contains a lot of collagens."

"Collagens are good for the skin. Is that what you mean?" At first, Alan didn't want to respond to Celia's nonsense anymore, but in the end, he couldn't help but comment.

The guard near the goat's leg monument opened a paper roll. "This is the announcement of a contest to find the flying rabbit with the golden butt."