Chapter 520.5 - A rainy night

Author's note:

After some of your comments, I thought the story could benefit from something like this, so here's a late night chapter I wrote while forsaking sleep.

It's meant to go right after Mr.Scribe's explanation about the level up process in chapter 520. Not the cleanest way to do things, but since you fine patrons get the chapters right as I write them, needing to add things in older chapters was bound to happen at some point.

That means tomorrow chapter will be numbered 525, as this is technically the new 521, kind of.

Anyway, enjoy ;) 

It was a rainy evening in the Vasperian capital, a few hours past sundown, night was normally busy as ever for the Vampires, born at a much higher level, they needed much less sleep than humans. Still, on a rainy night like this, the streets were almost empty, the warm light of the lightstone lampposts reflecting on the wet street tiles.

Sofia walked happily holding her bone umbrella above her head. 

Tall building in front of the red sign… Should be that one! 

It does stand a bit higher than most other buildings around here.

Sofia unsummoned her umbrella behind her as she walked in, the lobby was a simple clean corridor leading to a mana-powered lift of the exact same kind there was in Taxes’ bank.

That door on the right looks like a resident home, so I’m guessing it’s the lift…

There were multiple buttons all labeled with the name of random services, but Sofia only needed to pay attention to the uppermost, ‘Seventh floor: The Silent Haven.’ Cinthia had invited her there wanting to relax and discuss a few things before the coming expedition.

This was, from what Cinthia had told her, a bar owned by a mute and deaf Vampire. This peculiar owner had invested in his weaknesses, paying for high grade anti-spying rituals and artifacts to secure the privacy of its guests, and gained a reputation as a comfortable place where people could come to safely discuss private matters. 

The lift slowly brought Sofia up the floors, she adjusted her robe, although it was only CInthia she was meeting, she wanted to be well-dressed, for once. The trial hadn’t given her many opportunities to care about her appearance for the last year before she ended up stuck in Zangdar. 

The doors of the lift opened with a ding as it reached the last floor. The bar was made of a single spacious room, decorated with lush green plants and clean steel. It was relatively empty, with only a few couches and some kind of table for games near the entrance, and the bar itself with its four seats, next to a wide window giving an unparalleled view over the entire southern side of the capital.

Oh wow. I can even see the tip of Asty’s castle from here.

Cinthia was already sitting at the bar, alone, the Vampire behind the bar shaking some weird metal cylinder.

Sofia tried to Identify him, by reflex, only to find that her magic faded away as soon as it left her body. Right, the whole privacy thing… Well. This guy has so little mana, he can’t be some kind of hidden expert. I almost want to try to see if he can hear Ormoncleth’s bell.

Calming her thoughts, Sofia nodded to the barman who had just noticed her, and nodded back at him when he bowed. 

“I rented the place for the entire night,” Cinthia started as Sofia sat on the stool next to her, grabbing the wooden slate with drink names the Vampire was holding out to her.

“Nice, I like the mood of the place. I see I’m not the only one who dressed up,” Sofia commented on Cinthia’s look before turning her attention to the drinks.

Cinthia laughed awkwardly, “It’s more for the viewers than for myself, at this point. Not many of them tonight, though. Only three.”

“Let’s see… Hatred, Death and Taxes?”

“Got two,” Cinthia answered with a smile, grabbing the glass the Vampire bartender just placed in front of her. 

“Ah, well. Hatred and Death are pretty much always there, so I’m guessing Sorrow?” Sofia guessed as she showed the drink she wanted to the Vampire.

“Exactly. She must be curious since we’re going to discuss Her. She and the others have been very tight-lipped about our coming trip, though. I would be lying if I said it isn’t worrying,” Cinthia confessed.

“Right… I haven’t explained much either. It’s about time I filled you in on what I know. Thinking about it, you agreed to come a bit fast.”

“Ahah… The viewers were eager for me to go, understandably so. I need to restock on tokens so it’s a perfect opportunity, too. I’m just a bit anxious, especially knowing the kind of stuff you usually get up to…”

Thinking about how she was to explain the topic, Sofia glanced at the Vampire. He was minding his own business making Sofia’s drink in a metal cylinder while looking out the window. Perhaps sensing her gaze, he glanced back at Sofia, his eyes meeting hers. He smile and turned his attention back to the window.

Cute. Sofia’s thoughts derailed for an instant before she focused back on the matter at hand.

“Erm, so… You already have some details, but since we have the entire night, I might as well give you the full story. Well, it won’t even be that long anyway, there isn’t much to it.”

“I’m listening,” Cinthia happily said before sipping on her blue drink, “The other tree also,” she added with a slight wink. 

Sofia cleared her throat, “So it all starts with an ancient human empire…”

She quickly went over summoning Ihuarah, how he was Sorrow’s previous Apostle, and how Sun had eventually appeared out of nowhere to give everyone quests.

“So then,” Sofia continued, sipping on her own drink, which was refreshingly sweet, “his quest reward was the approximate location of one of Sorrow’s three divine items, the Locket of lost souls. He was searching for it in the jungle while we stayed at Brighthall. Of course he found it. Actually, I still have the description in my logs from when he showed me during the trial, wait a second… There.”

[Locket of lost souls]: Divine item forged with the essence of Sorrow. Countless sorrowful souls with unrealised wishes have been locked inside.

The souls may guide you to any place you ask them to, so long as one of them knows the way.

For each soul whose wishes you complete, they will be released from the locket and grant the wearer a permanent increase in cognitive capacity (processing).

This item will become a powerful catalyst after all the souls are appeased.

Item level : 500. Grade : Forgotten.

“Impressive,” Cinthia commented, “But I think I like Astelia’s earrings better. Ah… Shouldn’t have said that,” she ashamedly said as she glanced at her invisible chat.

“It’s fine to have a preference. Speaking of which, is Lies a viewer of yours, too?”

“Never seen Lies around, no. But She has been brought up by the others a few times, so…”

“Interesting. I wonder how many Recessed there are… Ah, but back to the locket, see how it can guide to other places? That’s because it is meant to locate Sorrow’s hidden Palace.”

“I kind of guessed that, why are we going there, though? I assume it's not just historical sightseeing.”

“Can you see the castle out there?” Sofia asked, pointing at the Moonlit castle, far in the distance, barely showing over the horizon of the ocean.

“Orcs don’t have that good a night vision,” Cinthia answered as she squinted to try to see anything where Sofia pointed at, “But you mean Astelia’s castle, right?”

“Yes. It’s some place built by worshippers of Moon long ago, it can only be opened by Moon’s chosen Oracle, and there’s a dungeon in there. At the end lies a divine weapon of Moon, supposedly. That’s Asty’s guess, at least.”

“So we’re after a weapon of Sorrow?” Cinthia asked, surprised, and throwing many glances at her chat.

“I wish I could tell you. I have no idea what is actually in there. But Ihuarah is certain there is a divine artifact. It was destined to be his, originally, but I am the new Apostle, so he says it should be mine. He says he is perfectly content with the locket and knowing that Mo- Sorrow’s legacy is not rotting at the bottom of a dusty dungeon.”

“He’s just giving it up like this after doing all the work to locate the place?”

Sofia shrugged, “That’s just the kind of man he is. And I can tell you that nothing will make him change his mind now. Just look at the lengths he went to for Everelle…”

Cinthia sighed, she looked at the empty street outside, and downed the rest of her drink in one go. “I wish I could find a man like that too…”

“Honestly… Same. But well, no time for it. I feel for the poor man you eventually choose to get with, though.”

“Wha- Huh?!”

“He’s going to need broad shoulders to survive with Hatred as a father in law.”

“The- I- Was… I’m not Hatred’s…”

“Be honest. Cin,” Sofia whispered as she came closer, “Wouldn’t it be exciting to become a demon too?”