MA: 106. The Bulletin Board

The second day at Aire was less linear than the previous days. This was to mean that Red now had the freedom to do as she wished, albeit within reason.

If Red was a bird, then Snow was her mother. But calling her ‘mother’ seemed to strike an off chord inside of her.

Red washed up in the shared washroom.

Walls of crumbling brick and mortar separated each shower station.

Each small meter by meter shower section came equipped with a detachable shower head powered using a water crystal, a drain, and moldy towels. Warm water was a luxury for them, but Red did not mind.

[Appraise Object].

Water Crystal

< A crystal capable of producing stable water when powered with Mana. The water produced is not considered drinkable until purified. Commonly mined on the coasts of the Anid and the Emvita Region >

She simply grabbed the wooden handle of the showerhead and water came gushing out.

“Woooah! It’s like the Mana Repeaters! You put in Mana, and it starts functioning. Mana is fuel for a lot of things!”

A bare Red exclaimed as she allowed the water to drizzle onto herself. Behind her were women who waited for an external source of water to heat up. They were looking forward to a warm bath today, as for the past few months they had been relying on cold showers.

Baths were rare in Emvita for two reasons, and both were related to the lack of Healers in the Region. The first was disease. Shared baths were especially notorious for becoming breeding grounds for diseases and had been the origins of plagues, such as the Blood Spots, Churn, and a disease called the Red Plague.

Secondly, baths cannot easily be cleaned. Water could always be reused. Basins were easily refilled. But it was a privilege to be clean in this Region, particularly in the rural areas, and most certainly as an Adventurer. They would quickly accumulate so much grime that it would become toxic for agricultural use.

This was also caused by a certain invention called soap.

“Slather this onto your hair Red~” Sani hummed.

She slathered a slimy subtstance onto her hair, causing Red to stand on her toes like a frightened cat.

“Sneak attack!? Wait, are you marking me? Does this help keep monsters away? I need to smell like a monster to blend in.”

“It has no fragrance. It just makes you clean and nice~ Don’t rely on Snow all the time or you won’t get the good oils in your hair follicles~” Sani hummed as giant blobs of bubbles floated around the washroom. “So you get beautiful hair. Like me~”

“I don’t want blonde hair. Grr. But oiling?”

Red brought a hand to her chin as she glanced into the mirror.

She nodded at herself after a moment of thought.

“Like a gun. I like it. So soap is good.”

“Yup. Oiling. Snow~ Don’t you want to help her out? And wow, how much have you grown!? What have you been feeding our adorable Red?”

Snow sighed. She wasn’t one to wash, but she was here to keep an eye on Red. Funnily enough, it was less because she was afraid of Red’s antics and more because she was afraid of Sani.

“More like what hasn’t she been feeding me.” A look of dejection spawned on her face as she looked at her lithe body in the mirror.

Typically, this was a good expression. After all, it would mean that Snow had been sufficiently feeding her. She was not wrong, but Red was irritated because Snow had in fact stopped her from eating various things along their trip to Aire.

“Mushrooms. Pears. So what if I get a little poison? Isn’t that a good thing? I wanna build up resistance and become the strongest! But no, Snow thinks a little poison called paralysis is going to hurt me.”

“Aha. Red. That’s not food.” Snow laughed, but deep-down Red knew that Snow was fuming. “It’s a poison.”

“She’s such a meanie, isn’t she?” Sani pouted. “I bet you’re strong enough where eating mushrooms might be good for you! Because look at you! You’re almost as tall as Snow. You used not be that different from the village children~”

“The Corrupted changed me.” Red struggled to come up with an excuse.

Being reflected in the mirror put into perspective just how much she had changed. She had no visible muscle, which was a bummer given that muscles were proof of strength. But then again, muscles didn’t matter when it came to firearms.

“You’re really pretty as well! People would kill for these eyes!”

“I’ve heard that one before! I got special eyes, huh!” Red exclaimed, making a ‘>_<’ face. “And I’m super powerful!”

“Snow, you’re gonna let our darling Red become washed up if she doesn’t experiment.” Moona laughed.

“Ahh… But ‘working’ with poisons isn’t my specialty.” Snow avoided calling herself a Healer since there were children from outside of their village present. “Besides, ‘washed’?”

“Oh you adorable, secluded village girl~ Catch up with the Adventurer slang~” Moona took a swig from a silver canister containing what was obviously alcohol. “Hey, Red! You’re going to take on some quests from the Buletin today, yeah? Be careful of Trains.”

“Like the trains with the mortars and artillery cannons!?”

“No, like when people agro a bunch of enemies and drag them around. Heard newbies here have a problem with disengaging properly. But none of us would know that. Just letting you know.”

“Train. Training…” Red began muttering to herself. These were what people called shower thoughts, but to Red, these were breakthroughs. “Moona, right? That’s a genius idea.”

Snow raised a dangerous brow.

“Red?”

“A giant train. Experience galore. Thingies (levels) going up! Fledgling Red cuts through the train of monsters like a bullet. Imagine the reverence!? Heh, I think I have something in mind for today!”

*

Noon. Three hours till the Second Night was expected to arrive. Thankfully, the forests surrounding Aire did not have to experience the bloodbath of the Second Night.

However, dangerous nocturnal animals came out to hunt during the 15-minute sweep of night.

“Can’t annihilate the enemies.” Red pouted as her eyes glanced over the many pinned papers across the town’s bulletin board.

Snow had strictly warned her against forming trains as she could easily get someone else killed. Red’s argument consisted of ‘easy experience’ and ‘fast level up’s’, but Snow didn’t budge.

“Stupid Snow. Grrr. Would’ve been free levels. And what do these words even mean?”

Gathered at the bulletin board were dozens of Adventurers, hunters, gatherers as well as vendors peddling marked up goods. They came in an assortment of apparel, but the consensus from what Red saw was light-metal armor to cover vitals, and padded cloth elsewhere.

That was not to say there wasn’t any variety. Her eyes wandered from person to person, seeing some wear skirts far too short to be considered protective.

Get some thigh socks. Like me. No sword is gonna break through my leggings.

Another did not wear a helmet, despite being the vanguard of a party. Vanguards were those who fought at the very front of an organized team.

The head is a weak spot. One slash of your neck and you’re dead.

Then, she saw someone wearing what could only be described as armored underwear. Her eyes burned into this person’s soul, and the woman began shivering, as though a winter breeze swept by.

“Snow. What on Elysia is that? Is that supposed to be armor?”

“It’s for Bards. People who inspire others with music or…” Snow mumbled as she read through the bulletin board, refusing to acknowledge the existence of that accursed armor. “… their bodies.”

“So they cheer from the back and give buffs?”

“Depends on what kind of Bard or Charmer they are. Luckily, they’re not a Succubus. Tch. I don’t see any mentions about a caravan we can use.”

“Oh right. We’re supposed to be leaving?”

“That’s the plan, but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s willing.”

Prior to arriving here, Snow had gone around to inquire about moving roughly 50 people including Rockie to Galbore City. She was understandably laughed at and mocked which left a bad taste in Red’s mouth.

But she had to be a good human, so she kept quiet.

What surprised her was how little Snow was affected by their laughter.

“It’ll be easier to make our own ride, if that’s even possible. Then again, the Trakk Syndicate aren’t far from this place. They’d have large caravans. If worst come to worst, I guess Rockie can haul us.”

“Oooh! So we just gotta find their whereabouts?” Red’s eyes dazzled.

“I’m grasping at straws. Still, we have no better plan in place. The First and the Second Nights will be impossible to defend against once we’re out there. And Red. Just be careful. You have red eyes. Don’t forget that.”

“I know, I know. But look at this! Doesn’t this picture look cool? It’s of a pestle and mortar.”

“That’s a bowl and a spoon.” Snow whispered, smiling. But it wasn’t out of mockery. She tapped Red’s hair affectionately.

Giggling suddenly came from the crowd.

A group of Adventurers wearing silver dog tags couldn’t hide their smirks. They had overheard Red’s rambling, though Red thought this was a good thing. She was getting attention, finally. This meant people were recognizing she was strong!

However, Snow made a low-pitched groan in response.

“Ignore them. Any attention isn’t good attention.” Snow warned again, and brought Red a little closer, as though wanting to protect her. “You alright?”

“Alright? Huh? Of course I’m alright. What a weird question.” Red’s brows furrowed as she pouted again. “Spiked Boar hunting! And hunting in general in the outskirts of Aire!”

She pointed at a poster with a scribbled picture of people with spears hunting pigs. Her inner genius was able to perfectly decipher exactly what this poster was requesting.

“Won’t be possible with that kind of getup.” A woman stepped forward from the group. She wore a haughty face and brought a hand to her mouth, as though to cover her wide smile. “Looks to me that you’re only packing a knife. Not a lot of people have the technical skill to carve our Spiked Boars or Screaming Porquipines. Then when we consider the quality of Adventurers stranded here, let’s just say not many are up to par.”

This woman was a warrior who wielded both a broadsword and a two-handed crossbow. Her armor was thick like chitin, and she had exemplary blonde hair that was more suited for a princess rather than an Adventurer.

Her level was 49, the highest of the Adventurers present. Her other six companions hovered between level 40 to 45, making them an extremely capable party. To put this into perspective, the Hatchling Black Widow was level 50, and the Captain of the Green Rangers Branch – the Black Widow – was level 55.

Were it the old Red, then she would have taken them at face value solely by their levels.

However…

Such low ATT and HP stats. Even Arachni who’s level 55 will drop dead from just one strike. I gotta be careful not to get into trouble, because they’re not gonna survive me sneezing on them.