Chapter 78 - Where There's Smoke...
"Smoke?"
The trio stopped and observed. A plume of smoke was rising into the sky, descending toward a part of the forest. They had managed to get to higher ground. Seeing the smoke, they looked at each other.
"What should we do?" Luke asked, glancing at the two girls.
Anna had acquired a new outfit. It wasn't armor but rather normal clothes. Alice had managed to kill a large skeleton and gave the outfit to the little redhead. The outfit appeared to be that of a pirate; the card's name was "Simple Pirate Outfit," but it fit the girl well once it adapted to its wearer. It consisted of a common pirate outfit with a skirt, a white blouse, and a brown vest. When they got the card, Luke had tried it on and the clothes transformed into a male version with pants. Since Alice wore parts of armor taken from skeletons, it was useless to her. Anna was glad she no longer had to wear torn, ruined clothes. Her school uniform was a 'wreck,' in her opinion. The pants she wore barely looked like pants anymore—one leg was ripped, making it seem like she was wearing half a short and half a pant leg. Luke had to step away while she took off her old clothes and conjured the new outfit. He saw the little redhead shed a tear as she folded her destroyed uniform.
Seeing a guy in a black cloak in the middle of the jungle, a pirate girl, and a girl in diversified armor from various parts made him realize they were a peculiar group.
Cautiously, the group approached the smoke and saw something that shocked them.
"People..."
Hiding in the bushes, they saw people. In fact, they saw what looked like a village. On a part of the beach, there were wooden houses, stalls, platforms, and other structures. They saw men shouting, holding fish and stating their prices, women chatting, wooden boats casting full fishing nets. There were also drunks wandering around, men smoking, and even playing cards.
What's going on? Is this possible?
The people were completely different from those on Earth. The structures were made of wood, and there was no technology. Everything was done manually, and Luke was stunned.
"Excuse me!"
A boy passed by the trio, bumping into them, heading toward the port, and disappearing into the crowd.
"Looks like it's safe to show ourselves," Anna said.
"But what is this? How can people be living here?" Luke asked incredulously.
"It's like inside the Inner World, but on a larger scale in a Campaign Map," Alice commented.
Wait… my Inner Self… had a city, but it was empty…
"So, should we just walk in there and that's it?"
"Um… I think so."
"I'm more in character than you two," Anna said, pointing to her friends' clothes.
"She's right…"
Why aren't they shocked to see people? Am I the only crazy one in the group?
"Now that we've found a populated area, things should be easier. We just need to look for information or find someone who can help. Probably finding a main or side quest should be easier, but we can't accept it."
Oh, wait… that was the objective the whole time. It was to find an NPC who could show the way out of the Campaign Map. I… got so used to wandering a deadly forest that I forgot the objective.
What if we accidentally accept it?
Luke was a bit nervous; he had no experience with this part. According to Alice and Anna, the Inner World, besides its philosophical aspects that Alice once revealed… the Inner World also serves as a tutorial that covers the basics of things they'd encounter in the Oblique World. This includes teachings on quests, NPCs, and picking up hints in conversations. The problem was Luke hadn't experienced this because his Inner World was empty. He remained silent while they discussed what they could do and methods to gather information. They mentioned things like going into a bar to eavesdrop on conversations, making friends with someone, helping someone in danger, or even accepting tasks. They were just recalling the basics taught at the academy, and Luke listened attentively.
"So all we have to do is walk around?" he asked.
"Yes," they confirmed.
Anna's stomach growled.
The little redhead turned red.
"I'm hungry too, and looking at those fish over there, I've never eaten anything like that," said Luke.
"Never?" Alice asked.
"Me neither, at least not that fresh. Dad brought some home a few times, but you know how it is, most of our food is algae-based and the meat only has a percentage of the actual animal. The meats we eat are just artificial with a similar taste, but over there… that's a real fish."
Anna was looking at the fish being placed in a barrel.
"I vote we buy some; I want to try it… the problem is we don't have money…"
Luke was pondering how the monetary system worked. Would they have to accept a simple quest? And how did these people manage to produce money on an island? These were the questions running through his mind.
"What are you talking about, silly?" Anna asked.
She and Alice looked at him, a bit incredulous at what he was saying.
"We've been picking up money all along the way…" Alice pointed to her leather pouch full of prana crystals.
"Don't tell me…"
Money in a Campaign Map are the crystals? How did I not think of that? It's genius.
"And why would we buy raw fish when we could just go to a restaurant?" Anna asked.
Okay, so many revelations.
"Then let's go, I'm starving," Anna said, pulling Alice along.
"I'm not very presentable…" murmured Alice.
I can't believe she's worried about something like that…
"Look, over there, there's a woman, not very feminine, chopping off a fish's head with an axe, and her apron is completely soaked in blood. I don't think she's concerned about appearances."
Alice glared at him.
"You mean… are you saying I'm not very feminine too?"
Luke swallowed hard.
"I didn't mean that, far from it. I just meant… I just meant that people here might… not care about our somewhat different appearance."
The scarf lifted its ends, glaring at him as if to say, 'You're just making it worse.'
The group decided to leave the forest and enter the village with a port.
Acting as if it was the most natural thing, they started walking around. It seemed to be a commercial center; there were many men shouting things like 'cheap nets,' 'the best fish oil on the island,' 'fresh shellfish.'
They passed by a stall selling skewers, and the trio sat down. Luke was nervous while the big bald man with a mustache prepared the skewers.
"What would you like, kid? We've got chicken skewers, they're fresh," the man asked, staring at Luke.
"Chicken?"
I wanted to try fish… but I've also never had real chicken before.
"Yep, trust me, this chicken is top-notch. Practically flew to us," he said, adjusting the skewers.
"I'll take three skewers," Luke replied.
"Three skewers coming right up!" the man shouted to himself.
"Uh… do you have anything to drink?"
"Water, rum, questionable alcohol…"
"Okay, I'll just stick with the skewers…"
I guess they don't sell juices or sodas here…
"That'll be three small crystals or one medium."
And what does that mean? I don't get it.
"Here you go!" Alice appeared with a friendly smile, handing over three crystals to the stall owner.
"Thank you, young warrior. May the Mother Goddess bless you."
God! Why am I so nervous about buying skewers? I guess wandering through haunted places has made me wary of any human interaction.
"You!" a man shouted.
Luke turned towards the source of the shout. The man was pointing at Anna. The little red-haired girl looked nervous as the scar-faced man glared at her.
"You're a pirate!?"
Oh… crap!