Free Web NovelChapter 18: Welcome to Stockholm
--Chapter 18 --
Title>> Welcome to Stockholm
"Hyaah!"
Xavier’s head snapped toward the direction of the cry.
Something white fluttered between the branches overhead.
No...
Not something.
"...Cotton?"
His eyes followed the flash of fabric before he finally spotted its owner.
A young woman in a shrine maiden’s kimono was tumbling from one of the higher branches of a tree.
A bunch of paper ornaments still clutched in one hand. The sudden fall had sent her robes into complete disarray. Revealing curves that a normal man would pay handsomely to see.
"...Definitely cotton."
Xavier’s feet moved before his brain did.
Thump!
The ground beneath him cracked slightly as he launched upward.
A second later...
Whoosh.
His arm slipped around the woman’s waist just before she hit the ground, shrugging off the impact as they landed together in a spray of leaves.
Neither of them moved immediately.
The shrine maiden blinked while looking up at her hero, seemingly still surprised she had survived the fall.
"Ohh my.."
Her purple eyes curved up in genuine interest and amusement. Looking at Xavier’s athletic build.
"So...Strong!"
Without the tiniest shred of embarrassment, she leaped out of Xavier’s hold on to the floor. straightening her kimono and brushing off leaves from her straight glistening black hair like her life wasn’t just in danger.
"I suppose I owe you my thanks."
A blue prompt immediately appeared.
[NPC Interaction Initiated]
"I am Sakura.."
"An attendant in the bathhouse," she said while offering a graceful bow.
Looking up, she offered a bright smile. "As Repayment."
She paused, pulling a string of her hair behind her ears.
"...would you permit this humble attendant to invite you to our establishment?"
Another prompt appeared.
[Dialogue Choice Prompted]
[Accept Invitation] - Yes, Rumors say your establishment is the best in town.
[Decline Politely] - No, Thank you but I’m in a hurry..maybe later..
The scene didn’t necessarily cut off, instead it hung there as Sakura awaited a response.
"Right..." he said inwardly.
Almost laughing at the realization.
"oh now I get it...," he murmured. "The Stockholm bathhouse attendants."
Well, it wasn’t just Stockholm, the bathhouses in general were something the developers had introduced during the version 2.87 upgrade.
With their legitimate excuse being.."improving player immersion and post-combat recovery."
Only an idiot would believe that. To be fair, The hot baths did help recovery from fatigue and granted minor long-term buffs.
All that...
And well...
A Happy Ending...
It was exactly the sort of adult services one would expect from an 18+ full-dive MMORPG trying very hard to keep its player count from dropping.
All of that would’ve been fine if it wasn’t for those love-bird couples that wouldn’t let anyone hear the end of it.
’Those bastards... I hope they all got separated by the lock-in.’ he sneered.
Ultimately for Xavier and unfortunately for the beautiful Sakura.
He wasn’t here at Stockholm for the buffs nor was he here for sight-seeing.
There were just some shortcomings he needed to handle before he continued his plan to unlock his hidden class.
Not taking another moment to get dragged into Sakura’s alluring purple eyes.
He clicked.
[Decline Politely]
"No, Thank you but I’m in a hurry..maybe later.."
Acknowledging his choice, the warm-skinned Sakura pulled the loose part of the kimono over her exposed shoulders and bowed again.
"I’ll be expecting you...Hunter san"
Xavier nodded. But just as he was about to leave, he noticed a female player exit the building.
She wore a kimono that hung loose off one shoulder, the fabric barely holding together at the waist.
She was mid-conversation with another woman beside her, something about a quest reward and neither of them seemed aware that half the street could see the peeking outline of her body through the thin material.
She laughed at something her companion said, adjusted the kimono upwards with one hand without looking down, and kept walking.
It wasn’t a performance, neither was it for anyone’s benefit. This woman whose Player Name read [LiLa star] genuinely didn’t care and was just having a good time.
This was Arillion, now. The game had given people bodies that worked and a world that didn’t judge them, and they were living in it.
Some of them were treating it like a vacation. Some of them were treating it like a second chance. Some knew it was a death trap in disguise.
While some, like the ones in the bathhouse, the ones in the taverns, the ones who’d stopped checking the countdown, were treating it like it was already home.
’That is a big mistake,’ Xavier shook his head as he walked away.
***
Walking further into the village, Xavier made a quick turn to a corner and switched his focus to the Server chat.
He didn’t know how long the system would allow him access to it. So he immediately checked.
Hoping he could somehow find a way to reach his sister from here.
He read through the shitload of messages, hoping he could pick up anything relating to what was important to him.
All that was there... was a debate about his Bloodline inheritance that had actually caused an upset.
But even all that was now buried under the organized chaos of players who had finally accepted that this was Life and Death and made their peace with it.
[Ralphut101]: just got my bloodline map. heading northeast. Does anyone going the demon route want to group?
[Timothey..C]: formed a party of four for the first dungeon near Stockholm. one slot open. Healer preferred.
[Top..G..Garfield]: Sign me up but I can’t heal for shit. Don’t y’all need a porter?
[What..Fuckery123?]: World event is in six days. I’m not wasting time on dungeons. We need bloodlines bitch.
Xavier laughed at the comment and then he saw the typing notification..
"Drama. Always drama."
[Timothey..C]: Never asked for your dumbass. And yes we can accept a porter, Garfield.
The chat was exactly what Xavier would expect when a bunch of desperate Assholes are cramped in one place together.
Noticing he couldn’t actually type in the Chat and only read...
Xavier sighed in annoyance and was about to close the chat when another message popped up.
[Vagabond X]: @Hunter X. saw the announcement. want to talk. I am in your DM.
"Hmm...," Xavier mumbled. Someone was calling him out this openly?
It wasn’t necessarily out of place but why did they have to announce it in the public chat first?
The Name "Vagabond" was no one he remembered amongst top players and veterans.
Either way it was someone who either wanted to ally, or wanted to hunt him, or someone who wanted to trade information.
It had to be either the first or the last though. Anything else meant ..
Well...
’I hope that’s not it’
Xavier moved to the direct message section.
He clicked and met a text blockade that was getting too familiar at this point.
[Direct messaging remains restricted]
[Party functions remain restricted]
[Irregular Status prevents private communication]
"Fucking...Diabolical!" Xavier grunted in sheer frustration.
This bloody Irregular nonsense was the fucking worst.
What use is it that he could read the chats, get mentioned and yet he couldn’t send or reply to private messages.
Which definitely meant he couldn’t form parties to explore.
Annoying for him to admit, it was now obvious he couldn’t do anything that required the system to acknowledge he was a legitimate participant in this game.
"Fucking bullocks.." he cursed again.
Damn... Xavier shook his head. This was so annoying it twisted his tongue to his mother’s side. And an abundance of curse words.
Anyways... it is what it is.
He closed the chat and kept walking. Vagabond would have to wait. Or if the guy wanted to talk badly enough, he’d have to find him somehow.
For now...!
Xavier pulled up the Dread Cloak, camouflaging himself, looking ahead to a tired wooden building.
He had more important priorities...
Like..not being a sitting duck in winter.
–End of Chapter–
A/N: it has fully been contracted so please, this is where this work needs your support the most.
T for Thanks
