Chapter 23: The Golden Sun Arc (2)
Solaris. The city of dreams; also known as the Golden Sun. Solaris was founded 500 years ago during the great demon war. The joint alliance between the dwarves and the human race brought about new technologies that permeated throughout the fabric of everyday life. Because of their abundance in minerals, most, if not all structures were built with steel framing. Bricks made of stone lined the entire city, from the streets to the walls, which gave the city an almost deary monotone appearance. But thanks to the local vendors and travelers, the city was bustling the vibrancy of life.
Marcus’s party had left their Wooble friends behind and traveled down the steep forest hills. Upon entering the town, they got a closer view of the golden orb that floated in the center of the city. Streams of yellow vapour seem to be sucked from beneath the orb. The giant orb was the catalyst for the city. To the citizen, the orb gave them life, the orbs itself was like another sun! Hence, the popular phrase was born, the Golden Sun.
Marcus and Stephanie was left awestruck. It was almost as grand as Lumia in the city of fairies. Even the Wooble held in Stephanie’s arms was left speechless.
“Wow~” (Fuzzywuzzy)
“Daddy look! It’s big!” (Diloria)
Looking around the square, the citizens of Solaris consisted mostly of dwarves and humans. Several elves and ferals could be seen bartering with the locals. Marcus noticed a wolf child stealing some trinkets from the local jeweler.
“Hey Steph-” (Marcus)
“HOLD IT RIGHT THERE CRIMINAL!” (Women?)
“Eeek!” (Feral child)
Catapulting through the crowd, a female officer yelled out a very cliche line.
“Through the hammer of justice, I’ll crush you! -Gavel smash-!” (Women?)
A large glowing hammer, made from mana, formed above the officer’s head. She grabbed it mid air while swinging it down on the frighten wolf child.
“Mommy!” (Wolf child)
[BOOM]
-200 HP
“Ugh!” (Marcus)
“Hey! What the hell are you doing?” (Officer?)
“Eeek! Mommy!” (Wolf child)
The officer frown in annoyance as the feral child scurried away. She folded her arms beneath her bust. Crossing her arms only made her sizable cleavage all the more noticeable. She wore a tight-tanned uniform that looked vaguely similar to what a police officer would wear in real life. Standing 175 cm (5.7 ft) tall, just short of Marcus 182 (6 ft), she gave Marcus an angry growl.
“-Interrogate-!” (Officer?)
“Huh?” (Marcus)
“Hey! Leave Marcus alone!” (Stephanie71)
“Stay outta this pipsqueak!” (Officer?)
“Grrr!” (Stephanie71)
The officer eyes glossed over Stephanie’s bosom... or the lack of. She gave Stephanie a cynically-disapproving smirk before rolling her eyes. Stephanie started to fume!
“You Bitch!” (Stephanie71)
“-Imprison-” (Officer?)
“Eh?!” (Stephanie71)
Beneath Stephanie’s feet, a glowing white box, 1 x 1 meters in dimension, suddenly appeared. Stephanie was trapped.
“Hey! Let me out!” (Stephanie71)
“Tsk-tsk-tsk. Striking at an officer will only get you thrown in jail. Be thankful I’m only using -imprison-. You’ll be out shortly” (Officer?)
“Hey, there’s no need for that” (Marcus)
“You! Did you know what you just did?!” (Officer?)
"Huh?" (Marcus)
"You just help a criminal escape!" (Officer?)
“Oh... Sorry... hitting a child is against my policy...” (Marcus)
The officer's blue eyes locked onto Marcus. Marcus averted his gaze while blushing. Aside from her brutish demeanor, she was actual cute. Stephanie wasn’t blind. She noticed the subtle change in Marcus behaviour and started to fuss.
“Marcussss!” (Stephanie71)
“Hey focus here!” (Officer?)
Marcus was now getting some unwanted attention from the crowd. He was still wearing the hooded cloak he ‘stole’ from the bandit. It had a special property in concealing his face. Unfortunately Marcus didn't know how he looked. With the lack of mirrors in the game, who can blame him? His shady appearance made him all the more suspicious in the eyes of the officer.
“Hmph. Doesn't look like you’re lying” (Officer?)
“Huh?” (Marcus)
“-Interrogate off-! Next time I catch you, I won’t be so easy!” (Officer?)
The mysterious female officer left without a word. The transparent box confining Stephanie vanished as she was out of sight.
“Grrr! Next time I see that Bitch, I swear I’m gonna kill her!” (Stephanie71)
[Squeak!]
Fuzzywuzzy agreed with Stephanie. Marcus was disturbed by Stephanie’s sudden change in attitude. What was it with girls fighting other girls? Stephanie let out a long sigh before continuing down the street.
“Hey Marcus, I’ll check out the Thief Guild for information on Yunni. Please don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone” (Stephanie71)
“Hah... I promise I’ll stay out of trouble...” (Marcus)
Stephanie gave Marcus a quick farewell hug before slipping into the alley way. Marcus was now alone with Diloria. He decided to do his own little ‘investigation’ while Stephanie was gone. The first place that came to mind was the local tavern. Where else would you be able to get free gossip and information other than the bar...?
[jingle]
Marcus took long strides as he plopped himself on a stool. He was trying to look as confident and natural as possible, but his poor acting skills made him stood out in all the wrong ways.
“What brings ya to town boy?” (Bar Keep)
A husky looking man, the size of a giant, gave Marcus a toothy grin. He was actually a mix breed between dwarves and humans. Surprisingly he had all the good traits of each race, the height of a human and a body built for a dwarf. Of course Marcus could only see a mean looking human with bulging biceps and massive pecs.
“I’m just sightseeing, came all the way from Rohan” (Marcus)
The bar keeper gave Markus a hearty laugh. He’s seen many faces over his lifetime and not once has he ever met someone so bad at lying. The bar keeper found it rather amusing so he didn’t pry any further.
“My name’s Gestburg. What will it be?” (Gestburg)
“A glass of milk please” (Marcus)
“Hahahaha! Is milk all you getting?” (???)
Pulling himself up the stool, a full breed dwarf sat next to Marcus. His stocky legs hanged horizontal to the floor. His beard was curly, just like the mullet on his head. Like a bad 70’s haircut, the dwarf ran his fingers through his deep orange hair before flicking it backwards into Marcus’s face. Marcus was left dumbstruck as he watch the silly looking dwarf wrestle with his skin tight silk shirt.
“Hey Gest, give everyone a round of booze on me!” (Silly-dwarf?)
“Haha! No problem here mate!” (Gestburg)
“Cheers!” (Tavern)
A frosty mug flew Marcus’s way. This wasn’t Marcus first time drinking alcohol, but he was still a minor after all. In Japan, the legal age limit was 20; Marcus was only 16. However, the game was more lax with drinking that one might expect. Since everything was virtual, there wasn’t any real life repercussion if they minors drank cyber beer. Also the game was launched as an international game where different countries had different laws. The developers thought it would be best to simply create negative effects with booze to curb any drinking habits among the minors.
[ping]
Status drunk(minor): -5 int. -1% accuracy. Duration: 5 minutes
“Hahaha, how’d you like the taste of mother’s nature sweet nectar? Great isn’t it?” (Silly-dwarf?)
Marcus was raise to be polite, it would be rude not to finish the beer. Besides the minor status effect, Marcus didn’t feel dizzy or nauseated. Thinking it was safe, he gulped down the rest of the mug before giving the silly dwarf a smirk.
“Hah. That was good. Excuse me sir, you wouldn’t happe-” (Marcus)
“Another one Gest! Keep’em coming!” (Silly-dwarf?)
“Cheers!” (Tavern)
“No, I’m fine-” (Marcus)
“Drink! No need to be shy! We’re all brothers here in the tavern!” (Silly-dwarf?)
“Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink! Drink!” (Tavern)
Was it the peer pressure? Was it the silly compliments, praising how manly Marcus looked while drinking beer? Or the endless chanting that filled the bar? Marcus lost count after his 13th mug…
[ping]
Status drunk (major): -50 int, -25 wis, -25% accuracy, -25% agi, +10% increase pain tolerance. Duration: 1 hour
Status intoxicated (moderate): -300 max HP, - 300 max MP. Duration: 24 hours
“S-so like, I told her that I was a ‘big boy’ now! I didn’t need diapers-hic” (Marcus)
“Hahahaha, and then?” (Silly-dwarf)
“She put on me anyways! I mean, I was already 3 you know-hic” (Marcus)
“Gest! Another round!” (Silly-dwarf)
[thud]
“Hey Kane. I think the boys out cold!” (Gestburg)
“Hahaha! Indeed he is!” (Kane)
“You oughta take care of the boy, it’s your fault he’s drunk!” (Gestburg)
“Only if you let me spend the night with your sister!” (Kane)
“Cassy’s off limits! Get outta here before I give you the one-two!” (Gestburg)
“Hahaha, you know I’m just kidding! Here’s for the trouble” (Kane)
Kane hopped off his stool and took Marcus by the hood. Marcus wasn’t too heavy for Kane, the only problem was he was too big! Kane dragged the corpse out to his carriage and had the driver help load Marcus to the back. Diloria tagged along as she curled up beside Marcus’s lifeless body.
“Hey Derek, get me back home. We have an unexpected guest.” (Kane)
“Yes Sir” (Derek)
The old driver sharply snapped the rein….
[neigh]
*gallop*
***
-Stephanie71’s POV-
“Marcusss! Marcusss!” (Stephanie71)
Calling through her voice chat, Stephanie was trying to get in touch. She knew he was still on because his online indicator was green. However there was no response. If Marcus was just wandering the streets, Stephanie could have easily spotted him with his floating green name. But besides that, there was no other way to track him down!
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Simply being friends or in a party doesn’t give the player the ability to locate their missing teammates. Stephanie was at a lost. Her mind was filled with strange delusions of what could have happen to Marcus. Not the sexy ones. The scary ones.
Arg! I told him to stay safe! That bitch better not lay her hands on him!
Getting information from the guild wasn’t hard. Actually, the whole slave thing was very common in this world. Since the demons have lost the great war, their race has faced severe discrimination and were forced into slavery by the humans. Fairies, believe it or not, were still classified under the demon fraction. Since the last time a human has seen a fairy was during the demon war, not much was known about their species.
Stephanie leaped from one building to the next. She kept her -locate- active incase she unintentionally ran by Marcus. However, half the day went by and still no signs of Marcus. Where could he have gone?
While soaring through the air, Stephanie notice a small commotion beneath the alley way. Using the awning as a trampoline, Stephanie gracefully descended towards the ground. Upon arriving, Stephanie eyes began to burn with vengeance. She finally found the person she was looking for.
That Bitch!
The officer was cornering the same little wolf boy from earlier.
Disgusting. Not only is she a bitch, she’s also a pedophiliac-beastialic-selfcenter-arrogant-stupid-bitch!
Stephanie never wanted to kill another person so much in her entire life. Not only did this officer hurt Marcus, but she also humiliated Stephanie in front of him. Unforgivable! Absolutely unforgivable!
“Hey Bitch! I challenge you to a duel!” (Stephanie71)
“Huh? You again?” (Officer?)
“Eeek! Mommy!” (Feral child?)
The little wolf boy ran away yet again. This time the officer snapped. For her to let a criminal escape, not once, but twice, pushed her over the tipping point! She quickly accepted the duel.
“So Ms. Washboard wants to play?” (Officer?)
“Shut up Melon Brains! Stupid! Stupid!” (Stephanie71)
“Wah?! Only idiots call other people idiots!” (Officer?)
“You’re breast are as asymmetrical as your face!” (Stephanie71)
“GAH! YOU BRAT!” (Officer?)
“...” (Fuzzywuzzy)
***
-Marcus’s POV-
“Huhuhuhu~” (???)
“Ugh…” (Marcus)
“Oh dear me~ Janis, please get some water for our guest” (???)
Opening his eyes, Marcus eyes were blinded by something wet. Shaking his head, the two slices of fruits fell in some questionable weird black liquid. Gazing at his body, he was completely naked and smeared with mud. Looking up, Marcus locked eyes with a monster!
“Wha!” (Marcus)
Marcus quickly sat up. The face of the dwarf, covered in a thick white goo, scared the life out of him.
[laughter]
Looking around, it wasn’t just the dwarf, but everyone had their face covered in goo! Trying to escape this hell, Marcus fumble inside the tub while being suppressed by an overwhelming force. Pinning him down was a giantess. She was HUGE!
Marcus was panicking. It wasn’t just her. Everyone beside the dwarf was HUGE! It was a room full amazonian GIANTS! Marcus prayed. He must have fallen into the depths of insanity while he was intoxicated. He swore never to drink again!
“Wa-wa-sorry, please don’t eat me!” (Marcus)
“Hahaha! Did you hear that Helen?!” (Kane)
“Hohohoho~ Sorry little man, we only eat dwarves!” (Helen)
“Huhuhuhu~” (Giantess)
Helen released Marcus as he calmed down. They gave him their word, they only eat dwarves. That was good enough for Marcus.
“Um, what’s happening?” (Marcus)
“Sorry, I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself. My name is Kane. We are currently located at my spa~” (Kane)
“Hi Kane, so this is a spa?” (Marcus)
Giving the room a thorough scan, it was indeed a spa. A very big spa. Marcus has never been to such a mystical land before, he’s heard many tales about the spa from his friend Yuta, of course, they always ended in some perverted fantasy.
Marcus touched his face. He also had goo covering him.
“Um, thank you very much Kane for the facial. But I really need to get going” (Marcus)
“Hohoho! Why the hurry? Stay and enjoy night, it’s still young~” (Kane)
Kane had a smile of a perverted old man as he casually grope Helen’s rump.
“I’m looking for a friend. She was... lost not too long ago…” (Marcus)
“Oh deary me! Listen to that now would you Helen?!” (Kane)
“Oh my! Is your friend all right?” (Helen)
“Sh-I don’t know. I need to find her before anything bad happens!” (Marcus)
“Then we mustn’t waste time dabbling around in mud now, shall we?” (Kane)
Just on cue, another giantess brought a barrel of lukewarm water. Picking up Marcus like a doll, she dunked him inside the barrel to wash the mud off. While scrubbing his skin clean with his bare hands, Marcus was even more surprised.
My god! My skin is as smooth as a baby’s bottom!
Getting out of the tub, Marcus was given a towel to dry himself.
“Daddy, Daddy! What’s that?” (Diloria)
“Eh?! Diloria! No licking!” (Marcus)
“Hohoho, your dog is such a cutie!” (Helen)
“Here’s your clothing Marcus~” (Kane)
“Thanks Kane. -Equip-” (Marcus)
“Oh my! You adventurers never cease to amaze me!” (Kane)
“Hehe, sorry for the surprise. Anyways, I need to hurry” (Marcus)
“Please wait! Let me write you a letter of recommendation. I’m quite well known throughout the city~ If you ever need of aid, show the townsfolk this letter, I’m absolutely positive they’ll help!” (Kane)
“Thank you very much Kane. I’m really in your debt” (Marcus)
“Hohoho! Don’t worry about the small details! If I wasn't so busy tomorrow, I would have personally help you myself!” (Kane)
“No this is enough. Well… till next time” (Marcus)
Marcus bowed his head before leaving. He wanted to message Stephanie but he didn't know how. His lack in basic game knowledge was starting to bare its ugly head.
“Friend list? Friend window! Friend Status! Urg, why is it so hard?” (Marcus)
I really need to ask Matsuo later
***
The moon is out. Though it’s night, the Golden Sun acted as a 2nd sun and illuminated the streets. Street lamps could also be found at every corner where the light couldn’t reach. Marcus was running through the main road. His destination was the shipping dock.
Just south of where Marcus was, he noticed a big crowd. They were spectating what seemed to be a brawl. Marcus didn’t have time to stop and look. Stephanie wasn’t around and Yunni was still missing! He wanted to check the dock for some clues, perhaps the sailors would know what happened to Yunni.
[cheering]
“Go red-head! Give it to her good!” (Crowd)
“Don’t lose to a shrimp! I’m betting money on you!” (Crowd)
“Fight, Fight, Fight!” (Crowd)
Fights sure are popular around here
Upon reaching the dock, Marcus could see a ship being unloaded.
Hm. Several of those sailors looked similar to the mountain bandits...No! They are the mountain bandits!
Marcus snuck in closer to get a better view. The cages being brought out were filled with exotic animals. Thanks to his -Beast Language-, he was able to hear the chatter of several Woobles inside the cage.
“Diloria, stay quiet. I’m sure Yunni’s in that boat!” (Marcus)
“Yes Daddy!” (Diloria)
“Hey, who’s there?!” (Sailor?)
I said quiet!
The cover was blown. Several bandits/sailors circled around Marcus’s position. Marcus gave Diloria a dirty look before revealing himself. He had to think fast! Using what little brain power he had, he needed to figure a way to out of this mess and not look suspicious.
“Er- I’m looking for a job” (Marcus)
“Who sent you?” (Sailor?)
“...Kane sent me” (Marcus)
I’m sorry Kane!
“You look suspicious, you have any proof?” (Sailor?)
Marcus was still in his bandit getup. His face was covered in a dark mist as he tried to crack a smile. The bandits pulled out their weapons. Marcus had the face of a serial killer.
“Uh-Here’s the letter” (Marcus)
Marcus handed the recommendation to the sailor. He crossed his fingers.
“Hm...This is indeed Kane’s handwriting…He said you lost a friend… why would you be asking for a job? Wouldn’t it be better to seek help from the police?” (Sailor?)
“I...have my reasons” (Marcus)
This would probably be the one and only time Marcus’s bad acting benefited him. What the sailor saw was a lost soul looking to be reunited with his loved one. Marcus’s cracking voice and trembling fist made him look all the more sincere. Marcus flinched as the sailor patted him on the shoulders.
“Ahem. I won’t pry any further. You’re just in luck. We’re hosting our annual slave sale. You can help move the goods to the cart” (Sailor?)
[ping]
Quest: Carrying the Load
Difficulty: F
Description: Help empty the ship cargo onto the carts
Reward: 25 silver/cart. Bonus depending on performance.
Failure: Decrease affection with Raymond
“Um. Thank you! My name’s Marcus” (Marcus)
“Hah! I’m Raymond, the Captain of the St. Marie Voyager! You can call me Captain!” (Captain Raymond)
“Aye aye Captain!” (Marcus)
“Harharharhar! Well? What are you waiting for, get working!” (Captain Raymond)
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