“Well done guys!” The attendant clapped, and smiled at the slimy Ethan. “This is worth 60GP, so 10GP each! Also let me transfer the gold to your student cards as well...”
“Awesome.”
“I think you need a bath.” Alia grinned, and at that point, Ethan overheard another group exiting through a portal. Lady Sara Argos, escorted by three other girls, which he understood was part of her ‘gang’ of girls. One of them held a large core in her hands, their haul from the rift.
Ethan paused just to focus on their conversation. “Congratulations, milady. A level 3 rift in your 2nd week is quite a record. This core will be worth... let me see... 90GP.”
Sara didn’t seem pleased.. “It’s not much, and not the fastest, either. Once everyone gets to the 2nd realm we’ll try something harder.”
The other girls in her team nodded. “We’ll head to the cultivation chambers immediately.”
At that point, Alia noticed his idle staring at her general direction, but she was too far to notice what they were talking about, “Are you admiring Lady Sara Argos?”
“Oh. Was I staring?” She nodded. “I... uh, I guess.”
Alia smirked and ribbed him. “Keep your feet on the ground, please.”
Ethan laughed. “Eh. Nothing like that. Doubt she’d be interested in a dude covered in slime. Besides, she’s probably meant for someone else.”
Alia’s eyebrow raised. “Oh? Do you know something?”
“Oh. I mean, uh... she’s high-nobility, I’m sure they have arranged marriages and stuff like that.”
“Now, now, don’t speculate on stuff like that. Eeeeeww---” The girl poked his arm and some slime stuck on her fingers. “Go get a bath!”
***
Alia came over soon after. “Eh, hey, what’s up?” Ethan was fairly surprised to see her, as he was still dressed in casual clothes, while she was still in her uniform. She frankly looked good in it, especially with the high waist checkered pleated skirts. Actually, all the girls looked good in it.
“Just wanted to check on you.” The girl said and sat on his bed, exposing her thighs. “You seem off during the battle today, like you were quite distracted.”
“I was?”
“Yeah. That part where you speculated about GP and stuff, do you like that sort of thing? All that theorizing and stuff.”
Ethan laughed. “Oh... uh. It’s a habit. I do tend to think about systems like that. There’s usually a breaking point at every system, and on the other side, an optimal path through it. If you could figure out what’s the optimal path, you could save time, and get the best bang for your bucks.”
“That’s such a mercantile thing to say. Were your parents merchants?”
“You could say that.”
“Could you tell me more about them?”
Family was something he didn’t want to elaborate, the more he did, it felt like a story that he would struggle to keep consistent. So Ethan just kept mum, and Alia got the message.
“It’s okay. Want to meet up with the guys again? They want to get some drinks to celebrate their first Level 2 rift. They also wanted to find Zaram, but he’s already missing.”
“I actually don’t know where he goes at night.” Ethan said. “I’ve never seen him.”
“Never mind. Come?”
Drinks were served at a restaurant-bar along the Garden Street shops. Ethan, of course, joined them and found the boys gushing over how manly Zaram was.
“Where’d you find a dude like that?” Jovan asked Ethan seriously. “He looked like he’d smack me if we even looked at him funny.”
If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“I just did?” Ethan laughed. That origin story was going to be hard to explain.
Andrew then brought up a topic he hoped to avoid. “How’s business with that noble girl? Kaname Kaga?”
Alia seemed particularly interested, and leaned closer. “Ooooh, that lady the Grandmaster singled out. You know her?”
“Kinda?” Ethan felt like shrinking. The goddess told him to keep his powers a secret. You’d never know who actually serves the dark goddess, but it also meant his web of lies just gets thicker. Yet, without adding them into the school’s student list, it would be hard for them to move about freely.
He resolved to ensure the next summons he introduced would be thoroughly unrelated to him, so that he didn’t need to maintain this set of stories. The only girl then stared at Ethan suspiciously. “Tell us more?”
“She... uh... she buys stuff from me.”
“What do you sell?”
“...classified. I can’t say. She’s.... Kinda scary.”
Andrew, a little tipsy from the two pints, immediately said. “I actually find her really hot. She’d tie me down any day and give me a whip.”
Jovan and Basil facepalmed. “Dude!”
“Can I be part of the business?”
“I’ll ask her.” Ethan sighed, and sipped a drink. It felt good to have magically cool beer, even if the conversation really wasn’t what he liked. Dinner was some potato fries and meat fries with a lot of cheese. It paired quite well with the cool beer.
The Garden Street was actually fairly quiet, the night’s spring wind seemed to carry a light tinge of cold. “What’s your plans when the Tower closes for maintenance?” Andrew asked the group.
Alia shook her head. “I have no idea, actually. I’ve been trying to talk to the seniors to find out what usually happens, or what I should do.”
There were some other commoners having drinks too, but they were from a different group. Ethan, at that point, realised the two week closure was the perfect time to go temple-hunting. “I’m planning to visit some of the five goddess temples around the Garden, like, outside of the garden, but yeah.”
Andrew almost toppled over. “You never particularly occur to me as a pious one, so that’s a surprise.”
“You pray to the five goddesses all the time?” Alia asked.
“Uh, not really? I’m actually just interested in visiting their temples, it’s uh... kind of a thing.” Ethan shrugged, and Alia just grinned.
“Oooh. You’re one of those old buildings kind of people?” Andrew asked. “I know a few guys like that.”
“Yeah. Kinda. I’m just starting out, but I thought, uhh... everyone’s gotta get some hobbies, right? Like, what do you guys do for fun?”
Andrew smiled, opened his arms. “This. Drinks and friends are what I do for fun.”
Basil thought for a moment. “I hit things really hard. That and I uh... eat good food.”
Alia smiled. “I practice fighting and skills with my core. It’s fun and I find it... calming.”
Jovan looked at Alia like she was some kind of alien. “That, totally, absolutely, explains why you’re so good. Not Zaram-good, but still good.”
“Eh.” Alia stared back at Jovan, a little offended, “Don’t give me that look!”
Basil answered for Jovan. “Jovan’s into girls. He looks like a good boy, but he’s like a skirt-chaser. If he’s a noble, he’d be busy bonking girls left and right.” Ethan somehow laughed at the image, but Alia wasn’t pleased.
Alia returned a look of disgust. “Eww. You’d be like those two nobles that keep bugging me!”
Jovan’s face turned red. “In truth... I can kinda understand why they do it. They’ve got the power and influence.”
“Still. Your kind of people suck.” Alia was genuinely offended.
“Sadly, I’m born a commoner, so I’ve gotta play with my set of cards. I’ve not actually hurt any girls, because unlike nobles, I ain’t got no influential family to bail my ass.”
“So you’re saying you’re the way now because you ain’t got no power.”
“Damn right.” Jovan said, having drank too much. “But no worries, Alia, all of you are my friends, and I don’t touch my friends or their girls, or boys.”
“That doesn’t make it better!” Alia chugged a mug of beer in frustration.
Andrew and Basil just gave each other a look, and then sighed. “He’s like that when drunk.”
“You’re not much better!” Alia pointed a finger at Andrew, and he laughed. Ethan just grinned, and soaked in the feeling of having friends in school. This reminded him so much of college.
Basil then looked at Ethan, “I’m gonna ignore these dudes, so, Ethan, are you really planning to just travel around and visit temples?”
“Yeah. Any better ideas?”
“Not really. If there are smaller wild rifts as we travel, we could give those a shot. Any core we collect from the rift-boss can be traded for GP, anyway.”
“Wait- we can?” Alia immediately looked up, as if she suddenly regained soberness. “But wild rifts are dangerous and are less predictable!”
“We could get a rift meter.” Basil explained. “One rated for Level 10 and below usually just costs 1 or 2GP. If it’s rated level 1 or 2 we could give it a shot? Or we could just head in and soak in the higher ambient energy, those help with our cultivation too.”
Jovan, of course, shrugged. “I’m not gonna join. I’m planning to just practice my spear moves and spar with some of the other guys and girls in my spear class.”
Andrew nodded. “Me neither. I plan to... uh... make some new friends? Some of the best mixers and parties are held during the Tower closures. It’s a good time to get to know some of the 5th-year seniors and the 3rd-year juniors, and learn some tips.”
“Shit.” Jovan looked at Andrew. “You gotta invite me then. Bet there’s some pretty girls too.”
Andrew sighed. “It’s open to all, usually, though the nobles kinda have their own exclusive party.”