Mash woke up early in the morning, far before anyone sane probably would. The sun wasn’t up yet, and he doubted that it would be any time soon. That was why he was so surprised to hear knocking on the door. He shuffled over to the door, trying to move somewhat quietly. His room was actually big enough that, even with his draconic domain, he couldn’t see outside of the room from the bed. Once he got a bit closer, he recognized who was standing outside. Slowly, he made his way to the door and opened it apprehensively.
Coraline stood there looking at him anxiously, she was holding a platter of food. Honestly, Mash still felt awkward, not really knowing what to do in this situation. She believed that he was someone else, and he had no experience in this field. However, he didn’t stop her as she entered the room, pushing the platter of food into his hands.
“Eat! How would your father feel about seeing you starve?”
There was an air of command to her words, though it was clear that she was struggling too. Her eyes kept darting around, and he realized that she was probably just scared. Still, letting a girl his own age into his room, at a time like this, was wrong. He took a second to think, trying to find a way to word it so that it wouldn’t be problematic. Mash didn’t know what would happen when he left, but he didn’t want to ruin the boy’s life more than he already had.
“Thank you for the food, really. But you can’t be in here, think about what people will say. We can ta-”
“No, I don’t care what people say. You’re practically my brother and both of us know that rumors will pop up even if nothing will happen. I just… are you doing alright? I know how you idolized your father.”
Her words bordered on what one could call a whisper. It was obvious that she was tired and was just looking to feel secure. Apparently, there was nothing between the two of them. Or at least the relationship wasn’t like how people thought. Even his father figure had seemed to make the mistake, but Mash was much more comfortable with acting the brother than the lover. He at least had some experience as one of those things. He walked over to the table, sitting there as she sat on his bed.
Mash didn’t know how to respond to her question, and instead just started to eat the food she had brought. There were several full dishes, far more than even he could eat. It seemed like he was someone who ate a lot and was glad that it matched up. He eagerly ate the food for a second, savoring the new dishes. There was a cut of meat like a steak, but it was covered in some kind of sugary sauce. The combination was good, far better than what he would have expected. Most of the food was on the sweeter side, not that he minded it.
It only took a few minutes for him to finish the meal, and he apologized to Coraline before responding.
“Sorry, I was hungry. I don’t really know how I feel, but I found this and have been reading it.”
Mash spoke while grabbing the journal. He had summoned his storage space without thinking about it and remembered too late that he should hide it. From the corner of his eye, he noticed Coraline’s eyebrows rise, but her expression quickly returned to normal. It was strange, but he threw the journal to her either way. She looked at it for a second, before starting to read it. The rest of the morning was spent in silence except for the occasional laugh or cry as she read the book. Honestly, Mash didn’t really know what to do in the situation. Even if they could connect over the book, he felt like he was lying to her. Instead, he just kept quiet, and eventually, night turned to morning.
Mash never went to sleep and had used meditation to wash away the fatigue. He knew that he shouldn’t rely on the skill but using it occasionally wouldn’t be a problem. Plus, Coraline had fallen asleep in his bed. Coraline was still asleep and was certainly not prepared for Jill to teleport into his room. She had brought Jill and Luke as well, and she entered while speaking loudly.
“Hey, we need to discuss what…”
She stopped speaking as Red tapped her shoulder and pointed towards the bed. Jill and Luke both turned to look at what she was pointing towards, and both of them froze the sight. Coraline was waking from the noise too, and Mash was trying to think about what to do. He could use the situation to make fun of his friends or tell them the truth. It was not really a serious debate, and Mash coughed a few times before speaking.
“This is why normal people knock on doors. Now if you could excuse us.”
Waving his hands at the door, Mash gave them a smirk. For some reason, they actually seemed to calm down upon hearing his words. It was not the reaction he was going for and was a bit disappointed by how quickly they dismissed the notion. He decided to take it as a sign of trust, rather than insult they intended.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
“Fine, this is Coraline, someone who is as close as family. Coraline these are the friends I’ve made recently. Like very recently.”
She raised her head and looked over the crowd. After giving them a small wave, she went back to sleep. His friends didn’t seem very bothered either, and Jill teleported all of them back to her room.
“Now, let's forget that happened, and talk about what ideas we came up with. I was thinking we go and try and figure out how the twins got so physically strong.”
Mash nodded his head, and the others did too, although it seemed like Red hadn’t really been thinking about it. Either that, or she didn’t care, and that made him reconsider whether it would work for him or not. He kept forgetting that he wasn’t really human, and Red wasn’t either. She probably assumed those methods wouldn’t work for her. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to try, and it seemed like she was thinking along the same lines. There was one other matter Mash wanted to bring up though.
“These people are real. I want to try and free them from this dungeon. I don’t know how yet, but I figured I should tell you guys.”
They looked at him uncertainly, although he wasn’t really expecting an answer from them. It was not a goal he could accomplish immediately, and he knew it. It was just something that would probably cause them problems in the future, and he wanted to make sure they could prepare. This was only part of his ideas, and he elaborated on what he thought of first.
“I want to check for dungeons with intelligent life. I don’t want to try and clear them but get information. If we can get powers outside of the class system, we might be able to break it. Specifically, I was thinking about those things that made the dungeons back in the city.”
He tried to sound as convincing as possible, as he knew how bad that experience had been. Luke's face darkened, and the look he gave Mash made him think that he would throw a punch. That obviously didn’t happen, but he did yell.
“Those things were monsters; you can’t seriously expect to learn from them. I don’t-”
“Stop, you know as well as everyone else what those things were capable of. If we could learn how they did those things, then it can only help us. Mash isn’t suggesting we become their friends, he merely wants to steal their knowledge and power.”
Red cut Luke off, however, her voice was similarly cold. Whatever her words said, she obviously didn’t like Mash’s suggestion. Slowly, her glare shifted from Luke to Mash, and she continued to speak.
“And don’t think that it is the right decision. You might be right that it will make us stronger, and you might want to do good with it, but consider what lengths you are willing to go for power. If you focus too much on your goals, you will end up like my family.”
Her voice somehow grew even colder as she spoke, and her final words stopped any retorts Mash might have made. Furthermore, her eyes darkened unnaturally, and her irises turned into pools of blood. The hairs on the back of Mash’s neck rose, and he shivered slightly under the gaze. Jill stepped between the two of them, her hands raised in a placing motion.
“We are friends here. Just sharing some ideas, we don’t need to go through with them all. Let’s just try to focus on one thing. For now, let’s just try and figure out how these people strengthen their bodies, and worry about the rest later. Also, no more glares if you have weird eyes.”
Jill sounded like her usual self, and she looked at Mash and Red for the last few words. Mash nodded his head. Being under the gaze of an undead blood being was unpleasant. They kept talking about a few more things, though they avoided talking about where they would go after this dungeon. Instead, they focused on how they would find information related to enhancing their bodies.
Mash’s initial instinct to go check the libraries was good, but they had told him it was probably a good idea to ask first. When he asked them about maintaining their cover, Jill just rolled her eyes and said that it shouldn’t matter. Deciding to leave it to the professionals, Mash quietly followed behind Jill as she went to find Robert. Luke seemed hesitant too, but Red agreed with Jill’s plan. It didn’t take long to find a servant and get them to call Robert when they could.
Soon they were in a room eating breakfast, patiently waiting for Robert to join them. Both twins had been busy since the events yesterday, but Robert said that he would make some time for them. To make things more convenient for him, they decided to talk over a meal. That way he could take a break and also get a meal. The table had all kinds of foods laid out, ranging from eggs to meatloaf. Furthermore, there was a fruity drink that Mash loved. He had never tasted anything like it and despite the oddly yellow color, he drank almost a full pitcher himself.
After eating for a few minutes, Robert entered the room. He wore the same clothes he had on last night, and he looked tired. It seemed like their bodies weren’t quite as good, as Mash could easily go days without sleep. That might have to due with his changing race though, he would ask Jill about it later. They gave him some time to eat, only making some idle conversation for a little bit. It was almost too casual, but Jill moved the discussion to the needed topic and asked Robert what she wanted to.
“Well, since we are talking about how to get stronger, do you think you could tell us how you got to a golden body.”
Mash should ask Jill for some tips because his usual method of lying involved just telling the truth. It proved surprisingly effective in that people believed what he said. Robert nodded and started sharing what he did.
“You guys are at silver and could just train for it. I’m sure you could get there in five to ten years. But that’s not what you’re really asking. If you must know there are ways to speed it up, though I wouldn’t really recommend it, but I do have some ideas.”