I woke up feeling the worst I’ve felt since I ca to this world.
I was sweaty, my mouth was dry, and I had a headache that hurt almost as badly as when I cracked my skull in the cave. Almost, the cave hurt worse, but it still was closer than it should have been.
In other words, I was hungover. Which was weird, since I really thought Qi would help with that and let shrug off any alcohol.
Speaking of Qi, I imdiately started circulating it around my body as I slowly sat up in the bed I was in and ignored the vertigo I felt. I managed to get into the Lotus position and started ditating properly.
The first thing I noticed was that my Qi was sluggish. Usually, it was the equivalent of an excited puppy, constantly moving around my ridians, but now it was moving at a subdued walking pace.
It wasn’t completely stopped, nor was it hard to get moving again, as it quickly resud its speed after a couple of minutes of nudging it and pumping in more.
No, what was strange was that there was another substance in my body. One that was slowly dissolving in the torrent of Qi I was stirring up, but it must have been there the whole night, and it definitely was the culprit in making feel like shit.
Was it the alcohol? I haven’t drunk since I started cultivating, so I don’t have any fra of reference, but I’ll have to try it again and see if this weird substance appears again.
For now, though, I cleared it all up and felt much better. Still a bit sluggish, but nowhere near as bad as before. More like I stayed up a little too late rather than hungover.
I stopped my ditation and stretched my arms over my head as I yawned on the bed. I really need to get a bed, I’ve decided. The bench and sleeping bag were fine, but nothing beats a bed for sleep.
I should ask Cassius tomorrow where I can get a bed. He seed pretty knowledgeable about stuff, so he might be able to hook up.
I finished my stretch and lowered my arms, ready to hop out of bed and start my day, only to pause when I felt sothing around my wrists.
Blinking in confusion, I looked down and saw I had what looked like bracelets on my wrists. They were thin strips of golden tal about the width of my pinky, and I don’t rember where I got them from.
Hmm, on second thought, they look a lot like the earrings Lena was wearing last night. Did I accidentally take them? Did she even take them off? Why would I put them on as bracelets rather than earrings?
No, that doens’t make sense. I took a deep breath and circulated my Qi again, feeling my head clear up as I thought about it again.
They were clearly bracelets. Now, where the hell did I get bracelets from?
I can’t rember. Last night was a bit of a blur. I rember Lena and Samira, and I’m pretty sure neither of them had bracelets on. Did I have another client who left them with ?
I really don’t rember at all. Whatever I was drinking last night must have been pretty strong stuff for it to make near blackout drunk. I’ll need to drink in moderation next ti.
Wait, did they take my stuff?!
I quickly checked, my hand flying to my neck and my gaze going to my hand, only to sigh in relief as my panic settled. I still had my necklace and ring that the lady gave , so nothing was stolen despite being a pretty easy mark.
Alright, maybe this place wasn’t as shady as I was afraid of. I took a couple of deep breaths, cald down, and decided to finally get up and look around the room.
I slid out of bed, my feet landing on plush carpets as I realized I had taken off my boots at so point. Finding them rather easily by the side of the bed, I slid them on and looked around.
The room they put in was very nice. A lot nicer than I thought I would get, considering I was a new employee.
The room was spacious, with a few windows that had the blinds closed shut and a large canopy bed with two nightstands on either side, each adorned with a lamp. There was a wooden wardrobe on one of the walls, a large vanity with three mirrors, plush carpet throughout the whole thing, and three doors total.
Going to one of the doors randomly, I opened it to find a bathroom that wouldn’t look out of place in my old world. There was a porcelain toilet, a bathtub large enough to fit two people, and a sink with golden faucets. The floor was tile, thankfully, as what psycho puts carpet in a bathroom?
I decided to do my morning business since I found this place before going across the room and investigating another door.
This one was a double wooden door carved with symbols of a woman in a veil. I pushed open the double doors, only to be greeted with an outside balcony and the sun low in the sky.
Wow, I didn’t even see the balcony from the street. I guess I’m on the back side of the building, and looking down, I’m on the top floor too.
Did I really climb the stairs in my drunken state last night? I don’t rember that at all, but I do vaguely rember Layla telling where my room was, but I have no idea what exactly she said to .
The next thing I noticed was that the sun was in the west, not the east. aning I had slept through nearly the whole damn day.
That was not like at all. The alcohol is the only culprit I could think of, and I’m realizing I’m gonna have to limit how much I have next ti unless I want to waste valuable ti.
Giving the setting sun one last look, swearing to not drink as much next ti, I went back into the room and opened the last door.
The door predictably led to the hallway, aning I could finally leave. Well, I could jump from the balcony, but that would draw too much attention.
I walked down the hall, marveling at all the pictures on it, and wondered why there weren’t more rooms on this floor before chalking it up to size. The room I was in before was huge, so they probably couldn’t fit more up here. That being said, I did see three other doors in the hallway, so it wasn’t too far-fetched.
Once I got to the stairs, I headed down to the ground floor, where I spotted a few others getting ready for tonight's service. So of them threw a glance my way, but most of them continued with their business and didn’t even look at .
Now then, where is Layla? I need to get paid and head back…
Ah, there she is!
I spotted her chatting with Lena at the bar area, both of them having a small cup in their hand. I was a little surprised that Lena was up before and already drinking, but I guess she just has a better tolerance than .
“...she gets back. Then you can do it fourth, alright?” I overheard the end of the conversation but didn’t quite catch what they were talking about.
“Hey, guys! Good morning. Well, good evening actually. How are you doing?” I said cheerfully, as I approached and gave a wave. I didn’t want to eavesdrop on them, not after they helped out.
Layla whirled around, her face surprised. Lena just stared at , slack-jawed.
“Leon! You’re awake!” Layla said, her voice higher than usual.
“Yep. Can’t believe I slept in so late. I usually wake up at dawn or so, but I guess whatever we were drinking last night hit pretty hard,” I said before looking at Lena and saying, “You must have a pretty good tolerance to be up and drinking again after last night.”
Lena didn’t respond to my teasing for a mont, her face still one of shock, before her brain rebooted and she responded with, “Ah, well, I usually drink a lot. I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did, if I’m being honest.”
“I’m usually pretty good at handling alcohol. It was the first ti I drank in a while, and I’ve never had the liquor we were drinking, so those are probably why I slept in so late,” I explained lightly, before following up with, “Don’t worry, next ti I’m gonna be more careful with how much I drink. Still, I hope you’ll join again.”
“Next ti? So, I take that to an you’ll co and work for us again?” Lalya jumped in, her smile wide as her earlier surprise faded.
“Sure. Still, I got to know, how much did I make last night?” I asked, rembering why I wanted to talk to her in the first place.
“Oh, yes! Hold on just a minute, I’ll go get your paynt. Lena, please keep Leon company while I’m gone,” Layla said happily before rushing away, leaving Lena and alone. Huh, deja vu.
“So, what ti did you wake up this morning? You were done drinking before I was, so I’m really shocked you’re up,” I started chatting with Lena, who kept looking at Layla as she walked away before refocusing on .
“Ah, sorry? What did you say?” Lena asked, her attitude a bit more subdued than last night.
“I said, what ti did you wake up this morning?” I repeated, leaning a bit closer so she could hear better.
“Oh, right. Sorry. Um, I woke up around nine or so. After that, I had breakfast and went to do my normal duties. I actually just got back and decided to relax with a drink before you ca down. Speaking of, how did you sleep last night?” Lena said after a mont of thought.
“Like a stone. I was pretty much dead to the world. I woke up a bit slugish but I’m better now. Still, the room I was in was very nice, so I have to thank Layla for putting up in it,” I said, smiling a bit at the mory of waking up in a bed.
“I see. I’m glad you slept through the night then. I seem to always wake up once or twice when I drink, but it’s good you didn’t. Still, you said that the alcohol affected you. Do you rember last night?” Lena said with a small smile before it turned apprehensive as she asked about my mory.
“Yep, I rember us talking about what was bugging you and drinking all your worries away. It was very fun, I hope we can do it again soti,” I said happily, truly aning it.
It brought a wave of nostalgia from back when my friends and I would all drink and complain about whatever was bugging us back then. Usually, it was silly things in retrospect, but they felt important at the ti.
The thought I had before bed last night resurfaced as I reminisced. I missed my friends. I’m probably never going to stop missing them, but that doesn’t an I can’t make new ones.
I’ve mostly just holed up in the church or dove into the dungeon and avoided everyone out of fear of them finding out I wasn’t blessed. And while I don’t plan to interact with gods anyti soon, the blessed that I’ve t so far have been friendly and helpful.
teria, Cassius, Layla, Lena, and even Naaza at Miach’s shop, and that blue-haired girl at the gate, Adi, I think. They were all helpful and friendly, with none of them really giving bad vibes.
Maybe it’s ti I start going out a bit more and trying to interact with people. And there seems ot be soone that would be a good fit for that right in front of . I looked at Lena again, really taking in her face before nodding. Yep, let’s try this out.
“If anything, I want to be friends outside of my work. Of course, please visit when I am working in the future, but I still want to go out with you,” I said sincerely.
“Eh? G-go out with ?” She said, startled, her face turning a slight shade of red. Funny, she was a lot more outgoing last night.
Wait, that was only after she got alcohol in her system. Before, she was just as shy as now, I think.
“Yep, for like drinks and stuff. Maybe get so food. I don’t really know any food places, so you’ll have to show around, but I do want to spend so more ti and get to know you better,” I explained. Step one of being friends, get to know them by hanging out and talking.
“I-I-I uh, wait, with ?! Really!? Not with Layla or Ai- I an, anyone else?” Lena said, flustered as she pointed at herself.
“There’s no one else around, is there?” I said, looking around in mock confusion before focusing on her again.
“So, what do you say?” I pressed, feeling sowhat nervous as I realized I was facing rejection for the first ti in a while. I wasn’t a socially awkward person, but it was mildly nerve-racking asking soone to go hang out after so long.
“I–I uh, I-I–” She kept stuttering for a mont before finally she clenched her fist and looked straight in the eyes. After a few seconds of her staring at , she gave a firm nod.
“Yes, I would like that too,” She said finally, her voice quiet, but firm all the sa.
Hell yeah! Friend, acquire. Now, let’s ask teria next ti I see her. And depending on how dungeon crawling goes with Cassius, he too.
“Oh my, what’s happening over here? Did sothing good happen, Lena?” Layla’s voice broke through the mont as she walked over and held up a pouch of Valis to .
“I hope she kept you company, Leon. Still, I think she forgot to do sothing, right? Why don’t you go get that taken care of?” Layla said with a smile before nudging Lena.
Lena’s face dropped for a mont, her smile fading and her eyes widening before she nodded and said, “R-right. That’s for reminding , Layla. I’ll see you later, Leon.”
She waved goodbye as she left. I gave a small wave as well, though I wonder what she needed to do? Also, why did Layla remind her? I guess they are friends, which makes sense since Lena is a frequent custor here.
“Sorry about that, Leon. She’s kind of a clutz sotis and forgets about her job. I have to remind her; otherwise, who knows what would happen. Anyway, here’s your paynt for last night,” Layla said with a shrug of ‘what can you do’ before handing a heavy coin purse.
Looking inside, it was definitely more than what I thought it would be and more than what Layla told about at the village.
“Wow, this is a lot! Not that I’m complaining, but why is it so much?” I asked in disbelief as I took the purse.
“Well, you drank a lot of the special drink we prepared last night, so that’s a good payout based on commission. Combine that with everyone being very happy with your service, and you get that!” Lalya said cheerfully.
The ‘that’ in question was about one hundred thousand Valis, a absoultey bonkera mount compared to what was initially promised to .
“So, you’ll co back, right?” Layla said, hopefully, to which I nodded a little dumbstruck.
“Yeah, I’ll co back! If I can make even a quarter of this every night, then I’ll be a happy camper. Thanks, Layla,” I said excitedly, thoughts of not having to worry about money troubles and spending it on so basic luxuries like a bed or more clothes ca to mind.
“That’s great! Then, you’ll work tonight? Lena will probably request you again. And I might steal a drink or two from you myself,” Layla said with a wink and a smile that promised a good ti.
“I’m sorry, I have sothing to do tomorrow, and I can’t afford to be late. But I’ll co back another day, and then we can drink together. Deal?” I said apologetically, but held firm in my belief it was a bad idea to work two nights in a row.
One, I’m not sure my body will handle the alcohol consumption well, and two, I have an appointnt to et with Cassius tomorrow, and I don’t want to be late to that.
So, despite the money calling my na and Layla seeming like a fun drunk to be around, other responsibilities call my na.
“I see… That’s very unfortunate,” She said, her smile turning a little strained before she regained her montum, “Then, promise that you’ll co back and we can have so fun together, okay?”
“Yes, I promise,” I said happily before an idea struck , and I held out my pinky finger. Layla looked at it for a mont, puzzled, before her eyes lit up in recognition, and she held out her own pinky finger and wrapped it around mine.
“I’ll see you soon then. Stay safe, Leon. Don’t let anybody else get to you, especially since you’re mine now,” She said with a teasing grin that caught off guard before I nodded.
“Don’t worry, I won’t get snatched up by any other jobs. This one is too good to pass up. I’ll see you later. Have a goodnight, Layla. And tell Lena not to drink so much, it’s bad for her liver,” I said as I turned to leave and waved over my shoulder.
“I will! Rember, you absolutely must co back! I’ll be very cross otherwise!” She called out behind , to which I just giggled and rolled my eyes in response.
After that, I left the entertainnt district rather quickly, avoiding the other seedier establishnts before arriving back at the church a little after dark.
I quickly went out back to water and inject my herbs with so Qi before going back into the church and deciding to ditate a bit.
It was only then, as I got situated, that two things occurred to . One, I had forgotten to take off the bracelets I had woken up with, and two, the conversation I had with Samira resurfaced in my mind as I rembered what I was trying to rember back then.
For the first one, I just made a ntal note to return them later, but I kept them on for now. I kinda liked the fashion if I’m being honest. It worked shockingly well with my outfit and added a nice flair to it.
As for the second thought, I rember Bruce Lee said to be like water when doing martial arts, and Samira talking about counterattacking reminded of his quote. Now, I don’t rember the exact quote, but I think the general idea was to be adaptable like water and never be too rigid.
And that gave a very interesting idea.
What I was cultivating was the elents, water included. I could infuse said elent into my very being and use it to damage my surroundings, albeit with very limited results right now.
But, later, when I’m stronger? When have I cultivated to the point of mastering the elents? That’s when my elental attacks would be the strongest. And I have a feeling, they would play a big part in my progress going forward.
So, my idea is simple. I’ve been struggling with a martial arts style, feeling like I was missing sothing to bring everything together. And I think the elent stuff is just what I need.
I plan to develop a different stance for each of the elents, and then switch between those basic stances to counter anything my opponent throws at . So, if an opponent is using fire stance, then I use water stance since water counters fire.
As for what those stances would actually entail? That’s where I'm gonna need to work everything out, but I have a few basic ideas that need to be tested.
Taking the example of fire and water stances, fire stance would be a fast-paced, aggressive attack style, while water stance would be more focused on counterattacks and deflections.
What was more perfect for taking down an overly aggressive opponent than to use that aggression and turn it back on them?
I don’t know, but it sounds good in theory. And that’s all this was gonna be for a while, since this is gonna take ti. Like a lot of ti and a lot of fighting different opponents to really get everything sorted out.
Still, the best thing to do to get started is to just try it out. I was still a bundle of energy since I slept so late, so I could afford ot sta up a little later before going to bed.
Hence, I stepped outside into the little garden behind the church and started practicing the different foundations and moves for each stance.
As I moved, I thought about tomorrow and how I couldn’t wait to try this stuff out in the dungeon. Cassius better be prepared, cause I’m gonna knock his socks off.
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Yay! All done.
I’m posting this when it’s still the last day of February for , so what I said in my last post counts! I didn’t lie!
Anyway, Leon makes a promise with the Ishtar ladies and gets an idea, money, and a souvenir from them. But at what cost? Oooohhhh~~
A smaller transition chapter before we go dungeon diving next ti, and Leon gets a taste of what everyone else’s lives are like. Let’s just say, it's going to be quite jarring for him when he realizes that.
But that’s all from for now. Let know what y’all think about the scenes with the Ishtar ladies, and how they read. I’m trying to balance everything out, and I feel like I might be a bit too heavy-handed, so your feedback is appreciated.
Until next ti, friends!
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