A/N
Please note, our dear mc, having been killed and going back in time, then rebuilding her life only to find out she will need to start again now she has become a girl, and then encountering the creatures that had given her nightmares in the past is in some crazy emotional state in this chapter.
Since she has had no time to seriously think it through, talk to friends about the issues and make plans for the future, she has been focusing on following her plans to avoid dealing with her situation which has caused her current, exhausted emotional state.
So. Don't worry, our mc will get herself together in the next 2, maybe 3 chapters as she has a chance to talk to friends and think. she will soon start to embrace her current situation, and not become an emotional wreck. The Gods sure got their entertainment, and I their entertainment harbinger XD
6 hours later
Heavily breathing Astaria leans against her staff, feeling both physically and mentally exhausted. Her eyes held a slightly dead look while her clothes had been bathed in the thick deep crimson blood of the goblins. Her beautiful face was adorned with streaks and splatters of red, while her golden locks fared no better, becoming tangled in places or stuck together with coagulated blood.
Having used all 3 of her mana potions, and 2 of her health potions when she had stumbled and been wounded while still adapting to her new body, Astaria had slaughtered so many goblins she had lost count.
The Incessant screaming of the goblins quickly annoyed her every time she approached a new group, eventually leading Astaria to mindlessly kill every goblin she saw, forgetting everything else until the fatigue caught up with her.
Looting the 7 goblin corpses around her, she slowly makes her way back to the main road, slumping down on a nearby rock.
Taking out her waterskin, she drinks the remaining water with big gulps, then grabs the bread from her inventory and starts eating.
With a bit of her physical energy returning, she starts making her way toward Haligrad. Looking up she can see the sun is starting to sink lower in the sky, and that at most she has around 3 hours of daylight left to make it to the city.
From where she currently is, she can make it in 2 hours jogging, but given her current state it would likely take 3 and a half hours meaning she will arrive in the night.
As she makes her way north, she encounters quite a few players who when seeing a beautiful woman drenched in blood, had rushed over to see if she was alright, only to be waved off with a dead look. Unless any of these wannabe white knights had a carriage she could ride on, she did not want to deal with the hassle.
Some of these players felt resentful that they were just waved off without a response, while others are slightly smarter realise that the blood covered lady before them was extremely tired and didn't want to be bothered.
As the sun began sinking over the horizon Astaria finally made it over the rise at the edge of the plains that overlook the city of Haligrad. The city sits in a natural bay, with a massive castle that stood proud atop the cliffs lining the eastern side. Its western stone walls were bathed in the orange glow from the setting sun, with the backdrop of shimmering waves making it a truly picturesque sight.
From the eastern cliffs, the city spreads down the slope as the height of the cliffs fell to sea level, making more of the buildings visible. The orange tiled rooves shine in the light of the setting sun, creating such a beautiful sight that it brought the slightest bit of light back to Astaria's eyes. She rests while enjoying such a sight until the last rays of sunlight fall behind the distant western mountains, finally making her way down the slope toward the city's gates which are now lit with torches.
As she makes her way closer, she can see a few new players making their way out of the city, no doubt thinking that they would try their luck hunting at night. For a new player, night-time hunting is the most dangerous time to fight, as the monsters become more vicious and have night vision, while the players are more likely to trip in the environment.
Getting some odd looks again as she passes those players by as they speed up their pace, she finally makes it to the gate.
"HALT. Who goes there?"
Sighing that the guard is stopping her, Astaria sluggishly responds.
"Astaria, a new adventurer."
Hearing her response, the guard who had called out to her, makes his way over brandishing his halberd.
"My gods, what happened to you?!" The guard exclaims, finally close enough to see Astaria's state in the dim light.
With her usually melodic voice coming out quite flat and emotionless, she pauses thinking, then replies.
"I was fucked over by the gods… then I slaughtered some goblins."
Seemingly slightly confused by the strange and blunt answer, he calmly speaks, lowering his weapon.
"So… does that mean that blood is from goblins and not your own?"
"Yes" she bluntly answers.
Hesitantly, he asked the next question.
"Umm I hate to ask this… but… did they… you know… capture you?"
With a hit of killing intent flashing through her eyes hearing his words, she sharply answers.
"No."
Backing off slightly hearing her tone, he sighs.
"Alright, you can go inside. You should get yourself cleaned up as soon as you can. Do you have a place to stay?"
Looking at the guard with her expressionless face, she tiredly mutters.
"I'm going to rent a room."
Nodding, he asks another question which seems to make Astaria visibly more tired.
"At an inn?"
"Yes"
Sighing, the guard calls back to his fellow watchman.
"Harvey, I'm going to take this lady to an inn. If we let her wander through the streets in her current state, she will likely get questioned by other guards and she seems too… exhausted for that."
Hearing his partner's words, he calls back.
"Eh, what are you on about?"
Ignoring Harvey's questions, he turns back to Astaria.
"Well, Miss Astaria, is that alright with you?"
Giving the guard a nod, Astaria starts to follow him, hearing a gasp of shock as she walks past the guard named Harvey.
Walking past the archway, Astaria can see the quiet streets of the city. There were a few players walking the main street in front of her, with the occasional NPC's walking with purpose looking to be making their way home after work.
Making their way down the street illuminated by the orange glow of the hanging lanterns, the guard leads Astaria toward the main market square in the center of the city. As they make their way, the amount of activity increases, occasionally passing by an open tavern filled with the rowdy voices of the patrons.
Receiving some side glances from passers-by, and occasionally more blatant stares, there are a mixture of expressions. Some are horrified by all the blood, others worried for the beautiful girl being led by a guard, while there was the occasional stare being full of lust.
Ignoring them all, Astaria just focuses on making the next step, her mind so tired that thinking about multiple things would likely cause her to trip.
Finally making it to the market square, Astaria gains quite a lot of attention now from both the players and the NPC's. While the NPC's had seen blood covered adventures, they had never seen a beautiful girl so covered in blood that there are almost no clean areas on her attire. As for the players, none of them had seen such a sight in the game yet, with many not having engaged in combat while the others had only encountered a small amount of blood.
Under the various gazes of the onlookers, the guard leads Astaria toward a tall, three-story building on the west side of the plaza. The outside of the building is clean, its double doors slightly ajar, while a sign featuring a bear standing on its hind legs swings lightly in the evening sea breeze. After following the guard inside, the lively atmosphere of the patrons at the bar quickly quietens down as all the attention is brought to the guard and the blood covered girl, the onlookers listening intently to satiate their curiosity.
"Hey, Gerald, what's going on here?"
A tall, Burly man with a platted beard tied together with decorative beads and long black hair that reached down his back walks over from behind the bar.
"Sorry for the trouble Jorn, but this miss here just came to town and is looking for a room… and probably a fair bit of hot water with a towel. Would she be able to rent a room?"
Scratching his head, Jorn awkwardly smiles.
"Err, sure, we have free rooms, but is she ok? This girlie seems half dead?"
Thinking for a second, Gerald replies.
"Honestly, I don't know. She seems too tired to even speak at the moment."
Hearing a loud bang, everyone's attention is drawn to a lady who forcefully slams down her serving tray and starts rushing over to the entrance.
"My god, what happened to this poor young thing!"
Suddenly appearing in her vision, a mature lady with long brown hair wearing a waitress's outfit startles Astaria as she is just blankly staring at the floor, trying to keep herself awake and upright.
With a careful touch, the woman starts checking all over Astras body, making sure she is not injured.
"Gerald, what happened to her? This is just too horrible!"
With an awkward smile, Gerald begins to explain the events of the last half hour.
"Well, I was on duty at the gate, and she appeared from the dark, looking exactly as you see her now. I found out after asking who she was that she's a new adventurer by the name of Astaria. I asked her the same question and she said that the gods had screwed with her or something and after that had slaughtered goblins."
Pausing for a breath, he continues.
"I asked her if she was harmed by the goblins, and she said no. She was looking to rent an inn room, so I lead her here. She just followed me without a word."
Hearing this, Jorn eyes the girl.
"You don't suppose this here girlie is one of those Immortal Warriors em folks were talking about do you?"
Hearing this, Gerald raises his voice.
"That would explain a lot! There have been a fair few new faces coming through the gates today all looking like country folk on their first visit to the capital."
Finished checking Astaria's condition, the waitress turns to Jorn.
"Jorn, what are you dawdling about for? Go get some hot water! I will take her upstairs to room 12."
With a few chuckles coming from the onlookers, Jorn makes his way out back while Astaria is gently led upstairs.
Following the woman who is leading her by the hand, Astaria is guided into a small inn room, furnished by a bed, chest, and a table with 2 chairs. Being guided into the middle of the room, the lady unties the string of Astaria's robe, laying it in the back of one of the chairs. She then moves to untie the string on Astaria's trousers, but her hand is caught by Astaria's vice like grip, her flat voice speaking only one word.
"No."
Shocked by the sudden action, the lady moves back slightly. Realising the situation, she speaks to Astaria in a motherly tone.
"Listen, Astaria, you can't go to bed covered in blood like that. We will need to bathe you, and we can't do that with your clothes on."
Astaria, hearing the words, takes a minute to comprehend what the lady is saying, eventually deciding that she was too tired to care anymore, and then responds.
"Ok."
Releasing the woman's hand, Astaria let the woman take off her boots and trousers, standing there like a puppet. After her clothes were taken off, the lady brought Astaria to sit down on a chair she moved to the middle of the room. Now finally sitting down without having to focus on walking or standing, Astaria can do nothing to stop the sweet invitation of sleep and falls into a deep slumber.