Catpurr 16: The Adventurer's Guild

Catpurr 16: The Adventurer's Guild

In a void filled with weapons, snacks, and random knick knacks, Adam floated, a prisoner inside of the storage box that he’d been abruptly stuffed into.

Is this what it feels like to be a jellyfish? Adam thought to himself as his body drifted in the seemingly endless expanse. He'd always wondered what the inside of a storage unit looked like, he just never imagined it to be so… spacious.

And so stale smelling.

[CONCATULATIONS! QUEST COMPLETE!]

The familiar words hit Adam’s eyes.

Huh, I guess they brought me into the city.

[Rolling Rewards…]

[Ding!]

[Mana Potion x1 Obtained!]

Suddenly Adam found himself holding a purple vial in his hands, although small, it oozed with power, making Adam's curiosity peak.

At a glance, he could already tell this wasn't just any kind of "Mana Potion", but rather something absurd, just like all the other items he'd gotten.

Inspect.

[Deluxe Mana Potion of Impeccable Magical Restoration: Restore 100% of the User's Mana]

<***>

"Oops. I must have loaded the wrong item in the dispenser."

<***>

Incredible! Adam thought to himself, a potion of this caliber was virtually unheard of! Ten, twenty, maybe even a fifty boost to natural recovery he understood, those were the kinds of potions he knew of. But a mana potion that could fully restore the user's magical capacity?! Adam's mind boggled.

Immediately he began envisioning all of the applications of which an item such as this caliber could be useful.

Tsk. If only I had a potion like this during Junith's attack! Adam grimaced, finding himself angry as the scenario began to replay in his mind. All the mistakes, the obvious signs of a trap, and most importantly, the last time he'd seen his friend.

Adam closed his eyes.

He was greedy, too greedy. His ambition in pursuit of his dream had cost him everything he held dear. His items, his skills, and his friend. He could see that. But was he wrong?

No.

Of course not! Adam's eyes snapped open. It was the world that was wrong! They just didn't understand! The masses couldn't see the utopia that could be created if they just embraced the purity of the bone! After all, humanity's final form was death. All Adam wanted to do was recycle and reuse.

Adam sighed, imagining all he could accomplish, all the lives he could save if the world would just let him and Schrodinger be. Yet they were afraid of progress. Stuck in their ignorant ways.

He clutched the vial for a moment before activating the metal band on his finger, stashing the potion. Like all storage units, a vorpal pool was created, sucking in his potion and providing a system screen of the item being slotted inside.

Now… I wonder if they'll le-

Before Adam could finish his train of thought, blinding light flooded his senses.

One moment he was floating aimlessly in the void and the next, suddenly in a dimly-lit room with five pairs of eyeballs staring at him. Two of which were familiar, the green-haired woman and the brown-haired man who'd catnapped him earlier at the gate and three others.

A blonde burly man with a menacing face and handlebar mustache.

A red-haired woman wearing glasses in a maid outfit.

And finally, perhaps the most menacing out of the group, a raven-haired woman wearing a black suit with her legs crossed. Despite her glaring purple eyes, black lips shaped into a frown, and obvious annoyed attitude, what made Adam really worry was the red whip she had laid across her lap.

Ah. I'm being sold into slavery.

No one said a word, giving Adam time to survey the scattering of wooden chairs, red tapestry, and crates. The room seemed to resemble a hideout of some kind. If he had to guess, he was underground, judging from the stone walls and flat wooden ceiling.

"Uh. Hello? Please don't kill me."

At Adam's words the group of people turned to each other.

"Elttil yob." The massive man said gently, his muscles barely contained beneath his white button up shirt. Looking up at him, the giant seemed to take up half the room with his size alone blocking the exit that lay behind him. "Od uoy kaeps Aicnelav? Erehw era ruoy stnerap?"

Adam blinked at the gargantuan's outstretched hand that held a cookie. It was warm, still fresh, and perhaps worse of all, wafting a scent that hit Adam's nose and reminded him of his hunger.

"Ees? I dlot ouy eh t'nseod kaeps ruo egaugnal. Roop gniht si ylbaborp gnivrats." The mage said as Adam took the cookie, ravenously devouring it in three bites with the giant handing him another cookie once he was finished."sti a eugnot evi reven draeh erofeb."

Adam cocked his head to the side, not understanding a word of what was being said. Instead, he was more focused on the crumbs, licking the chocolate chi- Oh no!

[Catsification Curse activated!]

[-Weakness to Chocolate!]

[You are being acutely poisoned! -8% HP per second]

Ah, crapbaskets.

Suddenly Adam seized up, frothing at the mouth as his entire body spasmed and he fell to the floor.

***

"Oh EARTH MOTHER!" Titania screamed as the boy suddenly had a seizure and collapsed to the ground. Not wasting a second she was beside the pale boy, attempting to figure out what was wrong as the child wiggled frantically. “OH EARTH MOTHER! OH EARTH MOTHER!”

"H-he's been poisoned! He's allergic to something in the cookie!" Ruebella yelled, the receptionist using her scan skill to diagnose the flailing demi-child in an instant.

"STAND BACK!" Arnold bellowed, the titan of a man suddenly ripping away his shirt to reveal his massive pectorals and chiseled abs. "THE PURITY OF MUSCLE SHALL REVITALIZE HIM!"

Suddenly the blonde musclehead was beside her, grabbing the boy out of her arms and embracing him with his muscles. Arnold then began to glow, his skill Healing Hearth activating and restoring the complexion of the little demi-boy’s body.

“BE HEALED LITTLE BOY! BE HEALED!” Arnold cried, squishing the boy with his biceps so hard he let out a high-pitched squeak that silenced the whole room.

“Dig you break him?! Be gentle big guy you’re crushing him!” Sehn yelled, moving to pry the boy from the man’s embrace.

The child suddenly coughed, spewing up black spit all over the man’s arms.

“Huuur! Huuuuuhah!” The boy wheezed as he began violently squirming, trying to flee from the titan’s grip.

“Ha! Tel em og uoy dezisrevo gabtaem!” The boy screamed in his odd tongue.

“It’s ok! It’s ok! You are safe child!” Arnold cooed, gently setting the boy down who ran off to the edge of the room, fluffy ears folded downwards.

“I t’nod dnatsrednu uoy!” The boy yelled, clutching his chest in a panic as everyone began to collectively try and comfort the boy.

“Enough!”

At the word, the room suddenly became quiet as the guild master snapped her whip, striking the air with a crisp snap.

Every eye in the basement shifted to the guild leader, the woman glaring at everyone in the woman.

“Can’t you brain-damaged idiots tell you’re crowding him? Give him some space before I start handing out pay cuts.” Valentine growled, the no-nonsense guild master clearly unhappy with the events transpiring.

“Ruebella.” The guild master said, snapping her fingers to summon the receptionist to her side.

“Y-yes mistress?”

“Bring me a skill jewel of linguistics. Lowest tier we have.”

The receptionist stiffened up for a moment.

“B-but…” Ruebella began before her voice swapped to a whisper. “The lowest we have is a C tier and costs two gold coins. A-are you-”

“It’s fine.” Valentine snapped, her icey eyes settling on Titania and Sehn. “These two will pay the guild back in full plus a fee.”

“Very well mistress.” Ruebella said before disappearing.

At the woman’s words Sehn and Titania stiffened up, their minds involuntarily short circuiting as the price hit their heads.

“Wha-?! But that’s like forty thousand coppers!” Sehn cried, the warrior already on his knees and groveling. “P-p-please you can’t do this to us! I just got out of a mountain of debt!”

“Sehn.” The woman said, placing the tip of her heel beneath Sehn’s chin.

“Y-y-yes?”

‘What did I say about stirring the pot?”

“N-n-not to?”

“And do you think bringing a demi child into a city run by the Purists is indicative of not stirring the pot?” Valentia said, her icey tone radiating fury as her eyes sparked with power.

“I-I-I-”

“It was my fault, I panicked.” Titania interjected, coming to Sehn’s rescue. “The kid was trying to enter the city and I had to hide him before a guard noticed us.”

"Yes. You've explained this already." Valentine sighed as she nudged Sehn away. "Yet the problem still remains that you’ve endangered this entire office by your actions.”

“We’re very sorry, mistress. But.. We couldn’t leave a child, demi or not, to wander alone.” Titania said, her voice firm and her gaze meeting the guild leader’s.

“Tsk. Whatever.” Valentine replied, holding out a hand as Ruebella returned, the skill crystal in hand. “Time to see where this boy’s parents are so we can get him out of here.”

A/N

Arnold!