OLDEN WAYS

Prince Parsia stared in awe at three flames floating in air, burning away at several dozen herbs at the same time, while traces of liquid emerged from it. It was his first time seeing Alchemy, as he believed it to be the ancient, lost art – since it was in the realm he comes from – rendering him speechless when he saw Lynne do it.

The monkey, as per usual, stood on the site, his mouth salivating as he stared at the process, while Lynne was casually waving his fingers about, making sure that the flames’ temperatures were appropriate.

He had grown rather proficient at Alchemy, but had also hit a wall. The best pill he could concoct was a Supreme Rank 10 Pill called Soul Rejuvenation. He managed to concoct it once, after three days of no sleep, and has since laid to the side. In addition, he can’t even begin to fathom as to how to concoct Rank 11 Pills and upwards, and even the monkey simply knows some general outlines, but not the actual process.

He didn’t mind it too much, though, as he himself rarely used pills, and most of his creations ended up in the monkey’s belly. He concocted primarily because it increased his Soul Force by a small margin, and it was good enough for him at the moment.

“And done,” Lynne said as a bright flash of light blinded them for a moment, after which a round, pebble-sized pill appeared floating midair. “That’s concocting.”

“Holy shit!!” the Prince exclaimed, taking the pill and examining it closely. “It’s genuine stuff! Can I take it? Please?!”

“Sure.” Lynne replied bluntly.

“Wait, really?!” Thalia stared at him for a moment, shocked. “This is a Medium quality Rank 10 Pill! You could fetch at least 500 Mana Stones for it on the market!” the monkey suddenly started sweating bullets as he looked at Lynne, who then looked back at him.

“Uh,” the monkey stuttered. “It’s like… uh, it’s like this…”

“Ugh, as much as I’d love to see you try to talk your way out of this,” Lynne interrupted. “We don’t have time for it now. Let’s all just get some sleep and move out in the morning. Besides, do you really thing I’m that huge of an idiot? That I never once checked out the prices of pills?” Lynne smiled at him wryly.

“… so you knew.” the monkey said.

“Of course I knew.”

“… you’re a good, rotten bastard Lynne.”

“You’re damn right I am! Wait, is that a good thing? Eh, who cares. Let’s all catch some sleep first.”

As they all retreated to their own corners to catch some sleep, Lynne closed his eyes slightly, but he remained awake. He hadn’t slept well ever since he left Skyfire, and each time he’d try, he’d wake up even more exhausted, so he simply gave up on the luxury called sleep.

Instead, he began meditating on the Scythe techniques, which he was growing ever-so-proficient at. Still, he only understood – somewhat – first seven techniques of the Reaping stance, and only the first three to the usable degree. The techniques themselves were laid out in single images, but once Lynne concentrated, he could faintly imagine the movements – not just of the body, but also of Mana and Soul Force – so he was working towards being able to clearly see the projected moveset.

Outside of the Scythe techniques though, he practiced very little. His Mana reserves had practically remained the same for over a month, his other Spell Arts remained as badly understood as they were before, and he even stopped sparring against the youth in the Emperor’s Realm, and stopped trying to understand different types of flames.

The dawn came slowly, sun barely crushing through the fogged air above them, a few beams lighting up the forest. Lynne stretched out and took out a gourd of water, washing his face, before joining the others.

“Everyone slept like a drugged baby?” he asked, smiling. “I mean like me.”

“… let’s just go.” Thalia sighed.

“Prince, it’s your turn!”

Prince Parsia began examining the clues once more, tracking the marks left behind. Bit by bit, they moved through the narrowing forest, pausing here and there to either drink or eat something.

After about half a day of walking, they finally exited the forest and found themselves on a dirt road, one winding through hill-filled plain. Green grass grew knee-high, occasional bloomed flower giving it faint presence of color, while gentle gale arose the dust from the road.

The group followed the path, and a few hours later, in the distance, they saw walls of a city rise. Stone-built, with several spots being completely destroyed by something, the city didn’t appear to be too large, but they were too far away to discern anything more.

“So he’s in the city…” Thalia creased her brows as she said.

“Yeah,” the Prince nodded. “If he hadn’t left already.”

“If he’s there, it’s going to be tough to find him…” Thalia added.

“No kidding!” Lynne pitched in. “We don’t know how he looks like, what’s his aura like, how strong he is, hell, we don’t even know if it’s a he. We may as well just start pointing fingers at everyone living in the town.”

“Way to be an optimist,” the bird joined in. “Don’t worry, leave it all to me! This amazing Godly Phoenix will make all your troubles go away!”

“So, what’s our plan?” the Prince asked.

“Lynne?” Thalia glanced back at Lynne, as she believed insane, creative ideas were the way to go at the moment.

“Plan? Who needs a plan!” he exclaimed, laughing madly. “Just charge in, set a few huts on fire and smoke him out!”

“So what’s the plan Parsia?” Thalia asked.

“Fine, fine,” Lynne interrupted the two, stepping in-between them. “How about this? You two are newly wed noble somethings from someplace some ways away, and I’m your adopted kid.”

“…”

“…”

“What’s wrong mom? Dad?” Lynne said, his face completely serious. “Did Lynne do something really, really bad? Are you going to punish me?”

“I’m genuinely terrified at the moment.” the Prince said.

“Good idea.” Thalia said.

“Eh?!” both Lynne and the Prince exclaimed. “However, not like that; we’re a trio of siblings. Prince is the oldest brother, and you…” she pointed at Lynne. “You’re… khm, differently enabled type.”

“… so I’m supposed to be a retard.” Lynne said.

“Should feel right at home.” Thalia encouraged him with a smile.

“How about this,” Lynne protested. “You two are my slaves and I’m a benevolent God who allows his faithful subjects to live until they are thirty years of age before beheading them in a mass of gore.”

“Or… how about we just go into the city instead?” the Prince said, shaking his head at the two. “I doubt anyone will ask us who the hell are we.”

**

“Who the hell are you three?!!” the guard, plated from head to toe, asked while he took out his spear and pointed it at Lynne.

“…”

“…”

“… we—we are newly weds,” Thalia suddenly hugged the Prince, smiling charmingly. “And this is our adopted son, Ly-Lynor.” she pointed at straight-faced Lynne behind the two.

“Isn’t he kind of old for that?” the guard asked cautiously.

“… he’s…”

“I’m retarded!!” Lynne exclaimed, flipping his tongue out while falling down on all four, racing around Thalia’s and the Prince’s legs like a dog. “Woof, woof!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

**

The city, midway through the day, was bustling with activity. It was built in a rather straightforward manner, with the center of the city being a huge, round plaza, acting as the main market, and the surrounding buildings being high-end faculties, such as inns, restaurants and high-end Magic Shops.

The further away parts were mostly local houses, low-end inns, blacksmiths, jewelers, Alchemists and so on, while the furthest parts – ones next to the wall – were slums for poor.

With the monkey and the bird having gone into Emperor’s Realm, the trio headed to the middle parts, searching for a mid-sized inn to stay in. Weary from the journey, with the knowledge that the murderer was most-likely residing inside the city, they felt a good rest was in order before the hunt begins.

They finally came across an inn called Lucky Few, which had five floors, and had room-service meals as well as large baths. Behind the counter of the inn was an Elf woman, nearly two meters tall, slender to a boot, with moon-dyed hair flowing freely down her back. She wore warm and kind smile as she welcomed the trio.

“Welcome travelers,” she said in a soft voice. “What would you like?”

“A room.” Lynne said.

“A room?” Thalia looked angrily at him. “Two rooms please.”

“… it’s your money, do with it what you want.” Lynne raised his shoulders helplessly.

“Any preferences?” the woman asked.

“Perhaps someone older.” Lynne said, stroking his chin.

“Excuse me?” the woman asked, blinking confusingly.

“Nevermind him,” Thalia slapped the back of Lynne’s head as she stepped upfront. “No, everything is fine as long as the room has a bed.”

“Hm,” the woman looked down into a small book, flipping over a page. “We currently have adjacent rooms free on the third floor,” she said. “Both have two beds though, so if you want them, you’ll have to pay the equivalent price.”

“Sure, how much?” Thalia said.

“500 Mana Stones per room, per night.” the woman said, still smiling.

“…” Thalia’s jaw fell to the floor.

“…” the Prince nearly fainted.

“500 fucking what?!!” Lynne on the other hand exploded. “You shameless witch! 500?! Do we look like we shit out Mana Stones after each meal?!”

“That’s the policy,” the woman looked at him, her smile growing colder, eyes staring in anger. “Take it or leave it.”

“Alright, let’s haggle,” Lynne forcibly calmed himself down. “I’ll give you a single copper coin for fifteen days. How’s that sound?”

“…”

“…”

“I’ll have to ask you to leave.” the woman said, pointing at the doors.

“Leave? Ah nah,” Lynne shook his head, leaning onto the counter. “Look me in the eyes. See these eyes? These are the eyes of a man wrought with sorrows. See this woman behind me? I’ve been in love with her ever since my dearest, most beloved grandma passed away, and she’s been giving me cold shoulder regardless of what I did. Then this bastard comes along, she marries him, and they adopt me as a kid. A kid! I’m their freaking kid! And, one happy thing I had about my life – my love for beautiful maidens such as yourself – was forbidden! They are too cheap to buy me a warm meal! I have to pay for everything! How do you expect them, then, to pay 500 Mana Stones for a room? They’d rather shag behind the inn, in a dark alley!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“So, what I’m saying,” Lynne continued, his face downcast. “Just please, for the love of good god, give them a separate room from mine. I can’t stand the idea of watching them shag yet again, as I’ve been witnessing it far too much these past few years. Practically every day… at any given time… you can see her leaned against something, and him leaned against her. She’s the love of my life… and technically my mother… and I keep seeing her screw a man who’s technically my father… don’t you see the issues I’ve got to deal with? Please, help me out here…” the woman stared at him strangely, while Thalia and Parsia were burning red from embarrassment. They nearly simply bolted out of the inn from shame.

“… ah, at least you know how to spin a story straight-faced,” the woman chuckled lightly. “Truth be told, we only have a few rooms left.” she explained. “Usually we’d rent out the rooms for as little as 10 Mana Stones, but because of the Hundred Years Tournament, the city has been overrun by people, and nearly all inns are full packed. So…”

“Oh, so you’re just pushing for profits?” Lynne nodded in agreement. “I get it. How about this then. If you rent us rooms at reasonable price, my mom and dad will – fervently at that – do manual labor for you for as long as we stay here. From washing laundry, cooking, cleaning, gardening, cleaning the toilets – and I mean don’t hold back on anything – they’ll do it. Anything to keep them away from shagging. How’s that sound?”

“How about you?” the woman covered her mouth slightly as she laughed lowly.

“I’ll always be free to entertain your mature maiden guests.”

“Oh?” the woman arched her brows as she spoke. “It just so happens that we’ve got quite a few of them staying here. Are you sure you can handle it?”

“You can doubt my integrity, character, tongue, morals, motivation – and practically everything that makes me a person – but don’t ever doubt my desire and ability to give a fruitful woman a good time.”

“40 Mana Stones then,” the woman said, holding back laughter the best she could. “How’s that sound?”

“Like a well-oiled deal,” Lynne said, shaking her hand. “Much like those guests of yours will be.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

Burning brightly red, Thalia and Parsia raced away from one another as they went up to their rooms, while Lynne stayed in the inn’s small restaurant, ordering some wine and delicacies, stuffing himself full. In addition to that, though, he began listening in on the chatter from the surrounding groups of people, in hopes to find an oddity or two, or perhaps even a clue as to whereabouts of the murderer… and the looks of the inn’s maiden guests.