Novels2Search

Chapter 4 My Miserable Existence

When I was younger, I remember once injuring myself while playing among the trees with Yubel…

Yubel was always physically better than me; he was stronger, faster, and much more popular among the children at the orphanage… I wanted to prove that I wasn’t such a weak kid, so I tried to climb an apple tree and show that I could be just as good as him… such a foolish idea that only a child would come up with… The worst part was that, obviously, I failed…

I fell from the tree and broke my right leg.

The thought that I might never walk again flooded my mind. I felt a lot of terror. I saw my teacher walking slowly in my direction while Yubel cried hysterically. His crying only caused me more stress; I really wanted to hit him.

Before I knew it, my teacher Kang placed his hand on my left knee and recited one of the sacred word spells…

“The spirits that give life hate the color red, ease the pain that breaks hearts and souls, Healing.”

I noticed that my leg healed quickly, but it still hurt. It wasn’t a physical pain, as my leg was healed, but the feeling of my broken leg was so fresh that I was afraid to even walk…

My teacher, noticing my pain, said to me…

“You still hurt, don’t you? That pain isn’t in your body, it’s in your mind. I’ve studied the human body all my life and have come to understand it, but the human mind is very fascinating. It’s easy to heal the body, but not the mind. Try to avoid bad thoughts, and whenever you feel pain, remember that you’re okay and try not to let it affect you.”

My teacher said all this while Yubel cried in the background. Truly, he was a fool. I couldn’t fully understand those words until now.

...

It’s my third day in this merchant caravan, and I feel so out of place…

My home is located in the lowlands of the south, with a series of poor nations that aren’t worth distinguishing from each other; it’s treated as one territory.

Currently, I’m in the Kingdom of Rusthia, on a journey between the trading city of Sandiie and the fishing port in the free trade zone of Zhanty…

We’re halfway there, and thanks to a certain air-headed elf, the journey has been smooth. She even managed to make some money while we traveled, as sometimes monsters appear on the road. When they are beasts whose body parts have value on the market, the elf kills them delicately, taking their parts to trade them in the same caravan. When not… she simply makes a mess with their bodies, sending them flying or intimidating them with her bloodlust.

She is quite a brash woman…

Well, at least I can focus on feeling sorry for myself. Everything that has happened these days has me very depressed: my friends abandoning me, my teacher hiding from me that he was a fucking prince, and of course, Raiza’s indifference… I don’t understand why she brought me along on this trip.

What could the elf heroine possibly need from me?

As I had these thoughts in my head, Raiza noticed my concerns and whispered in my ear. “I know you have your problems, but at least pretend you’ve grown a pair and stop spreading your depression to others.” The elf didn’t know how to cheer me up… then we heard a noise and the caravan stopped…

One of the horses pulling the main carriage had fallen into a ditch and had broken its ankle. As I was the team’s medic, I immediately went to examine the horse’s injury. Apparently, it was no minor wound; one of its bones had broken and pierced its skin…

I took some water to clean the wound, and when I finished, I placed my hand on the wound and recited:

“Healing”…

If you’re wondering why my healing spells are so short… My teacher used to say that I was a prodigy, and I suppose he was right, as the other healing mages I’ve met on my journey have to recite much longer spells….

I finished healing the animal, but the horse was afraid to walk. It was obvious to me why: the shock of breaking its leg was still fresh.

I told the merchants to give the horse some time to rest, and as it was getting dark, we decided to camp for the night.

The merchants slept in their carriages, while we, the escorts, had to set up an improvised camp to protect the merchants. That night it wasn’t my turn to stand guard, so I tried to sleep, but… lately, I had trouble sleeping and volunteered to stand guard that night…

I was alone in the middle of the cold night, drinking some strong liquor by the campfire next to my tent. Then I noticed Raiza sitting beside me and she said:

“Is there anything you’d like to talk about?” I responded, “I don’t know, I’ve had a lot of time to think. I came up with a theory: I think when I entered your memories, you entered mine. That’s why you act like you know me, but I know very little about you.”

Raiza stretched her single arm and looked at the starry night sky. “And what do you want to know about me?” Raiza replied.

“What do you plan to do with me? I know I don’t have much to do in this situation, but I’d like to understand why I’m risking my life.”

Raiza looked at me very seriously and said…

“You’re on a journey to defeat the demon lord, that hasn’t changed. I have matters to settle with demons to be free of my fate, but before that, I need better equipment. With these second-hand pieces, it will be impossible. I have an acquaintance in Zhanty, a runic blacksmith, and I need his services. That’s why I’ve been focusing on getting money; I don’t want to owe anyone anything.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

So that was her motivation…

Well, it was obvious. I also wanted to defeat the demon lord, but I wanted to do it with my friends, and once the conflict was over, I wanted to marry Amelia…

I think having Amelia was my greatest motivation. I still love her, but I still have a lot to process… Noticing my concern, Raiza placed her hand on my head and gently rubbed it.

She said… “My mom used to do this when I was worried, it helped me sleep.” I don’t know what kind of magic that woman used on me, but I admit that that night I slept like a baby.

When I woke up, I was lying on the merchant caravan, resting on Raiza’s lap. Noticing that I was awake, the elf said to me…

“Good morning, sleepyhead. You slept all day yesterday. I had to carefully carry you into the carriage. You must have been exhausted from your lack of sleep and after healing the horse, but don’t worry, this Victoria was your personal babysitter,” she said with a silly grin on her face.

I find it quite difficult to understand this silly elf.

“Well, get up. We’ve arrived in the free trade zone of Zhanty and we have a lot of work to do, Ester.”

Zhanty isn’t a country per se, it’s a coastal area governed by a guild of merchants. There is no king, as the merchants themselves control the city, and yet, it is a much better place to live than Rusthia.

Rusthia is a much larger country, but its taxes are poorly managed, so it’s common to see very poor and underdeveloped areas.

Leaving that environment and arriving in this place, seeing that it’s much better socially and economically speaking, is quite a contrast.

Once in the city of Zhanty, I was amazed by the buildings and machinery they had. In this area, they had the best runic blacksmiths on the continent.

Their work not only served to forge weapons but also to create tools that help in daily life, so the technological advancement of Zhanty was impressive.

I could barely comprehend everything I was seeing until a certain elf pulled me by the arm and said, “I’ve finished collecting the reward, follow me.”

Well, I suppose I’ve rested enough; I’ll go along for at least a little longer.

We arrived at a very shabby workshop, although curiously the weapons and tools sold by the shop were of high quality and made with very expensive materials. I couldn’t understand how this rundown workshop could sell such products; it might be money laundering... but that’s not my problem. What caught my attention the most in the store were some white gloves made from giant spider silk.

While I was busy browsing the different items in the shop, Raiza approached the counter to speak with the shopkeeper.

“Hey, Ellen, do you remember me?” The dwarf, with an incredulous look, replied:

“Hey, shouldn’t you be dead?”

“Yes, I should be, but I’m still here. We can catch up later, but now let’s talk business. As you can see from my equipment and the lack of my right arm, I need you to provide me with equipment to fight in the northern countries.”

The dwarf, with indifference, responded: “I’m not interested in your stories, at least not now. Let me take your measurements and see what materials I’ll need for your prosthesis and combat gear.”

The dwarf closed the shop and we moved to the workshop behind the store. Raiza undressed in front of the dwarf and me; I think by this point she didn’t care if I saw her naked body. The dwarf, with much indifference, took her measurements of her legs, her arm, and even her face. With his abacus, he calculated how much her equipment would cost.

After finishing the measurements and reviewing the material prices, the dwarf had an answer: “Raiza, I’ll need 115 gold coins. If you bring me the materials, I might lower it to half, but you’ve never had a talent for gathering minerals in the mines. So, how much money do you have?”

Raiza pulled out a bag of gold coins. The dwarf began counting them and said: “This is just under half, and even so, it’s a lot of money. Where did you get it from?”

Raiza began putting on her second-hand clothes while, with a haughty expression, she said:

“I’m very good at killing. I hunted many beasts on the way here, sold their materials, and also gambled a bit playing cards,” Raiza said, with a guilty look after mentioning the gambling part.

The dwarf looked at her intently and replied: “I thought you didn’t like gambling... in that case, I have an idea. Tomorrow is Zhanty’s festival and there will be a combat tournament on water, surrounded by silver sharks,” said the dwarf.

I interrupted the conversation and asked: “What kind of tournament is that?” The dwarf looked me in the eye: “You’ll have to fight not to become the sharks’ food.”

The dwarf took a chalk, pulled out a blackboard, and began to explain the rules of the tournament:

“The fights are 2 vs 2 teams. They take place on a floating platform in the middle of the sea, while spectators watch from the safety of their ships.

The winners are those who stay on the platform, and the losers fall off the platform and are devoured by sharks.

If you’re lucky, you might swim to the audience’s ships; it doesn’t happen often, but some people are very lucky.”

Raiza interrupted and asked: “What’s the reward?”

The dwarf replied: “30 gold coins, but you could double your money by betting on yourself. We could make a deal: I’ll cover your entry fee for the tournament and lend you equipment on the condition that your group is called Ellen’s Workshop. The publicity would benefit the business and I could show off my work to other workshops.”

So this dwarf’s name is Ellen… and apparently, he has conflicts with other runic blacksmiths. I asked him what his issue with the other workshops was, and he gave a long and unnecessary explanation.

But in summary, Ellen’s philosophy is to prioritize utility over appearance. His equipment is good, but somewhat ugly. Other workshops adorned their work with jewels, gold, and other precious metals, so they tended to underestimate Ellen, which explains the current state of his workshop. Ellen prioritizes the quality of his products over making money, in short.

Once Raiza finished dressing, she accepted Ellen’s deal: “Sounds fair, but I don’t think you’ll be able to finish my prosthesis by tomorrow. Still, I doubt it will be necessary, but give me a helmet to hide my ears. I don’t think it’s a good idea for more people to know I’m still alive.”

Ellen said it was fine and that we could spend the night in the workshop’s warehouse, which was already set up with some cots for sleeping.

I suppose he often receives such visits, but before sleeping, we wanted to go out for a meal.

This city is not only famous for its technology but also for its delicious food.

At the Zhanty dock, we went to a seafood restaurant. I had always seen them in books but never thought they would be so tasty. Even Raiza was very happy devouring her grilled sole, while I enjoyed the breaded shrimp. We basically ate several dishes from the menu.

With our stomachs full, it was time to pay the bill. The cost of the meal was 68 silver coins, including the tip. Raiza insisted on paying; I guess she owes me for all the things I’ve had to do for her.

They didn’t even ask me what I thought about participating in the tournament, but I doubt my opinion matters at this point.

Raiza took out her bag of coins in front of the other patrons and gave a gold coin to the waiter, which is worth 100 silver coins. The waiter gave us the change and we proceeded to leave. When we exited the restaurant, it was already quite late.

The nighttime city of Zhanty was beautiful with the light of the runic street lamps. It was quite striking for a country bumpkin who was used to candles and oil lamps. It was like a small child exploring that beautiful city. To my left were beautiful houses and buildings; to my right, a large beach with white sand and free of any trash, accompanied by the sound of the sea waves. It was a magnificent sight.

I was very happy exploring the place with Raiza, but when I realized it, we were surrounded by very suspicious people.

It was obvious they had seen us at the restaurant and wanted Raiza’s money. I was mentally preparing for the inevitable fight, but Raiza raised her hand and said: “Please, don’t hurt us. Take my money, but don’t harm us.”

I could hardly believe the submissive attitude of this troublesome woman. Among the bandits surrounding us, a man approached Raiza. I think he was the leader of those guys. He took Raiza’s bag of coins, put it in his jacket, and then walked away with his companions without saying a word to us.

I was still processing what had happened. Raiza took my hand and we ran towards Ellen’s workshop. We were still running when I asked Raiza:

“What the hell happened? Why did you let them take your money?”

Then, she pulled out her large bag of gold coins along with other smaller bags and said:

“A thief who robs a thief has a hundred years of forgiveness.” I was astonished.

Raiza continued: “I didn’t want to attract attention in this city, so I preferred to just take their money. See, violence isn’t always the answer?”

At that moment, I was reminded again that the elf is very clever and dangerous. I admit I was embarrassed to say that I burst out laughing just thinking about how the bandits would feel when they realized they were the victims of a robbery, at least for tonight.

The same bandit who had just robbed us returned to his hideout to show the loot to his boss, who was a tall man with golden blonde hair. Despite being a criminal, he had an air of elegant nobility, and what stood out the most were his teeth, which had dental prosthetics. His name was Tommy.

Tommy looked at the bandit with a smile on his face and asked for the day’s loot. The bandit searched his clothes for the bags of gold but only found stones in his pockets.

Tommy, seeing this, said to the bandit: “Very funny joke, now where is the loot?”

One of his henchmen said to Tommy: “What happened to the money we stole from that one-armed elf? You should have at least 30 gold coins.”

The bandit put two and two together and said out loud: “It was her, that elf stole all the loot for today.” With an incredulous look, Tommy, with a bulging vein on his forehead, said:

“So there are two options: one, a one-armed elf took the money from our job; and the other, you stole or lost my money. Do you know what those two options have in common?”

The bandit, with fear in his eyes, said he didn’t know. Then Tommy, with a broad smile showing his dental prosthetics, exclaimed: “The punishment.”

That bandit lost much more than just a few bags of gold that night.