(32) Only Uphill From Here

— Ruins Of Tarmat, In a certain bar…

Like almost everything in Tarmat, this bar is expected to be worn down and not in the best quality. From outside, it appears to be a not so fine establishment nailed together with pieces of wood.

Inside, the bar itself isn't any better. The smell of beer and dried blood from the weapons of mercenaries lingered in the air.

Some of the patrons inside were either hunched over like shrimps, drinking away their bitterness or happy individuals that had nothing in mind but indulge in alcohol.

"Haahhh–" Ixie slammed the large glass of beer on the countertop. Her face didn't appear flushed and instead looked like she hadn't drank at all.

Unlike the others who sat in stools or chairs while chatting with their own around a table, Ixie was the only one who brought over the throne made of black stone.

When she entered the bar carrying it over her head, the bar's owner who always wore the dark brown trench coat filled with dried blood stains named Lovuc, complained immediately.

Lovuc hair looks similar to rusted metal because of its color. It was long enough to cover her eyes and she preferred it that way because Lovuc is blind. She perceives the world through soul energy and could care less about her appearance.

In Tarmat, maintaining beauty like Ixie meant that you're strong. Lovuc didn't have that kind of luxury as a mere bartender for outlaws.

Ixie is a frequent customer of this particular bar, so Lovuc knew of her for some time now.

Ixie lifted her finger with a bit of drool leaking from the corner of her lips to order. "Give me that one with the terrible stench.. I heard it was strong enough to knock a rhino down five times over."

Lovuc took her glass and a bottle from the shelf. She then poured the red liquor into the glass before placing it in front of Ixie.

Ixie felt the trail of saliva on her chin and wiped her mouth clean. She grabbed the glass and sniffed it. "Phew– This is already terrible from the smell.. I wonder if this big guy can put me to sleep."

Kejlar Yehedt drank the smooth black liquid from his glass in one go. It was unbearably bitter but he wasn't bothered at the slightest. "If you actually sleep on me, I'm not carrying you out.."

Ixie smiled. She took a sip from the glass and widened her eyes a bit from tasting it. "That's a bit heartless ain't it? I thought you'd take me away into a brothel so that you can relieve yourself while I can't do anything.."

Ixie lifted the glass and finished her drink in one gulp. She exhaled heavily, enjoying the drink very much.

Kejlar's already lifeless eyes dimmed further. "Do you think of me as a rabbit-brained idiot? I'm not interested in anything like that… Someone like me is better off dying somewhere."

"Eugh, someone like me is better off dying somewhere… And here you are working your life off as a mercenary, eating and drinking everyday and even sleeping at a reasonable time. Is that what you call dying?" Ixie leaned back on the throne with her arms crossed.

"I prolong my suffering since I deserve it."

Ixie sighed softly. "There you go again with that bitter tongue.. What happened in the past is the past, you can try to experience what's left of your life without all that baggage."

Kejlar looked at her for a brief moment before saying, "It feels disrespectful. Like I'm pissing on their graves if I indulge even a little bit.. It's not as easy as you make it out to be."

"You're too inflexible you know? I've lost my arm before and lived as a slave in the first twelve years of my life and look at me, I look forward to another day unlike the kind of living husk you are now." Ixie chuckled. All the scars on her body seemed insignificant from the cheerful feeling she exudes.

Kejlar lifted his finger to order another purely bitter drink.

"There's always multiple results that you can get from a person who went through suffering. I'm the type who just wants their life to be over with." He grabbed the glass and drank it all at once.

"And what kind of person am I?" Ixie turned to look at him with her head testing on her hand.

Kejlar paused before promptly responding with, "The type of person who lives their life without concern. You go to brothels to satisfy yourself with men and woman, drink unnecessary amounts of alcohol and torture bandits and criminals for the fun of it."

Ixie laughed self-deprecatingly. "Come on, my personality isn't just limited to those three… I'm working as a mercenary to find what I'm looking for. I kind of want to be a master of just one student that I can teach one day.. After passing on my legacy, I'd take all of my riches and live a secluded life until I die."

"Enviable.. You found the way you want to live your life." Kejlar stared deeply into his pitch black drink and observed his reflection.

While Kejla drowned himself with nothing but hopelessness, a person sat on the stool on Ixie's right.

"Ma'am, one glass of fruit wine." The individual wearing an intricate dark blue priest robe ordered.

Lovuc gave him one simple scan before asking, "What kind?"

"The most expensive you got." The man smiled. He had a round face and light, soft skin, giving him quite the youthful and amicable appearance.

However, this man had a translucent blue crystal the size of an egg embedded on his forehead. It emanated soul energy and it allows one to see his brain directly if carefully looked at.

[Uiroisca Alnendi, ?????]

Lovuc poured him fruit wine from a cabinet hidden below. She then gave the glass to him.

Uiroisca peered into his drink. "Wow, this is truly high quality fruit wine. I'm surprised that a shabby place like this didn't scam me."

Lovuc's eyes couldn't be seen, but anyone could tell that a nerve was tugged. "Not everyone in Tarmat is someone without credibility.. That's why in such a chaotic mess, order exists in some way."

Uiroisca giggled like a young child. "Order? In my eyes, once you become a murderer, a profit seeking mercenary, a slave trader and a merchant who sold goods used to satisfy people like all of you, humanity is revoked from you completely… In other words, you all forfeited your lives a long time ago. Nothing more but wild animals to be slaughtered."

"Anyone driven by temporary benefits is part of chaos. That means, something like order isn't achievable by such low kinds of lifeforms to begin with." Uiroisca slowly lifted his glass, enjoying the swathe of flavors coiling around his tongue.

Lovuc and the patrons of the bar clearly heard what Uiroisca said. Some showed anger, some showed pity, some were wary and some were dismissive.

Uiroisca's eyes sparkled. "However, I do find this fruit wine in high regard. I like it when things are this orderly."

Ixie and Kejlar also looked at Uiroisca with a strange gaze. Despite his outright showcase of displeasure towards the people and inhabitants of Tarmat, none of them were willing to provoke him.

Anyone who speaks this outlandishly in Tarmat was sure to die in a few hours or weeks. It may even take a year if they're lucky.

So why waste your time when someone else can do it for you?

A deterrent that prevented some of the wiser ones in the bar from acting was that the obvious crystal on Uiroisca's forehead wasn't just for show.

Ixie spoke to him and asked, "I wasn't born earlier.. Is there something that you want from me?"

Uiroisca's eyes shifted towards Ixie. He looked at her quite closely, even to the point that it appeared perverted.

His gaze wasn't filled with a lecherous intent. Instead, Uiroisca was scanning her body for weak points.

Ixie frowned and snapped her fingers at him. "It's common courtesy not to look at someone's body. If you want to bang, just ask me.. It's not like I'm not going to do it if you don't pay enough."

Uiroisca's expression fell apart. He was very disgusted at Ixie that very moment.

"Who would want a hag like you?"

Ixie was amused, taking no offense from what Uiroisca said. "Damn, sh*t taste…"

Lovuc turned to Kejlar and asked, "Do you know this person?"

"If my memory isn't busted, I recall that my relations with priests aren't that good. Do I strike you as the religious type for you to ask that?" Kejlar already grabbed the spear to his side just in case Uiroisca attacked.

Uiroisca smirked pompously. "My preferences in a partner aren't what the likes of you would understand the beauty in."

Ixie played along, finding the fellow right in front of her quite interesting. "Oh yeah? How so?"

Uiroisca touched the crystal on his forehead as his mouth widened into a crooked smile. "I like a woman who has a modest body and a kind personality."

"That's the most mediocre answer I could've ever expected.." Ixie couldn't help but feel disappointed. "You know, I would understand if you're the kind of guy who likes younger women… The kind of creep who picks a flower before it blooms."

Uiroisca was offended. "What? I only like women that are around my age! How dare you slander me, you lowlife?"

Ixie shook her hand at him. "Alright, I'm tired of blabbering… What's your business with me? I'm sure you didn't sit there just because you found me arousing."

"As if anyone would find you arousing…" Uiroisca scoffed.

"Kejlar here does." Ixie pointed back to Kejlar.

"No I don't.. Please stop dragging me into your conversation." Kejlar ordered another black beer.

Uiroisca knocked on the countertop to get back to the topic at hand. "Ehem… Yes, I was wondering where you found that chair of yours."

He didn't want to call it a throne because it felt like he was complimenting something owned by Ixie.

Ixie nodded. "Pay up first."

Uiroisca was prepared for someone asking for payment. He reached his left hand into his robe, his black glove was quite attractive to look at, thanks to the variety of gemstones adorning it.

Uiroisca pulled his hand out with three gold coins between his four fingers. "Do you feel like talking now?"

Ixie reached her hand out. "Of course! I got this from a cave in the middle of Undbok Deep Forest.. Is there something about this throne that I don't know about?"

Uiroisca stood up. "That isn't for you to know." He then took out another gold coin and flipped it over to Lovuc.

Lovuc caught it with one hand. "Thanks."

Uiroisca walked away and left the bar.

The crystal on his forehead flickered with light, signifying his excitement while his face remained in an upbeat expression.

'I can't believe I found a reincarnator's seat. Kekeke…'

Before Uiroisca could get far, several armed thugs confronted him.

"Hey priest, that's quite the expensive robe you got there." A man in front of the group lifted his axe and held it threateningly.

With a simple glance, Uiroisca quickly identified them as mere worms.

He couldn't be bothered with them. The crystal on his forehead flickered for a split second and then….

*Splesch!*

The man's ribcage pierced through his chest while his skull mutated into that of a centipede. His molars deformed into an insect's mandibles and a tail forcefully grew out of his pelvis.

His hands and feet grew their nails at an astonishing rate, them into hardened claws. His legs became bulkier and longer, giving him the ability to run faster.

As the man's vocal cords became useless, his agonized voice couldn't be heard except for some grunts.

The thugs were scared out of their wits.

"Wha- what in the Gods' name is that?!"

"I didn't even see that priest use a magic circle!"

Uiroisca managed to turn their boss into whatever this thing is in front of them without using a magic circle.

That was unheard of at all!

Soul energy needs a medium or else it will remain useless in the physical world.

Their boss stopped mutating and turned its head to look at Uiroisca.

Uiroisca continued walking away and uttered a single word.

Just like a drop of water in a serene lake, his voice was like the ripples, unhindered and clear.

"Kill."

Once the mutant heard the command, it beheaded the nearest person with its claws, spilling the blood into the faces of the nearest people.

After losing its head, the body of the man fell down, still spurting out blood from its neck. The head rolled over to a thug's feet and stopped while the eyes looked at the thug.

"Run!" The thug looked at the decapitated head's eyes and couldn't handle it anymore. He didn't have the skills to use soul energy to fight, so all he could do was run.

With the fuse ignited, no one had any plans of staying with the mutant.

Some stronger individuals tried attacking the mutant, but all their attacks weren't enough to stop it at all.

A man with a sword type soul skeleton used his sword to lop off the mutant's neck, but it did nothing at all.

The mutant brandished its claws, killed the swordsman and began slaughtering helpless pigs. Even the spectators and passersby were implicated in the mess.

Limbs, guts and blood were all strewn out messily on the street.

When there was no one nearby to kill, the mutant suddenly felt a ringing in its head before it exploded, killing it.

After that, the street was eerily silent.

— Road to Mysteriea…

Riang and Oslan looked at the city ahead.

When they saw the walls that seemed to extend horizontally to no end, it gave off an unimaginably mighty aura. When they saw the watchtowers looming over them, they could subtly feel that they had been spotted a long time ago.

When it came to Owen, all he felt was a sense of familiarity.

In GOTG, Mysteriea is the starter city. Everyone who has played the game knows about it. Even though it was a lot bigger in reality, Owen could still remember some fond memories of him running back and forth just to grind monsters for EXP and item drops.

When the merchants of Liunden saw the city wall, they were ecstatic.

"Brother, we're here!" A fisherman grabbed his younger brother by the collar and shook him excitedly.

"A- a- a- a- Stop shaking me-!" The younger sibling fixed his shirt's collar after his brother let go.

An old farmer laughed heartily seeing the two siblings. "Is this your first time here, youngsters?"

The two of them looked at each other before nodding at him.

"My name is Narun, people call me Old Narun. What are your names?" Narun was like the typical nice old man that would give you a snack after helping him finish a simple chore.

The older brother pointed at himself. "My name is Jarwe, my brother is named Osted."

"Ah, then I'll address you two as Jarwe and Osted. Young lads, as you can see, my body isn't as strong as it used to be.. If you help me sell my crops, I can teach you everything you need to know about being a merchant in Mysteriea." Narun laughed in a jovial manner.

Osted liked the sound of that. "Please, we're not that knowledgeable about the ins and outs of the city. Your guidance is very helpful."

Just like them, other 'senior' merchants helped the newcomers.

This was the culture of those from Liunden to guide each other. It was deeply ingrained into them that only through unity can they grow as a society.

Geafle checked their goods while his sister held onto the reins of their horse.

He was a meek looking boy with wheat colored long hair and fluffy bangs. Although he frequently works hard while transporting goods, his build was still slim.

His sister on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Large body, thick arms and legs, short hair and very tall too.

Her name is Lesra.

She wore a baggy linen sleeved shirt with pants under her green hood. Hanging on her neck was a necklace made of thin rope keeping a small metal plate with her name on it.

"Sis, my dreams have been foggy lately… I think something bad is going to happen soon." Geafle held his left eye that throbbed in pain.

Lesra reached her hand out to check his eye. "Let me see your eye…"

When she inspected Geafle's left eye and saw that it wasn't as red as she expected, she spoke with a reassuring tone. "It's not infected, don't rub it.. As for your dreams, what did you see?"

Geafle shook his head. "It's strange… In my dream last night, I saw two people running somewhere in Mysteriea. Then after that, the other guy ran away and hid within a crowd to hide his tracks from whoever he was fighting."

"Nothing involving us?" Lesra asked.

"No… I'm confused why my dreams pointed to them though." Geafle didn't know the implications of his dream.

Lesra didn't seem to be too concerned about it. "Eh, if it's not really that important, we might as well stay away from it."

If anyone knew Geafle for long enough, they would know that he had the ability to see glimpses of the future.

This was because his class is…

[Seer of Fate]

"…"

Caophre nudged Owen.

"See that? That gate is made from two hundred tons of steel just to secure one entrance. The stone wall itself is roughly 28 meters tall and 4 meters wide… The work needed to construct just the outer wall is enormous and outright impossible if it weren't for the utilization of soul energy and Ichor Selenkyr's construction machines called cranes and excavators. I heard the steel parts of the gate were transferred not by animals but by trucks." Caophre gave out facts for Owen like she was a tour guide.

What snagged Owen's attention was the fact that trucks, cranes and excavators existed in this world.

He reevaluated Ichor Selenkyr in his mind once more.

'Is this guy from Earth just like me?' Owen was curious. But then again, he existed in the original game, so who was he exactly?

Owen entertained the opportunity to talk to this man named Ichor if he had the chance. Maybe he could provide some insights about why they were thrown into this world to begin with.

Oslan and Riang looked at the flags on top of the wall fluttering in the wind.

Riang found the woman reaching out for the sun pleasing to the eyes. Mysteriea City's insignia was like a door leading to her home.

"Here we are.. Hopefully Owen knows what he's doing." Riang felt her heart thump slightly stronger as they got closer to the city.

"Of course he does.. By the way, has your blood origin regenerated yet?" Oslan asked expectantly.

Riang feigned annoyance. "Well aren't you impatient? I'm not a blood dispenser who you can drink off as you please."

Oslan didn't respond and merely scratched his head with a feeling of shame.

Seeing this, Riang felt a little better and said, "A few days and it would be good. Just be patient… it's not like I'm not going to give you anything."

Oslan regained his cheerful mood. "Really? You're the best."

"Hehe, thanks."