Outworld: Awakening

Although four days had gone by since the events in Valar, the citizens of Dratol still talked about with fervour. Awakened, merchants, blacksmiths and all types of professionals trooped to Targarth's borders. Even ordinary citizens joined them. No one in Dratol could resist the allure of the grand dungeon's descent. They didn't want to miss out from the imminent fortune in Targarth's economy.

In the southern region of Dratol, which comprised majority of Dratol's farming fields and Inns. In one of its numerous inns, Wallace and Igor's laughter filled the room.

In the partially illuminated room, the duo sat opposite each other. Empty dishes and bottles littered the wooden table separating the duo. And, the stench of alcohol pervaded the air.

"Hahaha... W-Who would have thought you'd get shut down like that? Hahaha..."

Igor broke into a bought of hiccups while struggling to control his laughter. Although he wore faded clothes, he didn't look like a miserable hobo living behind a trashcan.

"It's funny now, but it wasn't back then. Do you know how much effort it took a fourteen years old me to propose? If I knew she'd turn me down like that, I wouldn't have send anything," Wallace said.

He reached for an half empty bottle of rum, before taking a large gulp.

"Hahaha... We have all been there. If my guess is correct, I'm sure you cried a lot back then. Don't blame the poor girl, who would want to go out with a chubby and ugly leech like you? Hahaha..."

Wallace involuntarily spat out the rum while slamming his palm on the table's chipped wooden surface.

"W-Who's calling who ugly? Have you looked in the mirror lately? I-I bet my left ball you've gotten rejected more than me," Wallace declared.

Igor's whimsical laughter greeted his jibes. Despite trying to looking intimidating, Wallace only came off as a drunkard on the verge of passing out.

Over the last couple of days, he had gotten over the big reveal concerning Igor and Bricteva's identities. He believed he would only do himself harm if he had any ill thoughts towards them, especially after joining their fold.

Although they hadn't revealed anything major concerning their organization, it didn't bother Wallace. To him, the less he knew the better for him. He was no saint my any means, but he wouldn't willingly seek for trouble.

"I D-Don't even know why I told you that. By the way, what happened to Bricteva? She's been gone for a few days now. I hate to admit it, but I miss her lamb stew," Wallace said.

He reached for the rum bottle again, while staring at Igor with his eyes partially closed.

"Don't worry about her. She went to get some ingredients. She should be back in two or three days," Igor said.

He snatched the rum bottle before Wallace.

'What kind of ingredients takes so long to obtain? With so many people trooping to Targarth, won't she be in trouble if she encounters migrating bandits?' Wallace mused, however, there was no changes to his facial expression.

He knew Igor wasn't being completely honest with him, but had no intention of prying.

"What if she gets herself into trouble? Who will cook lamb stew for me? That old hag better come..." Wallace suddenly paused. The alcohol in his system had subconsciously made him insult Bricteva in front of Igor.

However, Igor still continued to drink while whispering sweet nothing to the bottle.

'It's a good thing he's just as wasted as I am,' Wallace thought.

"I want the old hag back, too. But, don't worry about her. She's an Awakened after all. I can't believe she hid all the good stuff before she left. I can't continue to drink these cheap rums. I have a reputation to uphold," Igor said.

'Bricteva? An Awakened? No way!'

Wallace's mouth dropped slightly as he shook his head.

"Igor, are we talking about the same person? Who did you say is an Awakened?"

Wallace couldn't hide his disbelief as he stared at Igor.

"What are you talking about? Aren't we talking about Bricteva? Or, were you talking about another old hag?"

Drunk out of his mind, Igor could barely stare at Wallace. He lay his head on the table while singing for the rum bottle.

Unbeknownst to him, his words woke Wallace from his stupor. He couldn't believe the old lady he had bickered and bantered over the last few days was an Awakened.

'Wait... if the old hag is an Awakened, then what about this drunkard?'

Wallace's body trembled as he stared at Igor. He didn't know how he would react if the pair were Awakened.

'No. This bastard can't be one. Hahaha... Of all people, this drunkard could never be one... right?'

Absorbed in his thoughts, Igor's slurred voice reached Wallace, "Why d-do you think everyone calls you balls of steel? Who in their right mind would mess with Bricteva? She put two guys in a coma just last month."

Wallace's eyes bulged as cold sweat covered his forehead.

"Y-You're messing with me, right? Hahaha... Right?"

Wallace laughed nervously, however, Igor stared at him with a deadpan expression on his face.

"You didn't know? Wow! Good luck to you. My Blessing is the only reason she hasn't killed me yet, and it's not for a lack of effort..." Igor said.

'Am I dreaming? This drunkard is an Awakened, too? No. It's not possible. What the f.u.c.k did I drink? Is this really the cheap stuff.'

Wallace stared at the empty bottles on the table. He believed had to be hallucinating, because he couldn't imagine a world where Bricteva and the notorious drunkard, Igor were Awakened.

While different thoughts flashed through Wallace's mind, Igor suddenly broke into a bout of thunderous laughter.

"Hahaha... see you're face Wallace. How can you believe we're Awakened? If that old hag was an Awakened, I would have died a long time ago... Hahaha..."

'I knew it. I can't even bring myself to be angry at this drunk. He got me good.'

A wry smile tugged at the sides of Wallace's lips as he yanked the rum bottle from Igor.

"Awakened sure do have it easy. They get power, fame and money. It's so cruel the Blessings only choose a select few," Igor said as he shook his head.

"Tell me about it. I wonder what they have that we don't? Damn it, I just remembered something I wanted to forget," Wallace said.

His brows creased while he crossed his arms above his c.h.e.s.t.

"Oh. Let's hear it. We don't really have anything to do right now. By the way, what about your boss?" Igor asked.

He could barely keep his eyes open, while his head frequently dropped.

"Huh? What about him?"

Wallace didn't know why Igor brought up Adam into the mix.

"Don't tell me you don't know. You traveled together for two months, and you said he saved your life, right?" Igor asked as his eyes lingered on Wallace.

Saying nothing, Wallace nodded.

"Then, you must have seen him use his Blessing at least once. What is it? C'mon, tell me. I won't tell anyone about it," Igor whispered.

"There's nothing to tell. My eyes couldn't follow him when he fought. Except you'd like to listen to a grand tale of something that never happened..."

'Oh? Does his Blessing increase his body movement? The spies we sent that day also said they couldn't keep up with him... I need more data.'

Igor shifted his attention back to Wallace. Absorbed in his thoughts, he didn't hear the latter half of Wallace's statement. However, he continued to laugh and nod as if he paid attention.

"So, apart from your boss, do you know any other Awakened?" Igor suddenly asked.

"Of course not. Why would a guy like me..." Wallace suddenly paused, he had remembered something that happened a long time ago.

Naturally, Igor didn't miss the minute changes in Wallace's expression.

"I know that look. Tell me about it," Igor said.

"To be honest, I don't think this counts," Wallace said, as he slowly scratched his neck.

"I used to work for wandering merchant some years ago. He would travel through the harsh Wazar Desert, majorly buying things that caught his eyes. He was known as the wandering king. A real sick bastard, but that's a story for another day.

"He had a unique hobby though, he would accommodate orphans while we traveled. Most of them usually end up working for him. Among them, one was really special. Not even a teenager, he was already as bald as a rock. The other kids used to get a laugh or two out of it.

"A few guards teased the poor lad too, but it wasn't anything as straight up bullying. They gave him the nickname, Moon. I'm not going to lie, the kid had a rock for a head. It was massive."

Wallace suddenly paused, because Igor's laughter interrupted him.

"Poor kid became timid and no one wanted to talk with him. I felt bad for the kid, I think I was his only friend in the group. I can never forget what he told me back then, he said he wasn't bald; rather, the moon ate his hair. It took everything in me not to laugh that day. Imagine being so young and having to face baldness already."

Wallace paused again. He glared at Igor who had started laughing again.

"I'm sorry. Please go on. I won't do it again..." Igor whispered. He could barely string his sentence together.

"Anyway, I started talking with the kid more often, and I found out he was quite the talker. However, I noticed he had three strange tattoos—"

"Huh? Who gives a kid tattoos?" Igor interjected.

"That's not even the most surprising thing. One of them was on his head, it depicted black hair. The other two decorated either side of his shoulders. One depicted a sword, the other a dagger--"

"What's odd about that?" Igor interjected.

"You didn't let me finish. A few days earlier, the wandering king had misplaced two precious items in his collection. A rare dagger and a high quality sword. Moon's tattoos were perfect depictions of the items," Wallace said.

"How? What happened next?" Igor asked.

A frown replaced the smile on his lips while his brows creased.

"Obviously, there was no way the kid could sneak into the wandering king's tent. So, I asked him to explain how he got the tattoos. However, all he said was that he had a dream where the moon ate a sword and a dagger. When he woke up, he saw the tattoos on his shoulders. To save both our heads, I told him to never speak of it again.

"Unfortunately, that was the last day I saw the kid. The wandering king dismissed several guards he suspected to have stolen the items. That f.u.c.k.i.n.g bastard also sent assassins after us," Wallace said as his eyes turned bloodshot.

"So what happened next? How did you find out the kid was an Awakened?" Igor asked in quick succession.

"I had to hide for a very long time. I even gained weight and grew a beard to hide from the wandering king's assassins. Four years later, in another town, I met a friend from back then. We got talking. When I asked about the kid, he said some masked Awakened bought him from the wandering king for a shit ton of gold. To be honest, I don't really know if the kid was an Awakened. But that's the only thing that made sense to me back then," Wallace said.

"I think I would have made the same conclusion too. Did your friend know where the Awakened came from? And, what happened to the wandering king?" Igor asked.

From the gleam in his eyes, Wallace's story enthralled him.

"I don't know. Scrubs like us won't know that kind of information. Meanwhile, the less said about that wandering pedo the better. I hope he dies a miserable death whenever he's hiding... I'll be back. Gotta take a leak."

Barely able to keep himself from falling, Wallace staggered while making his way out of the room.

'It's such a shame he does not know which guild bought the kid. Our guild needs an Awakened with that kind of Blessing.'

Igor had a slight smile as he stared at Wallace make his way out of the room. Unlike earlier when he was a drunken mess, he was as sober as a judge.

'If I remember correctly, the man known as the wandering king retired in Vihir. What's his name again...'

Absorbed in his thoughts, a blue radiance suddenly illuminated Igor's clothes. It originated from his inner b.r.e.a.s.t pocket.

Wasting to time, he retrieved a sound transmission crystal, before pressing its surface.

Just then, an hoarse voice drifted into his ears, "Sir, a S class priority target has entered the country. He arrived from Targarth. Should we send people to follow him?"

"Not. That's not necessary. That's all."

Igor removed his hand from the crystal and its radiance disappeared.

'Yeah, I remember now. His name is Giles Prophete. I think I should pay him a visit... No. That would take too much time. I will send Henry instead.'

A smile donned his lips as he tapped the surface of the table.