NOVEL NEXT Chapter 217 – Siblings
Obelia continues, "The reason is simple," our guild has no use for it, and we hope selling one of the epic-graded items we got will reduce the attention that we might be getting now because of it. We also hope people will turn their attention to the auction and will try to get the item that way instead of starting useless fights."
She explains it in her typical calm and logical manner.
"What kind of item is it?" Isola asks first.
"Spear," is the simple answer Obelia gives.
"What effects?" This time it's Lorven.
"That's all the information I was willing to give right now," the Storm Brigade guild master answers.
"What about you, newbie, are you selling some as well?" Isola asks me in an amused manner. Her face is telling that she already knows the answer.
"Elydor's wallet was quite full, so I'm not in need of cash," I tell her, and she laughs shortly.
"That reminds me, there was a rumor that you know how to kill the Living Tree, newbie. So how is it?" Isola rests her chin on the palms of her hands, and her eyes look at me like I'm some sort of interesting animal.
Just that simple sentence brings all the attention back to me.
"As you said, and heard from Myrra, I will kill the Living Tree," I dissipate the orb I was using to practice mana shaping and give them my full attention, "The deal is simple. You guys leave me and my guild alone for a few months so I don't have to deal with you and kill you," at that Isola chuckles, "In that time, I will prepare all I need. Obelia and her guild will help me use the array to get near the old capital and disappear. After that, it's all up to me, and I will either die or the calamity will fall."
"Forgive me for not fully believing that you would be capable of doing that," Thalen says.
That's when I decide to use my trump card. A weirdo sitting in the corner, "Myrra trusts me. Oh, and I believe you know the consequences of letting out anything that was said here today, so keep it to yourself" I say, having no idea what these consequences are.
Thankfully, it seems they know, and I see a few flashes of fear.
Damn, Myrra, what did you do?
"That still doesn't give us anything of worth," this time it's Lorven who says that.
"I think an old capital without the Calamity defending it sounds quite interesting, doesn't it?" Myrra finally joins the conversation and stands. As she walks around, it's clear that she is towering over anyone in the room, and her golden eyes shine.
"The Feral one isn't too good at this kind of stuff, so allow me to continue and explain. It isn't too difficult to understand. The calamity will fall, and the Feral one and his guild will have a day or two to go through the city and get themselves something nice. They could end up with more epic items, or just some trinkets. No one knows," she stops in front of the table and shows her canines, "After that, I and a few of my reliable friends will join too and try to find something pretty for ourselves. A few days will pass like that, and we will let you guys in."
"Miss Myrra, that might be nice and all, but during the first few days, you and his guild most likely get all the good items," Lorven complains, and unlike when he talked to us, his voice now is full of respect.
"Young Lorven, I think Obelia can tell you how big the old capital is and how difficult it was for them to get into the place they… visited. Traps, rooms covered in metal that shields detection skills. Missing map that won't allow us to find the best locations. The sheer size of the city. I wouldn't be surprised if it takes years to just superficially search the city."
The greed that appears in their eyes is fun to watch. Even calm Obelia and Thalas, who tries to act dignified, show it.
But I think it's quite understandable. In the entire Virelia, there are only less than 20 epic items. Only so many of such items are in a city of hundreds of thousands. Each item has a long history and legends said about it. Just how amazing it would be to get just one of them.
Another round of talking starts, and I filter it out already. Bored, I once again start mana-shaping an orb in front of me and cycling mana through my body.
This time it takes a bit longer. They complain, they make deals. They offer more help, they ask if it's even possible. Then they ask to be let into the capital much sooner.
In the end, it's Myrra who gets annoyed, and the sound she makes almost sounds like a hiss. After that, it goes much smoother, and then we land on details.
In exchange for being let into the city a bit sooner, they supply me with materials I might need and deal with middle and small-sized guilds that could look into annoying us. Not a bad deal, especially when my main objective is killing the Calamity and not the items inside the city.
When we leave the room after a few hours, I'm tired. It's as if I fought bus-sized ants for multiple days in a row. Hell, maybe even longer. Nothing drains me more than useless chatter.
"Tess, do you have time?" Obelia and her attendee walk by our side, and after Tess agrees, they split up, and I'm left alone with Obelia's attendee.
"I'm Jenna," the woman greets me.
"Nathaniel," I tell her, and the silence ensues.
It seems to make Jenna nervous, but I just sit on the bench nearby, yawning against my will. Damn, did anyone maybe have an energy drain skill and used it on me?
This time it doesn't take much longer, and Tess returns, and Jenna disappears to Obelia while waving to us.
"Congratulations on your apprenticeship?" I ask Tess.
"Thanks, and yes. I already got something to look into," she waves a small notepad at me, "Notes made by Obelia herself. Some experiments she made, findings, history, and such stuff. Mainly focused on Primordial lightning."
"Interesting."
"I will let you read it later," Tess says with a smile, as if reading my mind.
"Sounds good," I reply.
While we walk by the city, she also asks me, "How is your plan with selling coordinates doing?"
"It's more difficult than expected, but in a few months we should be done. Tess, I tell you, if the system shop tries to scam us somehow, I will get so mad."
"Don't jinx it then," she pokes at me and quickly leaves to buy something from the merchant nearby. When she comes back, she hands me a small bag with some sort of dried fruit, "Maya said you might like this one. It apparently tastes similar to the one you liked on the third floor."
I taste it, and it seems that Maya was right. The fruit is delicious. Should I give Maya a rare item or two? Finding such a tasty snack should be worth that much.
"Do you also have nightmares, Tess?" I ask her after a bit of silence.
The young blonde stares at me for a moment and then shakes her head, "I still don't like places that remind me of tunnels, but I'm much better than some others." As if knowing what is going through my head, she continues, "You have to understand, twenty days down there took a toll on everyone. Aaron and Dennis sometimes wake up screaming. I saw Kim crying a few times. Maya's hands started shaking when we went to hunt in the old mines."
Both of us stop and Tess sighs, "Sophie is helping a lot, so I hope you don't hold it against her or look down on people who accepted her help."
"Not really, it's just…" I stop.
"Yes, I know." Tess answers simply.
We pass a few streets and when we start walking uphill towards our house, Tess slows down and asks, "Nat, how… how was your sister doing, you know, before the tutorial happened?"
"Oh, I think you only met Victoria once or twice, so you don't know her that well. She will do well anywhere and it doesn't matter what is happening around her. So it's stupid to worry about her."
"I see, and your mom?" This time Tess asks that even more carefully.
"Hm? She still hates me, obviously."
Flashback: Nathaniel Gwyn, 16 years old
The door to the small room opens carefully. They open so slowly that it takes a good minute for them to open enough for a figure to walk in. Afterward, it takes even longer for them to close.
When they click, that's when the light turns on, revealing a young woman sitting on the edge of the bed. Black hair that is carefully brushed falls to the middle of the back of the woman who looks around twenty years old.
Her expression is blank as she stares at her younger brother, "So you did it, Nat," she states simply, for a moment glancing at her brother's hands that have a little bit of blood on them and scratched joints.
Nathaniel hides them from her sight and moves into the room, sitting on the bed opposite Victoria and returning her gaze, "Our father… Rob… won't be coming back home," he says in a similarly simple way his sister did.
The silence that ensues is interrupted only by the sounds of cars moving on the road outside the window. It's late at night, so there aren't too many of them, and light shines into the room every time a car passes by.
"I see," Victoria says.
"I don't care if mom hates me."
"You are lying."
"I did it for her, for us. He won't hurt her ever again. I don't care if she hates me for that," he repeats again as if trying to persuade himself.
"That's how you are."
"Yes, that's me."
The silence that ensues is even longer.
"But Nat, you made a mistake," Victoria stands up, a small smile on her face. It's a gentle and loving smile. At the same time, police car sirens sound far in the distance, slowly getting closer.
Victoria sits on the bed next to Nathaniel and hugs him tightly, kissing the top of his head, "You poor, hurt little soul," she whispers gently, "You couldn't do it, right?"
"I beat him, Vic, I broke his bones, I made him bleed. I forced him to swear he won't ever come back. I even used Tess as an alibi." Nathaniel says quietly.
"Tess will hate you if she finds out." Victoria leans onto him, "You still saw him as your father and couldn't do it, right?" Victoria hugs him even tighter, "You still remember him being nice when you were young, and you still think of him as your father. That's how you are," she repeats, "If you like someone once, you are way too forgiving to that person."
The sound of sirens is slightly louder, yet the boy doesn't notice it. They are still far in the distance.
Victoria stands up and walks in front of the mirror, "That's why even beating him was so hard for you. The thought of being hated by mom as well, and you spent a few hours walking around to calm down."
Slowly fixing her clothes and hair she continues, "While you were gone, Nat, our father changed his mind and decided to come back. To punish you, mom, and myself for what you did," she says in a calm tone.
Nathaniel just stares at her, unable to say anything.
"That's why I had to kill him," she admits simply, and then sighs slowly, "You should really try to control your emotions a bit more. How many times did I tell you to wait until I find a good job and take you and mom away from him?"
The police sirens now sound louder, and Nathaniel finally notices them, guilt and realization appearing on his face, "No..." he barely gets out.
"It will be a bit difficult, but I will try to tell the police that I beat him as well, but I will try. As for his... passing, self-defense will be a bit hard as I went a little bit overboard while... dealing with him. I guess I also should improve my control," there isn't even a hint of regret in her eyes.
"Vic, I will tell them. I will tell them it was me who did it."
"That's enough. Do I look to you like I don't know what I am doing?" With her clothes fixed, she stops in front of her brother, "Nat, it's you and me. No one else in the whole world can be trusted," she reaches and ruffles his hair, "I'm your older sister and I will protect you, so just wait a few years, okay? I can spin it into second-degree murder, and for that, I should get maybe ten years? I will behave nicely, so most likely even less." She doesn't seem to be too bothered.
At that time, lights start flashing outside the window, blue and red ones, and policemen start shouting something. Thalia, their mom, also wakes up and starts shouting and trying to get into the room that Victoria locked.
"Mom is silly but not stupid, so she will most likely know and hate you as well, but still, check on her once in a while, okay?" Victoria says.
The sound of a broken door sounds inside the apartment, and more shouting ensues.
Victoria moves to unlock the door when Nathaniel says something, "Vic, you, me, and mom. No one else matters."
"No Nat, that's for me. You do whatever makes you happy."