Chapter 15:
I Found my Pathetic Self Transported to Another World after Having my First Love Confession Rejected. Will I be Able to Find the Life I Want to Have here??
Alex felt light shaking and something soft under his head.
“How long until the Inn you mentioned?”, asked Violet very close to him.
“Not long, maybe half an hour… give or take a few minutes…”, answered Caleb a bit further away.
“What… where?”, mumbled Alex and tried to get up.
Two hands grabbed him by the shoulder and pushed him gently back down. He realized that he was on the back of the cart and currently lying in Violet’s lap. She looked at him with a worried look on her face.
“Stay… what is your name?”, asked Violet dead serious.
“Alex… what?”
“What’s my name?”
“Violet… why? What’s going on?”
“Good…”
Alex looked confused at Violet. Her malachite eyes stared at him worried and nervous but with a pinch of relief too.
“Not going to ask him my name?”, interjected Caleb.
“Shut up… Where you born in this world?”, Violet continued asking.
“No… in another world… I got somehow transported into this one about a year ago… why are you asking me all this?”, answered Alex still confused.
“Before you came to this world… what happened in your old world?”
“What? You know that already! I’m really not feeling like going over my pathetic past right now… especially that part of it… What’s going on here?”
Alex tried to get up again, but Violet’s hands held him in place.
“Good, good… What is the last thing you remember?”, continued Violet.
“Huh?... We fought against those bandits… I killed this big guy, that told me I had an ugly face… then there were those knights on horsies… Then I heard your voice calling me and I came over to you… and then I woke up here.”
“Very good… memories seem to be fine…”, mumbled Violet and the relief in her eyes grew.
“Now that’s enough! What’s going on! What happened? Would you explain yourself already?”
Alex tried again to get up and put all his strength into it this time. Violet still held him down. Effortlessly.
“How do you feel? Do you have pain anywhere? Anything amiss?”, she asked unwaveringly.
“I.. feel exhausted… like I did a full week of training with old Barrik… in one day.”
“Well that doesn’t surprise me… good… all seem to be fine… at least for now…”
Violet expression suddenly changed and she smiled friendly at him.
“You asked what happened?”, she asked.
“Huh? Uhm, yeah?”, said Alex more than confused.
“Well, the knights came from the Kingdom of Leiwand and were pursuing that gang of bandits. They killed the rest of them and then tended to our wounds.”
“Are you okay?”, asked Alex immediately.
“Yeah… Luckly Rudy and I just had some minor wounds that got patched up quickly with some healing magic. Rudy is in top shape again, he’s pulling the cart too… I’m fine as well, just a bit exhausted from casting so many spells.”
“I’m fine too… thank you for asking!”, interjected Caleb again.
Violet ignored him. Alex moved his head and looked around. He saw Caleb sitting on the coach box.
“Where’s Elyra?”, he asked.
Violet looked a bit uncomfortable.
“Well… she… how do I say it… Didn’t take the whole thing quite well and… she felt safer with the knights, so… we decided to part ways and let them take care of her…”, said Violet trying to find the right words.
“With other words… She went bat shit crazy after witnessing all that carnage and went on about you being a monster, who laughs manically while lobbing bodyparts off of people…”, said Caleb casually.
“Caleb!”, shouted Violet.
“What? I mean, he did look a bit like a monster! With all that blood on his face and body… and he did cut the bandits down while laughing… What a sight to behold that was!”, went Caleb on unperturbed.
“Enough!”, said Violet sharply.
“Oh… I see…”, said Alex and sighed.
“You are no monster. You saved us.”, said Violet quickly.
Alex smiled faintly. The cart rolled along the path and everyone went silent.
“We are here!”, said Caleb after a while.
The cart stopped. Violet helped Alex get up.
“Welcome to Gmiadlich Springs, the Inn with the best hot springs in the area! I’ll go in and see if they have a few rooms free.”, said Caleb and jumped off the cart.
Violet climbed onto the coachbox and lead Rudy to the stables. She then jumped off and went to the back, only to find that Alex had already gotten of the cart. He wobbled a bit.
“Hey, don’t overdo it!”, she said with a worried undertone.
“I’m fine…”, he said waving his arm.
Violet quickly grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulder.
“I’m fine… I can walk… alone…”, Alex protested again.
“Shut up and walk… Damn… I thought, I cleaned off all the gore, but you still reek. Time for a good soak!”
Supporting him Violet walked Alex into the Inn. Caleb was standing at the counter and talking with the young woman behind it.
“Ah, perfect! They had two single rooms left, one for each of you. I also got us a private hot spring room,” he said noticing them.
“What about you?”, asked Violet.
“Oh, thank you for finally worrying about me, but I think I’ll be fine.”
Caleb gave the young woman behind the corner a quick wink and as smile. She went completely red in the face.
“Whatever… Here, take Alex and help him into the bath. I’ll go in my room and relax a bit until you’re done…”, said Violet exhausted.
She took one of the keys offered, shoved Alex onto Caleb. Violet then went up the stairs. Caleb lead Alex through a corridor and through a door into a room with shelves and baskets.
“I usually don’t say this to men, but hey… Let’s get you naked.”, said Caleb smiling deviously.
“I can do that myself!”, said Alex quickly and began undressing.
“Pity…”
Caleb then started to take of his shirt but paused half way. He turned to the door and furrowed his brows. His devious smile came back.
“Hey… you can go in first… I’ll have to check something quickly… is that okay?”, he asked.
“Yeah, okay.”
Alex went through the sliding door opposite where they came in.
“Now, that is what I call an onsen!”, he muttered and smiled.
Steam was rising from the huge pool of water in front of Alex. He could smell the typical fragrance of hot spring water. To the side was a small stream of water with some wooden vats alongside it. Alex grabbed one and held it into the waterflow. He then poured the water over him.
“Fuck, that’s cold!”, he exclaimed breathing sharply.
The coldness of the water washed some of his sluggishness away. He quickly poured another one over him. The sluggish feeling was nearly gone, but Alex could feel his bones ache now. Shivering he went to the hot spring pool. Alex slid into the water and leaned back.
“Ahh… that’s nice…”, Alex sighed exhausted and joyous.
The warmth immediately entered his body and everything began to tingle for a moment. Then he relaxed all of his muscles and felt the soothing sensation spread through his body. Alex closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling. After a while the sliding door behind him was opened.
“Caleb is that you?”, Alex asked, his eyes still closed.
“Nope.”
Surprised Alex opened his eyes and turned around.
“Violet?”
“Hello, there.”
Violet stood in front of him, completely naked. She held two mugs in one hand and one large pitcher in the other in front of her, covering some of her womanly bits, but definitely not all of them.
“You are… nak-…ed”, stuttered Alex and turned back around quickly.
“As one usually is in the bath…”, said Violet casually.
“Ah… yes…”
“I brought some cold Beer. As Grandpa Barrik always said, nothing beats a cold beer after laughing death in the face.”
Alex heard the pitcher and the mugs placed next to him. Then the filling of one of the wooden vats and a splash.
“Fuck, that’s cold!”, exclaimed Violet breathing sharply
Another splash and then the sound of wet footsteps. Alex felt some water moving next to him.
“Ahh… that’s nice…”, Violet sighed exhausted and joyous.
Alex still faced the other way.
“Don’t act so shy now… you already seen me in a rather… unflattering… situation… I don’t mind. Just don’t stare… too much.”, she said.
Alex knew Violet would have her typical devious smile on her face, if he turned around. His body jolted as he felt a touch on his right shoulder.
“Hmm… seems like it healed fine… The bones seem in order as well… no miss growth… good… here too… no bruises even, so no internal bleeding… very good.”, said Violet.
She traced over the place where Alex got cleaved by the two-handed sword. Alex noticed that she had that worrying undertone again. He turned around. Violet was very close to him staring at him. Her malachite eyes were full of worry and there was no smile on her face.
“Now what the hell is up with you! You are acting not normal! What happened to me, that made you so worried?”
“How was it? Back there… after you got hit in the shoulder with that big sword and I cast the spell on you? What did you feel? How did your body feel?”
“Stop ignoring my questions!”
“Just answer… please… I’ll explain after, I promise.”
“Hmm, okay…. I… felt… great?... I suddenly could move my shoulder again. The pain I felt was gone. The fear too… I felt this warmth inside of me growing warmer, even hot… like a flame that grew bigger and bigger. But it didn’t hurt… My mind became suddenly so clear and everything, but one thing left it… The urge to kill… I wanted to kill everybody that was trying to hurt us… to hurt you… And then I went and did that. Everything is a bit of a haze after that, but I remember my body feeling really light and… and I… I enjoyed the battle… the more I swung my axe, the hotter I felt the flame inside of me and I wanted more… more battle… more… killing… I went from one to the next… cutting them down one after one… My movements were pure instinct, like I wasn’t even in control of them… nothing else mattered to me anymore… no past… no future… nothing existed in my world except that battle right there… and you… your shout was what made me pause and see my surroundings clear again. After I came to you I suddenly felt really tired and… you know the rest.”
Violet listened silently, her gaze fixed upon him. Then she turned, poured beer into the two mugs and handed Alex one.
“And now you feel? Is there still this burning inside of you? Pain? Even the smallest one?”, she asked calmly.
Alex took the mug and paused as he concentrated on his body.
“Well I feel the warmth of the bath entering my tired bones… but no… except that and the extreme exhaustion I feel fine. No Pain… and the urge to kill is gone too, if you’re wondering…”
“That’s good… nothing else? Nothing… unusual…”
Alex took a sip of the beer and then chugged down all of it in one go.
“Well there is one thing… slight and growing annoyance, that you don’t tell me what is really going on here. There is clearly something that you are worried about, and it has something to do with this spell you cast. Tell me, Violet!... please.”
Violet chugged her beer down as well. She looked a bit nervous.
“The spell is derived from an old dwarven… kind of magic… You know what a Berserker is?”, she started slowly.
“A warrior that goes into a rage while fighting, strengthening their attacks?”
“Yeah… kind of. Some dwarves are born with the ability to enter a state of… hm… heightened body function. In this state the body is able to absorb magical energy. Especially earth and fire magic energy. I guess since dwarves have a natural affinity to those elements. That absorbed energy then alters the body, like hardening the skin, strengthening the muscles, or enhancing the natural healing ability. It’s a bit different for every person and also depends on what element the magic is.”
“Well so far that sounds good… like a magic power up. What’s the problem?”
“I’ll get to that… like a said, how the body changed and what… let’s say abilities, you get, through absorbing varies on the person. But they all had one thing in common, a sort of rage and lust for battle… giving them the name Berserkers. Some had it better under control and were just a bit unpredictable in combat, others… went crazy and just flung themselves at every opponent without any care for survival. Some even attacked everything that moved, be it friend or foe…”
“Okay… I see where this could get problematic…”
“I’m just getting to the problematic part… Until now I talked about the dwarven Berserkers, that had this ability since birth. Their bodies grew accustomed to taking in that kind of energy. But even amongst them were unfortunate ones with bodies that could not withstand such power and they… died at a young age.”
“Okay…”
“But even with this risk… A Berserker was, or still is, a mighty force and a troop of Berserkers could turn the tide of battles. But they were small in numbers, since only a small fraction of newborn dwarves had the ability. So, they began to experiment, if they could magically create Berserkers, by forcing magic energy into the body. I’ll spare you the gruesome details on how they did it, but it was a success… of sorts. They managed to create a magic formula for a spell to inject magic into someone’s body and start the absorption process, like the natural born Berserkers. Only problem was that bodies which weren’t used to it, tend to… break… having a success rate of roughly one in three hundred…”
Violet paused. Alex scratched his beard.
“Well… must mean I’m special, huh? One in three hundred…”, he said laughing awkwardly.
“One in three hundred… dwarves… Dwarves have natural resilient bodies. More than any other Race… way more than… humans…”
“Did they experiment on other races too?”
Violet nodded slowly turning away her face.
“What was the success rate? One in thousand?”
“Zero…”
“Oh…”
They went silent for a while.
“Sorry…”, said Violet quietly breaking the silence.
“For what?”, asked Alex.
She turned surprised towards him.
“For what? For playing with your life? You could have died back there? My spell could have killed you! No, my spell SHOULD have killed you! But I didn’t know what else to do back there. Your arm was nearly severed at the shoulder and your back looked a bit like a hedgehog… I’m not even sure if I could have healed you with normal healing magic. I would have at least needed much more time, and I doubt with all that was going on I would have enough time to cast it without getting… interrupted… ”, said Violet panicked.
“I’m still alive… you’re still alive… so it all turned out good in the end.”
“How can you say that? Shouldn’t you get angry with me for just taking a big fat gamble with your life? Even if you survived something could have gone wrong. There were cases where the body of survivors got deformed, mutated or mutilated because of the magic energy running amok inside of them. Even if they survived… some suffered from a live of pain after the experiment… And that’s all talking about dwarves! Not puny squishy humans like you and me! How can you stay so calm about this?”
“Well, you said it yourself… You had no choice… I could not have gone on much longer back there… forget even about fighting. I don’t think Caleb and Rudy could have taken on all of them. Maybe if you ditched me and concentrated back on the fight, you all might have hold out until the knights came… but you didn’t ditch me… In fact, you saved my life! I feel fine, except for being exhausted, so there seem to be no side effects… no deformation, mutation or mutilation happened… all seem to be at the right place, where it should be. So yeah, I’m not angry with you for saving my life with that spell… In fact I’m quite happy… I just learned I’m a bit dwarflike, who would hate that?”
Alex smiled. Violet looked at him astonished.
“You…huh…”, she was at a loss for words.
“Here, let’s do something else dwarflike!”
Alex quickly grabbed her mug and poured her and him another beer.
“Here, cheers! Or like we say it in my old world… Prost!”, said Alex and held out the mug.
Violet blinked a few times, then shook her head and slammed her mug into his, which made the beer spill over into the other mug.
“Prost!”, she said with a big smile on her face.
Both downed the beer simultaneously.
“Ah that hit the spot!”, said Alex and leaned back.
“Well the good thing is, that we now know, that your body can take the spell… but it should be only the last resort… Even if your natural healing ability seems to increase with it, we should not take too many risks… and contrary to healing magic, with that there remains scaring.”
Alex looked down at his right shoulder for the first time. A two-finger thick scar went down the front of his shoulder onto his chest, nearly reaching his right nipple.
“Oh…you’re right, there is a scar…”, he said casually.
“What!? Did you just notice now?”
“Yeah… hm… it gives me something manly, don’t you think?”, he said jokingly.
“You’re so stupid!”, said Violet.
Both laughed.
“But your ‘If you want them… you’ll have to go through me first.’ was really manly…”, she said quietly after calming down.
“I always wanted to say that… Heros of stories in my old world often say that…”
“You were a bit like a hero back there… maybe…”
“Ha! Thanks… but I still have to work on my heroness… Heros usually don’t have problems getting girls, right?
“Sorry, that the plan didn’t work…”, said Violet after calming down.
“What plan?”
“The plan to get you with this Elyra… She was a pretty little thing, huh?”
“Meh… I always hated escort quest anyway…”
“Escort quests? What do you mean by that?”
“Oh… umm… well in my old world I always liked to play games… often these role-playing game, where… well… you kind of do the things we do now… go on adventure, fight bandits and other monsters and so on… In those games there always was a quest or mission where you had to protect someone from attacks. Most of the time it ended with the one you had to protect just run somewhere he was not supposed to and dying, having you do it all over again… Or sometimes the one to protect get’s stuck on a branch or other weird terrain, and the quest can’t proceed… really hated when that happened.”
“That must be so weird… what is just normal live for me, were just made-up stories in your world…”
“Yeah… living these experiences for real that were just a form of entertainment back then…”
“Are there any other things like that… escort quest?
“Yeah, there are a few things, but some things are different I learned.”
“What else is like in all those stories you know?”
Alex paused for a bit. Then he began to smile widely.
“Well… this situation right now…”, he said.
“What do you mean?”
“In a lot of stories I know there is a scene in a hot spring, or Onsen as they are called in one of the languages of my old world.”
“Oh? And what happens in these… onsen scenes… usually?”
Violet eyes grew with curiosity.
“Well… uhm… most of the time it involves the male protagonist or sometimes side character trying to peek at the girls, who are often in a separate bath sectioned off by a wall. Weirdly in all the stories there seem to be a conveniently placed hole in the wall. It mostly ends in failure and the peeking party gets in trouble with the girls.”
“Well, you’re in luck. You didn’t have to peek through a wall.”
“No… no… I did… not… have to… do that…”, said Alex slowly faced away from Violet again.
“Are there stories where the woman and man go in the onsen together?”
“Well… yeah there are…”
“And what happens in those?”
“Uhm… huh… well… you see… it depends a bit on what kind of story it is, but let’s just say… hm… things in close relation to the last dream you your past, that got shared thanks to our bracelets… but not necessarily all the way… you understand…”
“I understand…”
It grew silent between them. Alex could hear and feel something moving in the water. Getting closer and closer to him.
“You mean something like this…”, whispered Violet directly into his ear.
Alex flinched and turned around in reflex. Violet face was only a hand width away from his. Her eyes staring directly into him, like two shining malachites. She leaned in a bit closer. Now her face was only a finger width away. He could feel her hot breath on his face. Something soft brushed up against him. He swallowed even if there seemed to be no spit in his mouth. Alex felt something rising in him. Then from one heartbeat to the next, Violet pulled her head back.
“Kinda boring… because of the hot water I can’t tell whether you get red because of me, or because of the heat… Well, I think that’s enough hot water for the day… I’m starting to get dizzy.”, she said smiling innocently.
Without hesitation she got up and climbed out of the water. This time Alex didn’t turn around. He couldn’t, as he was too engrossed in watching a water droplet finding a rather peculiar way over some hills and through valleys.
“You coming? Think you should get some proper sleep now… and not in the water… wouldn’t want you to drown, after all you survived today.”, Violet said halve way to the exit.
“Ehm… I think… I’ll stay a few minutes longer… you go on ahead… I just need to… eh… relax… a bit more.”, he stuttered.
“Oh… okay. But don’t stay too long!”
Violet turned around and went back into the changing room. What Alex could not see was the faint smile on her face as she turned back around for a second and watched him go neck deep into the water. Alex waited until he was sure that Violet must have finished getting dressed before he got out. He then put on some of the clothing provided and went to his room. Tired he fell on the bed. Even though he was completely exhausted he could not fall asleep right away. The scenes in the bath he just experienced raced through his head. It took him a while to calm himself down and finally fall asleep.
.
.
.
The next day Alex woke up feeling really refreshed but very hungry. He quickly got up and went to the dining hall of the inn. Violet was already there eating.
“Good morning… how did you sleep?”, she asked as he got nearby.
“Oh, very good!”, he said as he sat down.
“I bet you did…”
Violet slid her plate over to him. He began to wolf down the omelet with bacon and cheese. Violet watched him.
“We need to talk…”, she said after a while.
“What about? Something about that from yesterday?”
“Well it’s… related… say… did you notice anything regarding… our bracelets?”
“Hm? No… I didn’t have a dream last night… did you?”
“Nope… no dream at least… more like… feelings and… thoughts.”
“Really? What thoughts?”
“Pretty sure, your thoughts… of me… yesterday… after the bath… before you fell asleep.”
Alex paused. Some half-chewed bit of the omelet fell out of his opened mouth. The fork clattered on the table.
“What?! Uhm… huh… hm… I… shit… I’m sorry…”, he began stuttering.
“Nono, you don’t have to be sorry… that is just a…”
Violet cleared her throat.
“Eh… normal thing! And it’s my fault to begin with… I was a bit… well you know… maybe a bit too much in the bath… and then…yeah… totally normal reaction… I’ll take it as a compliment… I guess… yeah… uhm… totally normal! Nothing to be ashamed of.”, she went on a bit flustered and at a loss for words.
“Okay… so you saw my thoughts?”
“Yeah… well I could hear your thoughts and see what you were imagining… and I also felt… something…”
“You felt what?”
Alex was red all across his face, even without soaking in hot water.
“I… hm felt… how should I say it… it’s hard to explain… My guess would be I felt what you felt… at least in a similar way, maybe… it felt good… very good… a bit draining, but then very relaxed… after it all… you know… happened.”, tried Violet to explain.
"Oh..."
"And I also felt something else... something different... a kind of confusion... and I heard your thtoughts..."
"You did, huh?", said Alex and looked caught.
"Yeah and... just let me make one thing clear... again... I'm... flattered... that you see me as... attractive... and like I said, you are not so bad as well... but... don't go looking for something that isn't there... I really... and I mean really... like you... as a friend... a good friend, an adventuring buddy and the occasional savior of my ass... someone I can trust, even with my life... So, please don't look for something from me, that I can't give... there isn't something more... there wasn't and there will never be... I'm sorry."
Alex opened his mouth, closed it and opened it again.
"I... no... yeah... I... understand. It will not happen again!", he said after a while.
Violet smiled faintly and nodded.
“So, the bracelets seem to have grown stronger again… now they even transmit thoughts and feelings, not just visions of our past?”, asked Alex smiling awkwardly.
“It seems so…”
“And they just randomly send those thoughts or emotions?”
“I don’t know…”
They both fell silent. Alex didn’t know what else to do or say, so he continued eating.
“But hey… It may be strange to say, but I feel kinda relieved?”, said Violet after a while and smirked.
“What? What do you mean by that?”
“Well… I heard that one minor side effect that happened to those who lived through that whole magically crafted Berserker experiment was that… they… well… had some problem with blood flow and… their… thingy… stopped working properly… but luckily that didn’t seem to be the case with you…”
“What!? You mean… my… could have stopped working properly?! And you say that now!?"
“Yeah… but it didn’t! What happened to your ‘Meh, all good in the end’ Attitude from yesterday?”
“These are two very different things! Yesterday I didn’t know that my manliness had a quick run in with the reaper!”
“Why the fuck are you more upset with your… thingy… being in danger of not working properly anymore than you losing your life?”
“Because a man’s thingy is more important to him than his life!”
“What? That’s… What?... I mean… hm… I’m sorry, okay? I already said it yesterday, but I will say it again… I’m really sorry! I’m sorry I gambled with your life and I’m sorry that I gambled with… your thingy…”
Violet felt guilty and stared down at the table. Because Alex did not say anything she looked up after a few moments only to see him grinning from ear to ear.
“You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”, she asked perplexed.
“Yeah…”, he answered smiling guilty.
“You… when the fuck did you get this cheeky?”
“About the time you started talking about thingies”
Violet grabbed a piece of bread and threw it at him. He caught it in the air and quickly stuffed it into his mouth. Violet just shook her head in disbelief. Alex finished his meal.
“We should really get those bracelets looked at… I say we head straight for the capitol of Leiwand next and talk to this Goldsmith.”, Violet said.
“Great idea!”, interjected Caleb suddenly.
Violet shrieked and jumped up.
“Caleb! What the… how the fuck do you just appear every time out of thin air? Are you doing this on purpose just to give me a heart attack?”
“Yes, my dear Violet, Gambler of Thingies… Hm… has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
“Shut the fuck up and scram!”, shouted Violet and flung the first thing she could grab a hold of at him.
Caleb dodged while laughing and sprinted out of the doorway.
“That guy…”, said Violet calming down.
“I have one other thing I would like to do.”, said Alex suddenly in a serious tone.
“What?”
“I want you to cast that spell on me again. I want to train using it…”
“But… that’s risky… I told you…”
“You told me that, since I have survived it once and all is normal with me, that it should be safe from now on.”
“Emphasis on should… I told you all that information is about dwarves… not humans…”
“I don’t care… I trust you… and I feel like this is a thing I should get a hang of it…”
“I… hm, okay… we can try it out a bit… but we do it my way! Slowly and controlled… and you tell me the instant you feel something off in your body, okay?”
“I will tell you immediately… I swear you will be the first one to know when my thingy stops working.”
“That’s not… argh fine… go grab your things, we’re leaving as soon as I find Caleb and burn his ass…”
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