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*9Ether World*
*Hollie Continent*
*Cattlin Town*
After a shocking half a day of traveling, the two had arrived at the town, Cattlin town, with hunger, thirst, weariness and sleepiness plaguing him Navir stumbled along with Nancy still on his back.
."Sir, you can put me down now you know, I'm fine with walking."Nancy said seeing him stumble a little, plus also everyone was looking at them so she held her head low.
Cattlin town was a small town on the outskirts of one of the 5 great kingdoms, the Holy Kingdom, a place where the God's reign supreme.
In this kingdom instead of the royalty having most control it was instead controlled by the church of true light that worship's the Goddess of Healing and Magic, Regina, which they believe to be the true name of the Goddess who came and stopped the Demon king.
It was also one of the few kingdoms that the belief, is human beings were the most supreme of races, so they were mostly human surpremist, too bad for the demi-humans that lived there.
As Navir walked through the town he saw that many people were looking at him, he also noticed an odd light in their eyes.
He also noticed that there seemed to be a divide, on one side he saw some people with varying special features like cat ears, dog ears and many other things.
Then on another side and keeping more to themselves were the humans as if disgusted by being so close to demi-humans.
Seeing this Navir frowned glancing back at Nancy with her head buried in his shoulder and slightly trembling, he immediately know what was wrong and why for the entire journey she was not as talkative or annoying as usual.
Also why she seemed to be so scared of him and possessed an inferiority complex even though she was quite obviously and literally untouchable by any of these humans watching her presently.
."Sir, you can really put me down, I don't want to cause you any trouble."Nancy whispered more silent than a mosquitoe, she hung head down appearing fragile and ashamed.
Navir stopped for a moment before resuming his pace."No, you will come with, I am untroubled."He said calmly with his usual pleasant unfazed green eyes.
."B-but..."Nancy wanted to resist for his sake but she just didn't have the will or the courage to do it, so she could only resigned herself.
Walking through the town Navir was looking for an Inn to stay for the night seeing that the sun will set in a couple of hours, he will care about getting clothes in the morning.
He saw Blacksmith shops, Potion shops, Restaurants and a few Inn but most of them looked run down so he continued on.
As he progressed futher he started to notice a shift in demi-human population, they started to be scarce but still present and everything started to improve at the same time.
After looking around a bit he finally found a reasonably looking in, he directly entered ignoring the piercing stares he or to be more specific Nancy got.
The Inn was called Sunlit Fantasy Inn, it was pretty nice and luxurious on the inside like a restaurant that had lodging, Navir nodded his head at it.
Only a few people were currently dining, they looked at Navir curiously wondering what he was doing as it wasn't everyday they saw a demi-human in this side of town.
.""Excuse me sir, may I help you?"".
Coming up to Navir was a man dressed in a finely made serving suit, he was an elderly man with a round belly, eyes closed by fat and a head with almost no hair, his smiling face looked crooked and jiggly but his shiny yellow teeth made for an excellent distraction.
."Yes, how much is two rooms here, we're looking for a place to stay the night."Navir asked calmly glancing around."Ignore my clothes, I had a long day."
The man presumably the Innkeeper appeared surprised at that."Two rooms, um sir, I apologize but this is a human Inn, though we can provide holding for pets and heavy luggage I'm afraid we are fully booked in that department."He said with the flattering smile still on his face.
Navir's eyes took on a dangerous glow."Meaning what, I don't have pets or I don't have luggage, will you have us here or not."He said with a sharp edge to his tone.
."Once again I apologize sir, we here at Sunlit Fantasy Inn have a strict no pets rule in the main rooms."The Innkeeper said forcing open his eyes revealing a repulsed gaze glancing at Nancy.
Navir stared at him for a bit remembering his face before nodding."I see, ok then, we will take our leave."He said turning around but then he felt a tug on his shirt.
."Sir, you don't have to do this for me, i-i have..I have a room already, this is my town remember..."Nancy said with a grateful smile on her face, she pulled away from him jumping off his back.
She walked around infront and gazed up at him."Thank you for everything sir, but I don't want to cause you any more trouble, thank you so much."She said with a sad smile as she backed up.
."..You sure..."Navir asked holding her hand stopping her from running away, he gazed into her eyes with his own majestic green eyes.
Nancy nodded fervently not noticing her own tears falling, she pulled hard and ran away not looking back, leaving only her crystalline tear behind.
Navir stook in silence in the middle of the Inn, the Innkeeper behind him smile widened and his eyes creased."Oh my sir, it seems your pet has run off, sad sad, the loyalty of those kind is very bad, might want to get another one."He said respectfully mocking.
A few chuckles could be heard from the other guest around who's whispers echoed loudly around the cathedral like walls.
.""Could you believe him, bringing a demi-human into the Inn, an Inn that even serves passing nobles mind you"".
.""*Tsk* *tsk* she was so smelly too, disgusting"".
.""Yeah, he might as well have bought a real bunny, he might have actually got to keep it in his room"".
.""Hahaha!"".
.""Look at him, he might be cute but that's nauseating, do you think he had sex with it, I think I'm going to throw up"".
Hearing all this Navir remained calm, he simply turned around and walked out, he had nothing more to say to them, but he did make a decision.
."Some humans are disgusting, they don't deserve this country, I wonder, what would they do when it's no longer theirs."Navir said to himself as he walked down the street headed further into the town to get some money.
Soon he found what he was looking for, infront of him is a building titled Guild Hall, supported by the royal palace, Navir walked in.
From what he knew the Guild Hall is like the business association, they stood and represented all guild, they handled the Guilds dirty work like buying the corpses of demons.
They are also where a person would register if they wanted to create a guild of their own, the Guild Hall has a branch in every country, city and town and no one messes with them at all.
Immediately upon entering he noticed a shift in energy, the air got thinner, the atmosphere got heavier and the stench was gruesome, it wasn't like the Orcs but it was pretty bad.
*Ring*
As Navir opened the door he instantly gained all the attention as the entire place went silent, the Guild Hall was packed with people, all Adventurers.
Some were weak, some were strong and some were mighty and they were all staring at Navir like he was some kinda fresh meat for them to eat.
Ignoring them he walked straight ahead going to the receptionist at the counter, she was a cute petite young woman, she had short black hair, light blue eyes wore glasses along with her female suit.
."" Hello sir, my name is Lindsey, receptionist of the Guild Hall, what can I do for you today"".
The receptionist inquired with a professional smile on her face, she looked at Navir closely and curiously as he didn't appear to be an adventurer seeing his clothes, not the ripped part but the material.
."I want to sell demon corpses, what is the process."Navir asked as he reached into his clothes while actually going into his Item storage, he didn't know if it was common.
Receptionist Lindsey was surprised at this."The entire corpse, well you can bring them to me and I'll have someone go over them and see their levels, then we'll discuss the price, but sir do you have a guild card?."She ask writing down some things.
."I am not an adventurer if that is what you want to know, I am from a far away village and was the protector of my people."Navir said letting it roll of the tongue with a straight face, his eyes remaining still and unwavering.
Receptionist Lindsey saw his gaze and was taken aback for a moment as it resembled the eyes of a harden veteran Adventurer that has killed countless demons in their time.
."I understand, I asked because you get various extra benefits for being part of a guild, even more if you are apart of a merchant guild, could you please bring the Demon corpses in."Receptionist Lindsey said looking to the door, she thought that he had them outside with someone.
Navir hesitated for a moment before pulling his hand out his shirt and at the same time taking five snakes out his Item storage placing them on the desk.
The receptionist and everyone who was not minding their own business was shocked at this, they didn't expect him to be hiding all of them in his own clothes.
."Sir, don't you know that some demons can be poisonous even when they are dead, especially snakes, you're lucking you're still alive."Receptionist Lindsey said clearly startled, then she was genuinely mad at Navir for almost hurting himself.
Navir didn't say anything which made Lindsey shake her head, she thought that maybe he didn't understand the implications."*Sigh* sir, we will now do this appraisal, you can choose for me to do it privately which mean I would get a commission from you or do it here and get 100%."She said suggesting the options.
."Private..."Navir said, he could already feel several greedy eyes on him, if they know how much money he got it may go south quickly for him.
Lindsey nodded, she went to the back before quickly returning with someone else who will take over her position at the front counter till she returns.
."Ok follow me, oh my apologies I forget to ask what is your name sir?."Lindsey asked curiously but still respectfully professional.
.""Navir Blackthorn"".
Lindsey paused before resuming, she led him through the back room which led to a few other rooms, she brought him into the appraisal room.
The room was just a neat looking room with a desk, a familiar triangular device, a bookshelf and just the chair which Lindsey sat down on.
."So, you've got the same last name as the Hero, that's pretty unique and interesting."Lindsey said with an intrigued glint in her eyes gazing at his face trying to see a resemblance.
Navir raised an eyebrow, a hero, so this world had a hero, Nancy didn't mention anything like that when she told him the story of the Demon King of Glass.
."Who is this hero you speak of."Navir asked her showing his ignorance.
Lindsey was genuinely surprised at that."Huh, you've never heard about the great hero... before the Goddess fell from the sky, she was the protector of mankind."She said with a tone of admiration and her eyes sparkled.
."No, my village is far from civilization, we are just small remote village."Navir said maintaining his fake identity, at least until he finds the others.
Hearing that, Lindsey was eager to share it, so for the next half hour Navir was held against his will to intently listen to her tell the Hero's tale, a tale she must have told the children many times before.
But in the end Navir found it pretty interesting, according to her, the Hero was a legendary figure in 9 Ether World who had fought against the forces of darkness and protected humanity from harm.
The Hero possessed incredible power and was known for her bravery and selflessness, yeah it surprised him as well, the hero is a woman, that almost never happens.
Lindsey continued sharing tales of the Hero's heroic deeds, from vanquishing powerful demons to leading armies in epic battles challenging the King Of Demons.
She spoke of the Hero's unwavering dedication to justice and her mission to bring peace to the land, even though in the end she failed and its only success was the decent of the Goddess, the Hero was still revered by many as a symbol of hope and inspiration.
Navir hearing her description of the hero couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity, almost like he had once before seen such a person with those traits but somehow his memory was scrabbled and fuzzy.
Maybe there was more to the story than was told, but for now, he decided to keep his thoughts to himself and focus on the task at hand.
Lindsey after coming to the end of her story was extremely embarrassed having once again gone on "another" of her infamous story crusades.
."Oh dear, Mr. Blackthorn I'm so sorry, sometimes I just get carried away, I'm so sorry."Lindsey said flustered as she quickly got up taking up the triangular device.
Navir didn't really mind it much, he placed the five snakes on the ground infront of the desk and let her do her work.
Lindsey walked around the desk holding the strange triangle device."Mr. Blackthorn, you probably don't know but this is called an Attribute Pyramid, it can be used to measure the species, affinity, approximate age, amount of magic and life-force potency of anyone."She said pointing it towards the snakes.
The attribute pyramid didn't make any suspicious noise or release any powerful light but Navir looked at it with a frown, as it was the same pyramid thing that Bors took out before he gave that punch.
At least now he knew for sure how Bors didn't accidentally kill him and also how they measured stats, they couldn't see them but they had other ways to calculate that same essence.
This way they could probably know the level he was at just by seeing his Hp and Magic among, or at least general, then again not everyone was abnormal like him or Nancy.
."Ok, not bad at all, especially for not being an adventurer, 5 Hell Fire Cobras, three about ten years old so about level 20, the other two are a bit less in age, so about level 15 to 16."Lindsey said analyzing the attribute pyramid, then she looked up at Navir."Does that sound alright to you?."
Navir nodded it was pretty accurate not completely but he still doesn't know how much it was worth so he just went along with it for now, hopefully she wasn't crooked.
.""Good, now Hell Fire Cobras are usually very valuable not just because they are hard to catch, but also because of the hell fire essence that exists in their body"".
.""It's special Hell Fire ability is fearsome and could easily kill a level 20 adventurer if caught off guard, so you must be level 20 at the very least"".
.""That aside, it can also be used to make potions or even add in materials for weapons and armor"".
.""Seeing as you brought everything, didn't keep any of the blood or anything, for the 3 level 20s we could offer you 45 sliver coins each"".
.""For the level 15 and 16 respectively, *ahem* to apologize for my rant earlier I'll just price them equally, 50 silver for both, bringing your grand profit to 185 silver coins"".
Lindsey spoke going into great details knowing that Navir was from a small village and probably didn't interact much with currency.
."Does that sound fair to you, but um if you want something to compare it too, then a luxury Inn in this town with food is 1-3 sliver coins a night."Lindsey said explaining Kindly, she would feel bad just letting him go out ignorant and get himself taken advantage of.
Navir was grateful, it seemed he was worried for nothing, she was indeed a good person even going so far out of her way when she didn't have to.
After having this thought he regretted it seconds later, on Lindsey's face a gold money sign appeared in her eyes as she rubbed her hands together like a greedy merchant.
He immediately had a bad feeling, a feeling in his gut like he was going to be punching air in frustration later on, he didn't feel like this since the war.
."Now, onto the secret transaction commission fees, I usually charge the Adventurers a 20% commission but since I like you we can go 19.9% how about that."Lindsey said pushing up her glasses with a smiled looking like a malevolent demon herself.
And he was right again, she was indeed an evil and greedy entity, if only he could run away but he definitely can't even if he wanted to.
Navir didn't know if it was targeting him specifically but ever since he entered the Guild Hall he felt a gaze on him watching his every movement.
."Is that ok with you hon?."Lindsey asked sweetly with her eyes closed and her smile remaining unfazed.
Navir looked at her face a bit before sighing and shrugging his shoulders."I guess.."He said as a slight smile graced his own face.
."Great, then your total is 148 silvers, pleasure doing business with you, sign this."Lindsey said happily as her kind appearance came back with her sparkling eyes.
She handed him a paper as she placed her finger on her temples and went silent for a moment then smiled."Sign here, here, here, here, here and here."She pointed to where he had to sign.
."Alot..."Navir said with a deadpan expression glancing through the words on the paper, it wasn't anything serious just simple stuff, so he signed it.
*Squeak*!
The door suddenly opened and in came a man in a Mage robe, his face completely covered, in his hands was two small white bags with a metallic jingle, in silence he walked to the table leaving the bags and left the room as quickly as he came.
."Ah, just in time, here is your profit and my commission, you can count them to make sure it's the same as written."Lindsey said opening the bags and pushing them to him.
Navir glanced in and took up the one with the most, he then looked at her."I will trust you."He said with calm eyes of serenity."Thank you for your help..."
Lindsey smiled warmly at him."It was my pleasure, If there's anything else I can do for you, please don't hesitate to ask."She said happily hugging her money."Oh and I know if you ever decide to become an adventurer, I'm sure you'd make an excellent addition to any guild."
Navir nodded and with that he was out guided by her.
After leaving the Guild Hall, Navir began exploring Cattlin town in search of a suitable place to spend the night.
He went back to the poorer district and came across a quaint little inn called Seaside Fox Serenity, located near the outskirts of town.
The innkeeper, she was a friendly elderly woman named Martha, she was a fox demi-human who greeted him warmly and offered him a cozy room for the night.
Even though he was one of the heartless humans that made her life difficult she seemingly knew he was new to the town and held no malice.
As Navir settled into his room, he lied on the bed with his clothes on, he couldn't help but reflect on his encounters with the people of Cattlin town.
The discrimination against demi-humans didn't exactly saddened him, but it made him think, humans really were stupid, they would trample a potential ally against the demons simply because they don't look like humans.
As Navir layed in his bed in thought the sky gradually darkened and soon it was night, he glanced through his window finding himself unable to fall sleep as there was one thing that was keeping him up.
."Ok..."Navir said jumping out his bed, he put on his shoes and quickly left the room going out.
As he left the Inn, from the top floor the elderly fox lady peeked through her bedroom window at him in curiosity, she hoped he was alright, can't let an innocent boy be corrupted by the dark.
Wandering the dark streets of the town Navir was exposed to some definite illegal activities but he ignored them all, he wasn't some hero of justice after all.
He also knew it would just get needlessly complicated, crime was one of the ways that any civilization stood afloat, so the nobles will defend crime, all the rulers will defend crime, in the end he would just be the fool that tried to destroy the world.
But just because he ignored it doesn't mean that crime ignored him, from some back alley several eyes peered out with malicious intent.
A ground of almost 20 people were peering at him, at the center of these ruffians was a woman, she was extremely beautiful and might even be considered a princess, but her expression was anything but such, her face was twisted with dark emotions and her eyes were malevolent.
.""Alright boys, it seems we got our new easy prey, ignorance is a sin, so let's devour him and show him the truth, a little lesson in naivety"".
.""Hehehe"".
.""Yes boss Ria"".
As the criminal forces of the night plot against Navir they did not know that it would soon come to be their greatest regret.
.'Mmm, 20 targets, highest lv.23, others less than lv.20, elimination without disturbance, possible.'Navir thought as calculated, he purposely slowed down his pace knowing he is being followed.
Taking a sharp turn into a back ally he chose one with a deadend, he stopped by the walled and looked at it keeping his back turnt.
*Step*
*Step*
*Step*