Vol.1 - Chapter 34 - Feelings Shared & Malakai's Hurdles

By the time Mathias returned home to [Night Fay Tailorshop], the clock was already 22:15, making his entrance slowly, like a timid cat, he stumbled on Fayrene, who was working on the dress at the light of lamps.

"I have returned home, Fay."

Stopping from sewing, she turned herself at him, only to notice he was no longer wearing the Cidarian clothes she handed him. Also, she could feel that his mana was stronger than before.

"Don't tell me, you went into the wilderness again to hunt dangerous monsters?" inquired Fayrene, with a curious expression on herself.

Moving toward the counter and taking a seat on a chair, he started by telling her and taking the Cidarian Leggings out of his inventory.

"Fay, I am sorry. I couldn't keep my promise."

Seeing him apologize in such an unexpected manner, she walked toward him and looked at the leggings he placed on the counter.

She could see the sharp weapon marks on them and all sorts of tears. They were almost destroyed.

"Sorry."

"What happened to you, Mathias?"

"Sigh, you know I really hate keeping secrets from you. Take a chair, come closer and listen to my story. This day was wild even for my standards."

Fayrene turned her head at the dress she was about to finish, and with a simple nod, she walked to take the workstation chair and move it closer to the counter, where Mathias was seated with a sad expression.

"I am all ears. Go on, tell me what happened to you. I am a good listener."

Then, Mathias, after Fay got ready, started telling her about his day, how he began his day, encountering Juander, his proposal, along with Jeanne and her request to have her accompanied at the Hippodrome.

"Wait, wait. Take me slower. Is Bishop Jeanne a woman? Also, His Majesty was looking for you? Because of your story? Unbelievable."

"I told you, Fay, this day of mine was strange. That is correct for both, Jeanne, while being born a boy is now a woman because of a curse."

"Poor Jeanne, is she fine with that curse?"

"She doesn't show instability in her mind, she even changed her clothes to a women's, so I can take it as a sign of identity acceptance."

"Mathias, if she ever starts feeling bad, acting all rough and being irascible, tell her that I can help out." offered Fayrene, with a slightly awkward tone, to which Mathias understood what she meant.

'Menstruation, the nemesis of women. I'll be sure, tell her, since I am neither a woman nor a gynecologist, to give my opinion on such a subject.'

"If she wants help and you want to meet her, I don't mind letting you two get to know each other. Ahem, as for Lord Juander, to tell you the truth, I have never expected that he would be interested in my story. Do you believe in such an event?"

Fay just shook her raven hair while looking with a shocked expression at him. She approved with him.

"You should also write one book for me too. If even his Majesty is interested in your book, it means there's something about it."

"Fay, I have about 450 pages to write. I might like to write, but I am not that sick in the head."

"I'll help you out. I can write it in your stead once you get tired."

"Are you sure you are willing to take such a pledge with me? I am warning you, my story is not for the light-hearted." added Mathias, gazing at Fayrene's violet eyes that showed curiosity.

"Understood, not a problem. What have I not seen."

"Fine, we will start working on the book after ending the dress. Also, when you finish listening to my story, you will have to keep the dress with you."

This remark had her a bit confused, but once Mathias began describing the Hippodrome, she got all excited, listening with attention to all of his details. The races, and the prince who came to him, had her get on her feet and wonder.

"You meet three princes and even stood next to them, shoulder to shoulder??"

"There's also a bet with Dulandal." completed Mathias, reminding her about the bet with Dulandal.

"Aha, I remember what you said, and for much of it, I couldn't quite pick my head when you mentioned that sum." asked Fayrene, looking weirdly at Mathias, who simply said the number of money bet at the Hippodrome.

"1.000 gold. I won all that money. In total, I have right now 2000 gold."

Yet, slowly her smiling expression shifted when he mentioned the next event.

"But next came the end of my relaxed time because I encountered a group of criminals from the 'Black Spades' Syndicate that tried to have me and Jeanne killed. For whatever reason and from whose orders were they acting, I don't know, but I have some leads that can guide me in that direction."

Taking a break to calm down Fayrene, who probably remembered about her encounter with the thugs, he only briefly told her about the outcome without going into the gory details.

"Phew, you should have told that from the start. Will you be fine with those bandits trying to look for you?"

"I can manage it, however, to keep you out of this mess, since they might target you to get at me, I might have to move."

When Fayrene heard that, she felt her heart hurting a bit, only asking him with a quiet voice. "You will no longer come to see me?"

"No, don't worry. If I move houses, I will come to check on you. Don't I still have to teach you how to calculate and the other mischievous things?"

Fayrene gave a bright smile as she nodded but then saw Mathias, whose expression turned a bit sad as he pointed at the Cidarian Leggings.

"Fay, regarding the clothes you gave me, only the Boots and Leggings survived their attack. The shirt was destroyed."

As he said that, looking down, a bit disappointed for breaking his word, he later felt her hands tenderly grabbing his face and hearing her sweet voice.

"You were sad about this? That some criminals who attacked you destroyed the clothes I gave you?" Still, with a lowered face, he heard Fayrene say with a higher voice.

"Look at me when I talk with you, Mat."

Mathias felt that Fayrene tried to raise his face and look at her own, point where he sighed and didn't resist.

"Good. Now listen here, you dummy. Maybe at first, I told you those clothes were intended for my brothers to wear, but since you used them for three months, I can't even ask them back because you did so much for me. You helped me with the project, buying my materials, and also bringing food and other things from your hunts and many special things that I can't tell you.

Did they get destroyed? So be it. Did they serve their purpose of protecting you from cold and harm? They did."

Gazing at her eyes, Mathias, whose face was in Fayrene's hands, started laughing out loud, taking her by surprise.

"Hahaha, to think I would consume so much over such a thing. I am really an idiot sometimes."

*Giggling* "Indeed, you are a dummy, but you are my dummy." said Fayrene gazing with an affectionate expression, as she moved to embrace Mathias.

Taken by surprise by Fayrene's action, he also wrapped his arms around her, raising her up to sit in his lap. They stood like this for some minutes, in silence, until Fayrene asked with a timid, quiet voice.

"Mat, do you like me?"

While embracing her, he looked at her face, close up, and asked her, with a smile.

"I don't know. Do you like me, Fay?"

"I don't know, but do you like me, Mat?"

It was a back and forth, while those two were snuggling, it was until Fay gave up and responded first to the question.

"I do. Will you accept me as I am, with my good and bad side?" replied Fayrene with an embarrassed expression that tried to escape the serene gaze of Mathias.

Then, when she tried to look away, she felt his hand touch her face shift her face toward his own, and what responded to her was a kiss on the lips that made her get scared and struggle away from his embrace.

"I will. Will you accept mines, with all my bad side?" replied Mathias after breaking off the kiss, with his cheeks turning a bit rosy.

"You dummy, of course." responded Fayrene, with her white-milky skin turning red before she moved her head to kiss Mathias.

Responding to her desire, and also his own, no longer caring about what the future the live version might bring to him. Yet when things seemed to escalate, Fayrene panicked and said to him.

"No, not that. I am not ready."

He stopped from fondling her body, releasing her from his grasp. She distanced a bit from him, arranging her clothes and hair, before saying to him, with a quiet voice.

"We still can't do that. That is for the future."

"Ohh, do what?" asked Mathias with an evil smile, teasing Fayrene.

She tried to respond, but whenever she would open her mouth, she would turn even more embarrassed and having had enough of the situation entered, she complained before dashing off to her private room.

"You like teasing me, you jerk? Fine. I will teach you a harsh lesson in the future."

Remaining alone in the main room of the building, after seeing Fayrene move like a scared cat to her hidden place, while he savored his small victories. Still, with the feeling of her body in his hands, he stood in a relaxed position in the chair and only commented.

"I don't care about what consequences the reset will have. Maybe everyone is wrong, and it will not be a wipe of everything. Sometimes you have to force fate into giving what you desire. Shouldn't this be 'Satisfaction'? Morpheus, you better listen to me, you jerk. If you destroy what I have built this far with Fay and Jeanne, I ask you, will I be 'Satisfied'?"

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After calming himself, he went straight to continue his work on the Tapestry, and as this was happening, he received a new message from his friend, Vlad, that sounded exciting.

&Malakai: Bro, after I approached some chick who was having some trouble with carrying bags and offered to help her, and also talking along with her, I received some quests, and they are even rare difficulty.

&Mathias: Congrats, this is why you were quiet all day?

&Malakai: Obviously, I had more quests from the lady I helped. She is an artist in Reinhard and was having trouble carrying her new supplies. She is even hot, around 24-26 if you ask me, that Fayrene of yours."

&Mathias: Behave like a human, or you will get rejected if you pursue her with the mindset they are just puppets with lines of words integrated.

&Malakai: Indeed, I'll send you some screenshots of the artwork she did in her studio. It's like I've seen the second coming of da Vinci right in front of my eyes.

Shaking his head at the words his friends were saying in the messages, he continued his work, which was 40% complete, but then not long after his whisper window was spammed by Vlad's pictures of this artist he stumbled and helped, along with her artwork, that was indeed impressive.

&Malakai: Isn't she a good artist? Her name is Isabel. Anyway, we'll talk tomorrow at work. I'll also have to find a place to sleep in Reinhard.

&Mathias: Good luck, try a tavern.

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Malakai, or how his real name was, Vlad, chuckled at his friend's words and looked around himself at the illuminated streets of Reinhard.

"He probably is busy writing his story or doing some boring menial things." guessed Vlad what Mathias was doing when he talked with him.

Passing by the streets of the Eternal Kingdom capital, Reinhard, he felt its atmosphere even at night, with people still out in the open.

"Ohh man, this world feels so real. Even the NPC's here have a personality, and like Matei said, they tell their own story, and just listening to what they have to say will pick up your interest."

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A blonde young man, wearing some simple linen clothes, visible a change compared to the former rags he had that he bought with the money he received from Isabel, the artist of Reinhard, moved toward the city's periphery in a search for some taverns.

"She told me to visit her tomorrow because of another request. This means she has another quest for me. Hehe, I'll also have to ask around the tavern for some assassins who are willing to offer their teachings." noted Vlad, arriving quickly at the periphery and spotting some tavern signs in the distance.

"If I was in Titan right now, I would probably be walking for 15 minutes from the center to get to the periphery. Here we go. I have about 5 gold coins with me. I hope it will suffice."

Entering the tavern packed with people of all sorts, from some who wore clean, wealthy clothes to those who were wearing rugs. Not caring much, he went straight to the innkeeper, taking a seat with other customers.

"What should it be, young man?"

"One beer, please." responded Vlad, looking at the innkeeper, a middle-aged man with a long braided beard.

"That would be 10 silver coins for the mug."

Nodding his head, Vlad took out 10 silver coins from his inventory and placed them on the counter, at which the innkeeper swiftly took them, later filling a mug with beer.

"Anything else, young man?" asked the innkeeper, staring at Vlad.

"Well, there is another request. It does not concern the booze. I am looking for an assassin trainer. Do you have any information about a trainer in the art of assassination?"

"That… Are you sure, kid? Let me think…" whispering to himself, the innkeeper said, barely audible.

"Should I disturb His Excellency? He told me not to let anyone check on him but this boy. I can make some good money from him. Fine, I'll check on the master."

Then moving his gaze at Vlad, he told him with a sereious voice, making him contemplate if he should buy into it.

"I have, but information costs money."

Vlad nodded his head and took out from his bag 200 silver coins, placing them on the counter, later looking at the innkeeper who tapped on the counter, signaling him that he wanted more.

'Fine, fine. Here, maybe 500 silver coins will make you sing.' thought Vlad while he placed another 300 silver coins that were scooped by the innkeeper.

'Now, what? Wait, where are you going?? Damn, don't tell me I got scammed by an NPC?' wondered Vlad, when he saw the innkeeper walk away from the counter and walk in another part of the tavern.

Only after 10 minutes with his gaze on the empty beer mug, was when the innkeeper came back telling him with a serious voice.

"Walk the path I took and when you get to the door, knock on it and wait to be invited inside. A reminder, don't do anything stupid."

Getting from his seat, and passing the other people seated next to him, he heard them talk to themselves in the passing.

"That kid will surely get himself killed."

'Hmph, stop talking shit, you idiots. Even if I get killed by whoever is there, I don't care, as long as I get some skills.'

Arriving in front of the door after climbing down the stairs like it was some cellar, he knocked on the door and started the waiting game.

Minutes passed and about 30 minutes passed and Vlad was still at the front door, boiling, he sent a whisper to Mathias complaining he encountered a bug because he waited for 30 minutes without getting a response.

&Mathias: Just have patience, you got anything better to do? Who knows maybe it is an hidden assassin with weird tastes, but the rewards will be in proportion to the time you wait.

&Malakai: Matei, I am bored to hell. Is like I froze up in front of this door. Tell me, how are you doing?

&Mathias: I am doing a tapestry.

&Malakai: Like that old school stuff or the newer version?

&Mathias: New version, I have no clue how to do that old communist stuff that grandfather still has from his parents.

In such a manner, Vlad occupied his time, talking with Mathias, until Mathias cut him short, telling him.

&Mathias: Vlad, we will talk tomorrow. Just go to sleep or something while you wait. The innkeeper specified to only knock once and wait for the guy to let you in. Those are the key words.

'Yea, sure. It has already been one hour since I have been standing here. Come one, let me in, you motherfucker. How much do you want me to suffer here, waiting like an idiot?'

There was a response from the room, after 30 more minutes passed, saying with an old voice.

"The one who knocked on the door, enter."

Vlad, who was lying down, supported by the wall, fiddling with some gold coins, doing coin tosses and poker moves, finally sprouted up and instantly opened the door.

'Let's see who is the crazy bastard who had me wait almost two hours.'

Then to his surprise, he could see an old man with a golden name 'Bayek' beside an office while the room looked like a meeting room. This old man had short white hair, an eye patch, and also missing an arm, with scars on his face and neck, and probably all over his body.

"Greetings, sir. Thank you for allowing me inside."

"Haha, sure, kid, you are welcome. I thought of letting you wait for more time but seeing that you are an outlander, this will suffice. Your people are impatient, heartless, without emotions, so I just threw a test for you to see how you would react."

"I understand. Sir, can you teach me how to become an assassin?"

"Ohh, you want to follow that path, even if you might turn like me?" asked the old man while showing Vlad's about his scars and eye-patch and missing arm.

"Well, I might not turn like you, battle-scarred, because I am an outlander. However, I really wish to take that path."

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"Don't you say it? If I take you as my disciple, what will you offer me?"

"I don't know. Do you need anything in particular?"

The old man stared with his black eye at Vlad and chuckled like a madman before turning with severe eye at him.

"Kid, I don't take disciples. I, the Shadow Master, will forever be alone. However, I still can't reach transcendence and break my shell's limits.

If I teach you little outlander and you prove to have a greater potential than me, I want you to help me break my limit."

"Sir, I don't know what you are talking about, but if you stay alive until I get stronger than you, I'll be damn if I don't help you reach your limit."

"Haha, not so fast. You picked my curiosity, but this doesn't mean I will take you as my disciple. There are still more hurdles I want to place you in and test you. Will you accept it, boy?"

[Shadow Master Bayek is checking if you want to take the quest, 'Assassin Qualifications'.]

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[Assassin Qualifications]

Difficulty: Secret

Shadow Master Bayek is willing to give you a chance in learning some of the basic assassin skills. However, for that, you will have to pass specific tests he will ask you to complete.

Quest Clear Condition: Clear all of Bayek's tasks

Quest Reward: [Basic Assassin Skills] & advancing the questline [Shadow Master Disciple]

Quest Failure: All possible quests from Bayek will be retracted.

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[Accept/Decline]

"Hehe, that's what I was looking for, old man. Bring it on. Let's see what you wish for me to do."

[You have accepted the quest]

After getting Vlad's acceptance, the old man started to laugh with a maniacal hint before gazing sharply at Vlad with his black, abyssal eyes.

"Tell me your name, kid."

"I am called Malakai, old man."

"Good, keep in mind, kid, I am Bayek. Follow me. I will take you to your testing ground." said the old man, with a cold voice. Getting on his feet from the office he was sitting behind and getting a cane in his only arm, he started to walk toward the room's exit.