Chapter 8 – Going Crazy

Karlo looked again at the mission completed notification and accepted the reward. He felt something appear in his pocket and, if his thoughts were correct, he should’ve gained another level in Qi Infusion.

He also received another notification.

[F+ Grade Mission Completed!

Progress towards unlocking E- Grade Cultivation: (1/3)]

In his pocket, he found a shiny silver coin. He had thought missions operated on more realistic principles, like that Mrs. Dandy would give him a silver coin, not that one would just magically appear. It made him wonder how the reward for Old Garber’s mission would work.

“Look here,” Mrs. Dandy said.

“Hm?”

“What are those clothes you’re wearing?”

Karlo looked down at himself. He was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a black shirt. He wondered what the problem was, but when he looked around, he saw clothes all around – this was a tailor’s shop after all. All the clothes he saw were in a foreign, ancient style.

The fabric was more coarse than what he was familiar with, and the colors were less vibrant.

“People have probably just been ignoring it because they know outsiders have come recently, but those clothes draw too much attention. And another thing,” she looked him up and down, “when was the last time you took a bath?”

Karlo’s eyes widened.

“You can’t even remember?! Look, I know you must’ve got some money from that mission. How about you give me some, and I’ll give you some clothes, you can have a hot bath, and I’ll even throw in breakfast. Sound fair?”

He hesitated.

“Ugh, these young’uns. 10 copper coins are equal to 1 silver coin. I’ll only charge you 4 copper coins for everything I said before.”

Before she had even finished Karlo replied, “Deal!”

In fact, Karlo didn’t really know the value of a silver coin but he didn’t think the old lady would rip him off.

“Coral, come show our guest to the bath! That reminds me, I still don’t know your name.”

“Berrio. Karlo, Berrio,” he said in a cool manner.

“Hahaha, okay berry-boy. Take these with you,” she said as she handed him a bundle of clothes.

The little blue-haired girl ran in. “Should we go now, mister?”

He smiled and replied, “Okay.”

He followed her out into the shop and then to the exit.

When they walked out, he saw that he was in the middle of the desert market he had seen before.

“Wait, Coral.”

“Yeah?”

“Is this the place I came into the store from yesterday?”

“You mean when you fell over in front of our door?”

‘Kids and their heartless questions,’ he thought to himself. “Yeah, that’s the one.”

“No, that’s a different door. You’re silly mister, don’t you remember going down all those stairs?”

“I do, but then why aren’t we underground?”

“Huh... that’s a good question.”

Karlo quickly concluded there was no use in asking her any more questions.

“Okay, nevermind that. Why don’t you show us to that bath your granny was talking about?”

“Yep, let’s go!”

He and Coral walked past stalls selling spices and other foods, jewelry, clothes, and many more items.

Karlo had never gotten to travel on Earth, so this was all very fascinating to him. But eventually, even he grew tired of it.

“Coral, why have we been walking in circles?”

“Um, I forgot where the bathhouse is.”

“How could you forget that?”

“Well, it isn’t my fault! Every time we walk out of the shop we end up in a different place. It’s hard to remember where every bathhouse is! Oh look, there it is.”

Karlo turned and saw a building with a huge sign that read, ‘Bathhouse’ at the front. While wondering how they could have both missed that, he and the little girl walked in.

At the reception was a young woman. Her eyes lit up the moment she saw Coral. “Oh wow, it’s Coral! Come here, give your aunt a hug.” She held her arms out.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Coral’s head tilted as she looked at the woman queryingly, “Who are you?”

The woman was shocked to the core. “You don’t recognise me?” she asked with a sob.

“Oh, that’s right!” Coral had a look of realization. “You’re that lady, aren’t you! I was just showing this guy to the bathhouse, can he have one?”

‘Damn, she’s as much of a scammer as her grandma,’ Karlo thought.

“Oh sure, here you go.” She handed him some sort of card. “Just go through that door and show it to the man standing there. Now, Coral, we got a lot to catch up on don’t we?”

Karlo left them to it and entered the door she had pointed to. He saw a large pool, with paved white walls, floors, and ceiling. There were at least 10 men already in the pool.

“Pass, please,” the man next to him asked.

“Oh yeah,” he quickly handed him the card the woman gave him.

The man easily recognised him as a newcomer. “Just put your clothes over there. Towels are here, and you can wash yourself there before going in the pool.”

Karlo did as he was told. If he was being honest, he had never used a shared bath, so he just wanted to be done with it as soon as possible.

He washed and dried himself without any intention of going into the pool.

“Brother,” a man sitting in the pool called out, “aren’t you gonna come in?”

“Ah, no. I’m in a bit of a rush, see.”

“Haha, I can tell it’s your first time here. Just hop in, this pool isn’t like any you’ve seen before.”

Karlo looked again and felt there was something unusual about it. So, overcoming his embarrassment, he went in.

Instantly, he felt the effects. It was as if his skin was being rejuvenated.

“What do you think?” the man asked.

“It feels great, it’s like I’m a new man! What is this?”

“Haha, it’s Qi infused water, it can be difficult to tell if you’re not looking carefully. By the way, my name is Jovie Tops. I’m the owner here.”

“Oh wow. My name’s Karlo Berrio, pleased to meet you.” They shook hands.

As they kept talking, Karlo started to get the feeling that there was something up with this guy. Although he was just as amiable as Mrs. Dandy had been, something felt wrong talking to him.

After only a few minutes, Karlo cut the conversation short, “Well, it’s been great talking to you, but I wasn’t lying when I said I was busy. There’s someone waiting on me.”

“Oh well, I won’t keep you. Pop in any time, I’ll even give you a special discount.”

“For sure, you’ll see me around,” is what Karlo replied, while internally he thought, ‘Not on your life, you creep.’

He quickly dried himself and got dressed into his new clothes, not even taking a second to look at himself in the mirror before he was out of the room. Not only did he find this ‘Jovie Tops’ creepy, but he also felt that he was dangerous.

Karlo had no doubt that the only reason he was able to pick up on anything strange was because of his Truth Seeker talent.

‘I really did make the right choice,’ he thought. ‘Everything in this world has more to it than what is obvious at a glance. Almost everyone has some sort of motive behind their actions. I can’t know exactly what they want, but just having an idea gives me an edge. Not to mention all the benefits to do with cultivation.’

He saw Coral sitting with the receptionist behind the desk, discussing something animatedly. Disregarding their conversation, he interrupted, “Coral, we have to go now.”

Before Coral could reply, it was the receptionist who answered, “That was a short bath. Me and Coral still have so much to talk about, right Coral?”

Karlo watched Coral slightly shake her head from left to right.

The woman turned to him, “Wow! You’re actually quite handsome after changing your clothes. Those were downright strange.”

While she was speaking, Coral had come out from behind the reception and grabbed Karlo by the hand. “Thanks, aunt, we’ll talk another time, okay?”

The woman was taken aback, “Oh, okay. Bye.”

Coral practically pulled Karlo out of the store. Well, in reality, they had both gotten out of there as fast as they could.

When they were some distance down the street, they simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief.

Karlo looked at the little girl strangely, “What are you so relieved about?”

“That lady was crazy. I’ve never met her in my life. And she kept on touching my hair.”

“Are you sure that was the same bathhouse you usually go to?”

“Ummm... no.”

Karlo wondered if this weird occurrence would have any consequences later on.

“For now, let’s go back to your granny’s shop.”

When they got back, Coral told Mrs. Dandy everything that happened, including the fact that they entered a bathhouse she had never seen before. All the while, the old lady’s face grew darker and darker.

“Is something wrong?” Karlo asked.

“You wouldn't have happened to meet a man with the last name ‘Tops’, by any chance?”

“...yeah, I did.”

The old lady’s hands covered her face and she breathed out heavily. “Looks like it’s time to leave again Coral.”

The little girl huffed. “Dang it.”

“Sorry Karlo looks like I’m gonna have to skimp out on that breakfast. To make up for it, you don’t have to pay for those clothes.”

“Huh? Wait, what’s going on?” Karlo asked.

Completely ignoring his question, Mrs. Dandy continued, “I’ve finished that coat for Old Garber, so you don’t have to worry about that. Also, while you’re delivering that to him, can you do me a favor?”

“Yeah of course, what is it?”

She took out a pen and a sheet of paper and wrote something at a speed Karlo could hardly see. She then folded the paper and handed it to him, “Give this to Old Garber as well.”

Karlo took it but was struggling to find words.

“Oh, that’s right. You collapsed as soon as you got here, I guess you wouldn't remember how to get back to that staircase. Come with me.”

He followed her to a closet inside the tailoring room.

“Just go through here,” she said, “And at the back of the closet is a door leading to that staircase you come down when you first arrived. Remember though, the exits of this place always lead to different places. You should still be in Green Village, but just keep that in mind.

“Oh, and one more thing,” she said as she looked him up and down, “I have great fashion sense.”

Before Karlo could react, she opened the closet, pushed him inside and slammed the door behind him.

“Hey!” Karlo yelled. “You still haven’t told me what the hell is going on!”

He tried to open the door but it was as solid as steel.

“Damn it all!”

He looked at the coat and the piece of paper in his hands. He stared for a few seconds. Although burning with curiosity, with a sigh, he decided to respect her privacy.

Realizing there was nothing he could do inside of this closet, he made his way to the back. Somehow it seemed to be really far away, but after a few meters walk, he found the back wall.

He couldn’t see too well so he felt around for a handle, and with a twist, the wall opened. He stumbled out and found himself in a stone spiral staircase that he vaguely recognized.

Walking up the steps he kept going past the same doors he had seen the day before, only now he was far more interested in what they might be. Everything in this place was unusual, so whatever these doors led to must be unusual too.

But, again looking at the bit of paper, he ignored them and kept making his way up the stairs.

When he finally reached the entrance, he was not greeted by the hot sun and sand that he expected. Instead, he found himself exiting a cave into the tundra.

“‘You should still be in Green Village,’ she says.”

Looking around, he only saw a vast expanse of white in all directions.

“Where the hell am I?!” he shouted into the empty landscape.

***

Back at the tailor shop.

Mrs. Dandy took one last look at this place she had called her home.

“Granny, hurry up!” Coral called to her from the passage way hidden beneath the floor.

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming.”

As she entered, she thought to herself, ‘Be thankful Karlo. You wouldn't want to be here for what happens next.’