Free Web NovelChapter 19: Siren Stronghold [ 15 ]
(Six days later...)
The Old Willow Inn had changed.
It wasn’t very dramatic, but the small details added up.
Lizbeth bought new chairs with the massage money, since the tips he got were insane. The chairs were sturdy ones that didn’t creak when someone sat down too. She repainted the sign out front too, a fresh coat of teal over the chipped wood.
Nowadays, a lot more people had come around, not only for the massages too. The pamphlets did their job, and word of mouth did the rest.
Nacho kept up the old man disguise whenever he left the back room. Hunchback, alternating limp, baggy potato sack clothes. He’d gotten better at keeping the limp consistent, at least.
The massage parlor ran like clockwork. Blindfold on, his tentacle out, and Talents being stolen. He’d worked through dozens of women by now. Merchants, dock workers, off-duty soldiers, a librarian who cried the entire time and then booked three more sessions. Each one left something behind.
[Talent Absorbed: Keen Eye (Common)]
[Talent Absorbed: Bargain Sense (Common)]
[Talent Absorbed: Thread Manipulation (Uncommon)]
[Talent Absorbed: Pain Nullification (Uncommon)]
[Keen Eye (Common) + Bargain Sense (Common) = Merchant’s Gaze (Uncommon)]
[Pain Nullification (Uncommon) + Titan Body (Legendary) = No change. Talent absorbed into existing Legendary Talent.]
Nothing earth-shattering. Mostly Common and Uncommon stuff that either merged into what he already had or sat in his roster as minor utilities. But the Charm gains were steady.
[Charm: 34 → 41]
The real surprise was that Vanessa came back every single day. She’d walk in, drop two silver coins on the counter for food she barely touched, and then knock on the massage room door with the confidence of someone who owned the building. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"Same as yesterday," she’d say.
And Nacho would oblige. By the fourth visit, she stopped pretending it was about the massage.
"You know, most people space out their visits a little," he told her on day five.
She crossed her arms. "Most people don’t have access to whatever it is you do in there. So shut up and get the blindfold."
He couldn’t argue with that logic.
Captain Rhea hadn’t returned yet. She said next week, and next week hadn’t arrived. But Nacho could wait. The All Weapon Mastery and Dagger Duchess Talents were already integrated into his muscle memory. He’d spent two nights on the roof of the inn testing throwing daggers into the ocean, watching them curve mid-flight toward fish he’d tagged with his Perception.
The homing effect was real, and the damage was crazy.
As for Lizbeth, things between them had settled into a rhythm. She cooked. He carried plates. She cleaned the kitchen. He cleaned the back room. They didn’t talk much during the rush, but in the quiet hours between lunch and dinner, she’d sit on the counter and ask him things.
"Where are you actually from?"
"Bikini bottom."
"Huh? Where’s that?"
Nacho shrugged. "Doesn’t matter. Ask me something simpler."
She’d pout and then move on. He noticed she’d stopped calling him Sir. That was progress.
On the sixth night, Nacho was sitting in his back room with the lights off, running through his status screen for the hundredth time. The inn was closed. Lizbeth had gone upstairs an hour ago. The streets outside were dead quiet.
[Status]
Name: Nacho
True Name: None
Age: 0
Race: Evolving Tentacle Monster
Physique: None ƒreewebɳovel.com
Bloodline: None
Level 22 : 1,582 / 2,200 Experience
Evolution Condition: [Reach Level 50]
—HP & MP
[HP: 2,060 / 2,060 (Regen 10/s)]
[MP: 6,190 / 6,190 (Regen 1/s)]
—Attributes:
[Strength: 145]
[Stamina: 206]
[Agility: 223]
[Perception: 115 → 121]
[Mana: 619]
[Charm: 41]
—Talents: Titan Body (Legendary), All Weapon Mastery (Legendary), Dagger Duchess (Legendary), Storm Manipulation (Epic), Combat Precognition (Epic), Mind Fortress (Epic), Apex Senses (Epic), Ocean Mastery (Rare), Voice of Bewitchment (Rare), Merchant’s Gaze (Uncommon), Water Manipulation (Rare), Phantom (Rare), Thread Manipulation (Uncommon), Bioluminescence (Common)
Not that bad for someone running a lewd massage parlor out of a toilet-looking room. Speaking of, should I maybe buy better gear?
He closed the screen and leaned back against the wall.
Sera had been gone for six days. She said the pirate mission was simple. A squad retrieval. Something a Grand General shouldn’t have been sent on in the first place. The Elders were messing with her, that much was obvious even to him.
If she’s not back by tomorrow, I should start thinking about contingencies, Nacho thought. It’s not that I need her to go to the Mortal World, but I’d really appreciate getting some Talents from her before I do.
At that exact moment, a knock came from the front door of the inn. Not the massage room. The actual front entrance.
Nacho’s eyes snapped open. His Apex Senses flared, picking up a single presence outside. Their heartbeat was elevated, breathing was shallow and uneven. He also caught a faint whiff of salt and iron.
Blood.
He switched to the old man form and shuffled to the front door, opening it ever so slightly.
Sera stood there. Her silver armor was cracked down the left side, a long gash running from her ribs to her hip. The teal cape was gone entirely. Her sword arm hung at an angle that arms weren’t supposed to hang at, and there was a bruise across her jaw so dark it looked painted on.
But her eyes were the same. Sharp, calculating, and a little annoyed.
Sheesh. She must’ve gotten ambushed or something.
"You look like shit," Nacho said.
"Open the door wider, old man. I can’t fit through a crack," she replied.
Nacho chuckled and stepped aside. She walked in, her boots leaving wet prints on the wooden floor. It was a mix of seawater and blood.
She made it three steps past the threshold before her knee buckled. Nacho caught her with his tentacle, invisible and fast, wrapping around her waist before she hit the ground. To her, it probably felt like a sudden gust of support. She steadied herself against the nearest table.
"I said I’d visit when I got back. I’m back."
Nacho sighed. "You know, I’d prefer it if you visited when you didn’t look like you’ve been tossed inside a blender.."
"Hmm... It’s close. I had fought against a kraken, actually." She lowered herself into one of Lizbeth’s new chairs. "The pirate ship was a trap. There were no captured Sirens."
Nacho closed the front door and locked it. He pulled up a chair across from her and sat down, dropping the hunchback posture since there was no point and turning back to his usual appearance.
"That sucks. I’m glad you’re fine though. What about your group?"
Her jaw tightened. "I’m the only one left."
Nacho exhaled and asked, "...And the kraken?"
"It’s dead. Took my arm out of its socket doing it, though." She glanced down at her limp arm. "I popped it back in on the swim home. Though it didn’t set right."
Her HP must be insane for her to still be conscious. Nacho activated Mind Fortress and skimmed her surface thoughts.
