NOVEL SIMPLE The Journal (5)
I followed the directions Rudolf gave me in that folder. I went to the center of the city and turned to the east, went right, left a dozen times and right a lot. I eventually got to a point of interest.
Gambling dens, brothels, and alcohol-serving establishments were everywhere. The darkness of the night was lit clear, not with street lights or from well-meaning establishments, but with red and pink lights instead.
“Hey there… don’t be a stranger…”
“C’mon there big guy… We’re lonely.”
I was awestruck by the sight. Never in my right mind did I ever expect to see something like this in the world of Source. Source was a pg-game, safe for all ages, but this was not something I thought would exist.
Understandably, all society has an underbelly. There will always be the greedy capitalists, the predators of the weak and ill-fortune.
I mean I heard from Rudolf and Eric. This place did exist and was permitted to exist lawfully, but ever since a person by the name of Frederick, all hell broke loose. Like the poisonous metal he calls himself, mercury, he seeped into the skin of Ironhold and began killing it for personal gain.
And he does it so arrogantly and he’s untouchable because of how he does things. There is no perfect government in this world, even in my original one, and so with the right use of money, even scum can hide in plain sight.
They have two fox-show girls in the town square. Slaves.
I can tell just from a glance, this place is as bad as it looks. Maybe even worse because of him. I’ve only been here five minutes, and I’ve seen more slaves in that small amount of time than in the time I’ve spent here in Ironhold.
Holy shit– they’re all over me. They’re beautiful to say the least, curvy in the right places, exposed too, but I’m not in the market for some company.
“Sorry ladies, but not tonight.”
“Awww… Why not?”
“C’mon… why not a drink?”
Seriously, how many men have they swindled, and taken advantage of? I can't blame them, these women are quite the lookers. Still, I’m not them. I won’t fall for honey traps.
“Then I’ll think about it. I have something to do.”
“Well you know where to find us, honey!”
“Buh-Bye!”
Actually you know what, I might have fallen for it. But I have priorities! I need to make contact, make money, and then maybe visit…
“Demon child, what is the matter with you?! Focus!”
“What?!” I gasped, blinking to focus.
“There is something amiss here… magic is swirling in an uneasy way…”
No, no no!-- that’s not the point here.
"You can talk to me from all the way over there?"
“What do you mean? I'm in your hand.”
I nearly yelped as I felt a sudden weight in my hand. The sparkle of the blue diamond eye-stone began to shine. I nearly dashed into a dark alley hiding the book inside my cloak.
“Are you fucking crazy?!” I hissed at the item I was feverishly wrapping up, “You’re going to get me killed!”
“Are you ashamed of me, Demon child?”
“No, but I’m not crazy enough to fight–”
And the moment I was dreading came faster than I thought. “Hey!” A voice called from the entrance of the alley, “Gotta crank one out or you got something to hide–”
“Go fuck yourself!--” I grabbed the nearest object and threw it at the man.
I was already prepared for this scenario, mentally and physically, but I didn’t think I would lash out out of anger.
For some reason, I just snapped.
Thud!
The object I threw landed squarely at the man’s forehead and knocked him down onto his bottom.
“Well, your words contradict your actions.” The book sounded smug, “When you’re finished handling those things, I can explain to you as to why your hormones are firing off.”
“Alright.” I glared at the book stuffed inside my cloak. I turned to the men, squaring my shoulders and clenched my fists.
[ Strength: 11 (+3) / Speed: 11 / Constitution: 13 (+2) / Intelligence: 20 (+2) / Wisdom: 20 (+4) ]
I don’t have any visible numerical growth but just because the numbers don’t visibly show it, doesn't mean I haven't grown. I charged at the men, not letting them utter even a word to say otherwise.
I think they screamed.
“W-Wait–”
Crunch!
***
Did they beg for mercy? I’m not sure, but what was done is done. I didn’t even remember what I did.
“Have you come to your senses?”
“What have I done…” I asked dumbly.
I looked at the entrance of the alleyway. I ran quite deep into the cubby in-between buildings. There was no one looking inward to see us.
Or what I had done.
“Breathe, Demon child. Breathe.”
I felt like screaming, but for some reason my mind was clear. It was clearer now when I had entered the district. My heart, however, was shaken.
Three men twice my build and weight were all on the ground. Their faces were beaten black and blue, their eyelids and cheeks swollen. I don’t know what they looked like before I beat them, and I certainly couldn’t tell who they are now.
“I-I-I just turned them into…”
“Pulp? You reduced them to that state, a state of near-death. But I assure you, their wounds are only shallow. They’ll survive, Child.” The book said boredly, almost in a matter of fact way. “You didn’t commit murder.”
“Oh that's good–” I gasped.
I only realized too late what the book had said. I turned to him sharply, finding him atop my cloak instead of inside it.
“We are soul-bound. Your thoughts and mine are connected. Exchange of information is only possible that way. How else was I able to completely handle your memories, if your mind was not connected to me in the first place?”
“I-I see.”
That made sense. It made complete sense.
“So what went wrong with me?”
“Your bloodline, Child.” The book responded “You are not of this world, but in the process of becoming of this world, your body morphed to fit your purpose.”
“My purpose?”
“Yes, the purpose in which you asked of me, the same purpose that I couldn't answer. I believe that your physiology is related to why you have been summoned in this world.”
“T-Then what happened?”
“Simply put, you did not simply ‘grow’ as an inhabitant of this world, you ‘appeared.’”
“I don’t understand…”
The book would have sighed if it could.
“Reiterate to me in your own words, my explanation of the people of this world. Think about the answer to that, Child.”
I took in a big breath of air and slowly released it. "okay."
I thought about his question, for there were six main races of intelligence the two gods have designed, but the world is not limited to only them. But from what the journal taught me, there were only five now.
If the answer lies inside the my answer, the Journal has no reason to lie.