Looking at the piece of paper Mauri gave me, I wandered around the streets of Cahalot’s lower levels. I stopped by a sign then looked at the name of the street.
‘Dragon Valley of the Abyssal Gaping Mouth of the Vortex Halls Street’
It seemed that the name was so long they had to attach a piece of wooden board to supplement it. Nevertheless, it served its purpose of telling me that I went to the wrong way.
I approached a shady looking person and asked, “Hey! Do you know where ‘Arched Demon Wolves Street’ is at?”
“Hmpf. Only fools call it that. True Emperor Sorcerers of the Flames call that street ‘Flaming Wolves of the Demons Street’,” the man answered.
Sigh.
Lard was ready to go sic on him, but I blocked him with my arm. After all, if any of these guys conversed with Lard, it would take years just to get a simple direction.
An alternative to talking to these guys was making my vampire maid Lucia ask for directions, but the sorcerers down here would have a nervous breakdown and start having a panic attack. Horatio, being the passive aggressive savage he was, would unintentionally start fights with the sorcerers, so he was also out of the question.
So, unfortunately, the task of asking for direction fell onto me.
“Then, can you show me the direction to the ‘Flaming Wolves Something Something Street?’” I asked.
“If thou must journey in such forsaken place, thou must take a left; not right, not straight. Left. Like the Left Curved Massacre Blade of Azakamahabal. Then plunge straight like a Starlight Brightstone Sword Thrust,” the man explained.
“By the Abyss, just tell me to go left and straight instead of telling me your life story,” I chided before leaving.
“You should have let me, Vakasa of the Darkness, interrogated him for the crucial information!” Lard remarked.
“Yeah… no.” I shrugged him off then continued our way.
The directions given by the people here were unreliable as many of the places were named differently by these insane sorcerers. The same street could be called ‘Dark Flower Evangelist Street’, ‘Archdemon Flowing River Fist Street’, or even ‘That Street With The Bakery Street’.
It was probably a miracle that I finally ended up in front of the pub. It wasn’t hard since I began following the pirate-looking eyepatched sorcerers until I reached an underground port filled with… actual pirates.
In a place full of powerful mages and wizards, making an underground port wouldn’t be a problem, but for it to be filled with drunken bearded sailors...
“Why are there pirates in a place like this?” I asked.
“That’s because a ship got lost here a long time ago and thought that the eyepatch-wearing sorcerers were fellow pirates,” someone called out from behind.
“Oh, it’s you. That one guy in the necromancy class that wanted to make an army of undead,” I remarked as I rubbed my chin.
The man was slightly thin with eyebags piling up under his eyes. Wearing a simple black hooded robe, he looked like how I would imagine most necromancers would look.
“My friend told me about this necromancy class a few months back. He found a pet vampire so he decided to have the bright idea of raising an undead army to rule over Angolia. I wonder how’s he doing?” he wondered.
I coughed a few times then replied, “Sounds… like an interesting guy.”
“Well, there’s that. I assume you’re here to drink? There’s no other reason to be here unless you’re one of these lowlife criminal scums,” the necromancer said.
“Yup. And you? Do you come here often?” I asked back.
“Oh, no. Not often. Only when I have to go down here and suffer being in the same level as these… lower-level sorcerers. In fact, I just finished my rounds, and I’m ready to head back up to civilization,” the man answered with a breath of relief.
“Well, that’s good on you. I just hope there’s no weirdos inside the bar.” I sighed.
“Don’t worry. There’s only pirates, but they’re quick to anger so you might want to stay low-key. Also, don’t talk too much to the bartender,” the necromancer advised then left after giving his farewell.
“Pirates, edgelords, and sorcerers - All in one place. This is truly a fantasy world,” Lard commented with an enlightened face.
I massaged my temples then went straight to the bar without saying a word or batting an eye to any of the pirates in the port.
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When I entered the bar, the rowdy crowd of seamen turned silent for a moment before returning to their chatter. There were beer being spilled all over the place, men gambling in the corner, and a few drunken sailors singing some strange whaling songs.
I didn’t waste anymore time in heading straight to the bar stand to take a seat on the stool. Lard, who was excited and nervous at the same time, took the seat next to me.
I was looking at the menu etched on a board hanging on the wall when someone called out to me.
“Hi there! What can I get you-... MILORD?!”
I quickly turned my head to the owner of the voice. The familiar girl in a red vest with a white shirt and black pants wore an expression that was as shocked as mine.
“Aren’t you Clouds? The angel that gave the prophecy to the heroes in Angolia?” I questioned as I looked closely to her.
“Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi-Mi...” Clouds was busy overheating and stuttering so I snapped my fingers to get her back to reality.
“Milord!” Clouds exclaimed.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I leaned back on my stool.
“Well, I’ve already said it before that I’m taking part-time jobs…” Clouds laughed shyly as she scratched her head.
Ah, right. Heaven was still in an economic crisis.
“They should really just auction off Heaven at this rate,” I ridiculed.
Clouds giggled softly and said, “That’s a bit harsh, milord.”
“Can’t be helped. Anyway, I’d like a Skylord Breeze. Whatever that is,” I ordered as I placed some coins onto the table.
“Of course! One Skylord Breeze coming up!” Clouds replied then turned to Lard, “And what would you have-...Wait. Aren’t you one of the heroes?”
“Yes. It seems that we have meet again, Angel Rafael!” Lard declared.
“It’s Clouds…” the angel corrected with a low voice.
“Huh?” Lard raised an eyebrow with an unimpressed face.
“My-... It’s my name. My name is Clouds,” she explained.
“What sort of name is Clouds?” Lard asked.
“What sort of name is Vakasa? Just shut up and order a drink,” I retorted.
“I guess I’ll have uh….Is this rum? I’ll take rum,” Lard ordered.
As Clouds poured a mug of rum for Lard, I asked the angel, “How’s the Goddess of Light?”
“Oh, the Goddess misses you very much and would like to talk to you once more, but she’s having trouble finding free time to meet you,” Clouds answered with a smile as she filled Lard’s mug to the brim. The fat boy’s eyes twinkled as he raised the mug close to his face to inspect it at every angle.
“Must be tough being a Goddess of a broke place,” I commented.
“It is as you say, milord. Even the ancient guardians of the Gates of Heaven are working part-time as assistant shopkeepers in the mortal realm.” Clouds sighed as she prepared my drink.
I turned to the corner of my eye to see that Lard was ready to take the very first sip of alcohol in his life. The cowardly, self-confident, and arrogant boy that was thrown into a world of mystery and strangers, for the first time in his life, tasted liquid courage.
He froze after the first sip and sat there quietly. Worried for him, I tried to reach out for him, but someone called out from behind.
“Oi, you! Ye be talkin’ to our Goddess Clouds! The kind and beautiful lassie can’t be bothered with the likes of ye, landlubber! Abyssbeard here will have to show ye the plank, by breaking the plank on ye head!” A massive hairy sailor walked up behind me then raised a massive club above my head.
“Eh?” I only managed to uttered that before Lard quietly said, “You’re all too noisy.”
“Wot?” Abyssbeard paused then turned to the fat boy.
“I said,” Lard reached out for the nearest bottle, but somehow grabbed the empty stool next to him. He smashed the stool against the bar stand, snapping the top off to make a makeshift spear. Turning to the pirate, he continued, “you’re all too damned noisy.”
Abyssbeard pulled his club backward, then plunged it towards Lard.
“Say ‘ello to the Water Dragon for me, boy!”
Not a moment later, Abyssbeard was shoulder slammed by Lard right on his chest. Not only the air was punched out of the pirate’s lungs, even blood and some teeth flew off his mouth. Without even having a chance for the large man to touch the floor, Lard swung his makeshift weapon at Abyssbeard, batting him towards the wall.
The pirate was flung so hard that he smashed through the wall, leaving just a large wall against the bar and silencing the entire mob of patrons for a few seconds.
Lard spat then beckoned, with the broken stool on the other hand, towards the plethora of sailors in the pub. “Who’s next?”
Like a hurricane, a tornado, and an earthquake happening at the same time, the entire place erupted into chaotic violence. Not only were the ruffians targeting Lard, they were also brawling it out with each other.
Mugs, teeth, and large pirates flew into the air as the brawl escalated more and more. Not wanting to be part of this, I jumped off my stool and hid behind the bar stand.
Clouds was also hiding behind the bar stand while covering her head with her hands.
“Does this happen often?” I asked.
“S-Sort of. Luckily for us, there’s an emergency hiding hole here, milord!” Clouds opened a trapdoor, then began climbing down the ladder. Without a choice, I decided to follow after her.
Climbing down the ladder with Clouds, we found ourselves in a small room which only had a small stand and a table.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“It’s the emergency hiding hole, milord! This place also acts a secondary bar for the occasional sorcerer who doesn’t want to be in the same room as the sailors,” Clouds explained.
“Is that so?” I remarked as I took one of the only two stools in front of the small bar stand. “Then, get me that Skylord Breeze, please. I had a long night.”
“Of course, milord!” Clouds hurriedly rushed over behind the stand and began preparing my drink. “But still, milord, what about the hero Vakasa?”
“You mean Lard? He’ll be fine. Actually, Clouds, I need a favor from you since you seem well-travelled,” I said as I waved my hand in a circular manner.
“If it is within this lowly angel’s abilities, I’ll try my best, milord!” Clouds nodded with a smile.
“Alright. Firstly…”