"Levi," Randall called, shaking my shoulder, "wake up, you log. I'll lamp you in your balls if you don't." He joked, causing me to arouse much faster than usual. I looked around, wiping the bleariness from my eyes as I did so. "That's us at the capital." He pointed to something behind me as he hopped out of the cart.
I turned around and was awestruck by the aesthetic of the city. A luxurious-medieval-looking town, littered with some two-story buildings which towered over the other, smaller buildings. Three large, blue, cone-shaped roofs were placed atop large cylindrical turrets made of grey brick, connected by walls of the same material to create a large triangle behind the city's main district.
"It's so…" I whispered, trailing off as I searched for the correct word.
"Grandiose? Extravagant? Gorgeous?" inserted Kaper, handing a few coins to the cart's driver as pay for our journey. I jumped off of the mode of transport too, looking around at the small queue to enter the city's walls.
"All of those," I agreed, nodding to Kaper before turning to Randall, "and do we need to wait in that?" I groaned, thinking of the boring nothingness that came with waiting in a line. Randall nodded sadly, seemingly sharing the same outlook as I did.
"Yes, but it's not too bad," huffed, following behind Kaper who had begun heading to the line, with me towing along beside the spikey redhead, "Petra's in the line already to save us a spot." He nodded towards a head of silver hair, serving as a beacon amongst the sea of ordinary colors.
"She was staring at you the full ride here," teased Kaper, looking over his shoulder as we approached the girl, "might have the hots for you after your display." He winked playfully, causing me to shiver as I remembered how I had dismissed her. We arrived next to her before I could say anything, and all stood in silence for a few moments, the shuffling of our feet the only noise we made.
"Halt. What's your names, species, and purpose?" Ordered a man covered head-to-toe in heavy metal armor, only his eyes visible through a grated eye-piece as he glared daggers at me in particular.
"I'm Kaper, a human. I'm taking these youngsters to register with the Hunters' Guild." The bald leader informed him. The man nodded and allowed only Kaper, Randall, and Petra to enter the gate before stopping me.
"And you?" He asked with a slight edge in his voice now, unlike the welcoming tone he had when dealing with Kaper. I furrowed my brows at the blatant prejudice, believing that Murdoch had been misinformed about the acceptance of all demi-humans in the capital.
"I'm Levi, a demonfolk, and I'm with them," I announced bluntly, pointing to my trio of companions as they stopped to see why I wasn't with them. The guard glared at me for a moment longer before finally stepping aside. I slid by him, a little annoyed by the situation. "What the fuck was that about?" I asked nobody in particular.
"I should've mentioned," Kaper scolded himself, shaking his head slightly, "a few rising stars have claimed that the Sins have returned. It's ruined the years of work put into fixing relations with your kind. My apologies, on their behalf." Kaper bowed slightly, before continuing to walk up the wide, bustling street.
"Are we going to the market? You said you wanted to get something before we went to the Hunters' Guild, right?" Petra asked, a tinge of excitement in her voice, which received a nod from the bald man beside her. "Yes!" She squealed, shaking her fist victoriously.
"Market?" I whispered to Randall, who leaned closer as he listened. "What's so exciting about a market? Even our village had one." I pondered.
"Because the capital's market sells nearly everything. Jewelry, weapons, armor, dead beasts, food, herbs. Everything." He listed, continuing despite me pulling away. I heard all I needed to, unconsciously walking faster as I chased after the prize ahead.
A few turns and a couple of bumps against strangers later, and we were at it. A bazaar-like affair with tents pitched all over the open square. Smells of foreign herbs and known meats drifted into my nose, causing me to once again curse my species. We strolled through the rows of tents, taking in sights and waiting for Petra to peruse a few stalls before continuing.
"Kaper," I called, getting the big man's attention, "I'm going to go look at the dead beasts on sale over there. Call for me when you're ready to head." I stated, turning and bolting towards the decapitated heads of magical creatures when he nodded his shiny head.
I browsed, looking at all the stock. I couldn't understand the signs that were posted on the tables in front of the beasts, so didn't know what I was looking at, unsure which one to buy until a thought struck me.
I stopped at a stall that was selling a mermaid-like tail, with scales that shimmered in all directions. I approached the product, bending down to look at it before placing my hand on a thick part of it, internally celebrating the message that appeared.
[Devour this beast's skills and stats?
'Yes.'
I felt a cold, raging typhoon ascend my arm, before coming to a whirlpool in my chest similar to when I devoured the leopard in the forest. I managed to keep a poker face as I shook my head to the owner of the stall and walked away, seemingly unimpressed despite my true feelings.
[3 Levels Gained.
Skills Gained: Water Manipulation.
Wounds and fatigue are being healed from the consumption.]
I smiled and walked up to another stall, this one with a massive spider's head on show. I pretended to understand the placard in front of it, nodding as I inspected the showpiece from a few inches away. I looked to the fat, well-dressed man who was overlooking the proceedings of his shop. "Can I inspect this and see if it has what I'm looking for?" I asked, not wanting to anger this affluent-looking fellow.
"Go for it. You look like you'd know the anatomy of a monster well." He retorted, sitting cross-armed on a small stool as he watched me. I convinced myself it was okay to do this since I was the only one who could, and they all seemed to have an issue with my fellow demonfolk.
[Devour this beast's stats and skills?
'Yes.'
I lifted the hair on the spider's head, pretending to inspect it thoroughly as I extracted two peculiar sounding skills. I sighed and stopped my charade before shaking my head and waving the man farewell, which he didn't return.
[4 Levels Gained.
Skills Gained: Web Secretion, Night-Vision.
Wounds and fatigue are already healed.]
"Levi! Come on!" Randall yelled, snapping me from my stupor. He waved his hands above his head from within the crowd, allowing me to locate him easily. I slipped by elves, humans, and dwarves to finally reach my friend, who greeted me with a hard slap on the shoulder. "Get what you needed to?" He inquired, walking towards Petra and Kaper who were lurking in a large archway.
"I got more than I thought I would, that's for sure." I sighed, scratching my head nervously as we joined with the rest of the group, Randall still trying to figure out what I meant.
"Come," ordered Kaper, "we're going to get you lot your memberships at the Guild."
[Name: Envy (Levi Elbrus)
Species: Leviathan.
Level: 10
Magic Skills: Devour, Electric Discharge, Electricity Resistance, Water Manipulation (+5), Web Secretion.
Physical Skills: Transform, Night-Vision.
Innate Skills: Mountain-Splitter Style Swordsmanship (Advanced) ]