Chương 9: Watching My New Friend Die as a Rock?!

Chapter Nine Watching My New Friend Die as a Rock?! Sorin's chest swelled as Alice's words seemed to wash over him. The man's droopy eyes widened as he looked down at her bundle, awestruck.

"Voice of the Rock...?" Mittica repeated behind his uncle. He sounded more than a little concerned.

"What are you...? Are you OK, Uncle?" Sorin turned quickly around, his brow furrowed.

"Did you not hear?" he said, very quickly, glancing back down at Alice.

"Did you not hear The Voice?" Alice felt herself blush slightly.

"He won't...! No, he wouldn't have heard me," she whispered into Sorin's ear, who shook a little and brought his face closer to Alice the Rock.

"I can only speak with one of you at a time."

"Of course, of course," Sorin said, though Alice had no idea what was of course about any of this.

"Alice... of the Merry Weather... I have never heard such a title."

"Uncle, what are you doing?" Mittica asked, and he took another step away from Sorin.

"What is going on?"

"Please, Mittica, please!" Sorin whined as he shooed his nephew away. He turned back to Alice with a pained expression.

"F-Forgive my rudeness, but... but what are you?" That was a very difficult question to answer, Alice realized. If his reaction was any indication, it did not seem as though rocks could normally speak in this world. Thankfully, she did not need to come up with an answer right away.

"I'm out of cursed energy," Alice said without even needing to check her stat screen. Two whispers would have left her completely drained.

"M-Master Alice of the Merry Weather?" Sorin bit his lip as Alice's silence stretched longer and longer.

"I beg your forgiveness if such a question offends!" It was more than a little annoying to be unable to continue their conversation, but she could not help but smile inwardly. Sorin continued to pester her with questions until he finally seemed to give up. The fire-breathing dough boy wrapped her tightly once more and loosed a shuddering sigh.

"What is going on...?" Mittica asked, and Sorin jumped as though he had forgotten all about his nephew.

"What... Why were you talking to the grudge stone...?"

"Mittica, my lad," Sorin began, his voice trembling with excitement.

"I do not believe this is a grudge stone!" Alice felt her nonexistent face flush. She didn't want to catfish Sorin, but she actually was a grudge stone. She imagined most did not have teenagers trapped inside them, though.

"I don't understand," Mittica said.

"You said... What about the broken wheel? Those beasts?"

"This is a cursed place, yes, but I do not think us cursed." Sorin patted the ground beside him, and Mittica sat, somewhat reluctantly.

"The people who lived on this mountain... They were insane."

"They were cultists," Mittica said, automatically.

"Yes... Cultists. And do you know why they chose to live here?" Sorin asked, barely able to suppress his excitement.

"Do you know why they hid themselves from the world?"

"They... They were trying to summon daemons?" Mittica said, though his voice lacked any real confidence. He might have said more, but Sorin's pitying smile silenced him.

"Not quite. That is what the Counsel of Magi would have you believe, of course, but no." Sorin looked around the woods as though seeing them for the first time.

"The poor fools who lived on this mountain... They were trying to create a [Magi]."

"Create?" Mittica sounded very uncomfortable.

"How do you- ""You can't," Sorin said simply.

"The Fates alone decide what man will become. So, what did those cultists do? They def ied Fate, a heresy without equal. You already know what it earned them." Mittica took a great gulp.

"Eva the Witch..." Sorin nodded very slowly. He turned to Alice the Rock and, almost lovingly, patted her hempen bundle.

"Yes... They created a [Witch]. The first to foul our world in over a hundred years. But what if... what if they found something else in the process?" Alice should have been happier, but she had so many new questions. It took a supreme force of will not to ask them as soon as she collected enough curse energy. She did not think either Goldtooth slept rather well, but as the two wrapped themselves in Sorin's overlarge robes, she contented herself to watch over them like a guard dog.

She felt as if she might burst, however, when Sorin and Mittica finally began their weary trod the next morning. With no carriage to carry them, the going was much slower, but the haunted woods had almost completely vanished around them. Green appeared where before only grey had stood. Birdsong could be heard in the far distance, but Alice was more interested in the sound of Sorin's voice!

"I'm sorry about that," Alice whispered into Sorin's ear. The man froze as if he had just stepped on a landmine. She was about to explain how she was limited in how often she could speak... but then she stopped herself. She had been an observer for over a decade, so she had almost forgotten. But the truth... The truth was often not worth the telling. It would be better if Sorin had no idea how weak she was.

"B-But I'm back now!" Alice finished her whisper with instead. Sorin almost leapt off his feet at these words. He had been carrying her bundle rather reverently, the stone no longer relegated to his armpit.

"Back, you say?!" Sorin unwrapped Alice quickly and stared at her with a wide smile and even wider eyes.

"You are not... anchored to this vessel?! Is this stone merely...?! B-But I am getting ahead of myself."

"The Voice again...?" Mittica asked with a miserable expression.

"Uncle, did you hit your head during the fight?"

"Quiet," Sorin snapped at his nephew, and then he was all smiles for Alice.

"Forgive the lad. He is not as studied in the divine as myself." Alice could not help but smile, though she quickly realized she only had one more phrase to share after her apology. There were so many things she wanted to ask, but it was probably best to steer clear of any Eva talk for now. She did not want him to think she was evil or something. She would have plenty of time to ask him about that stuff later.

"Are you a wizard?" Alice asked instead, whispering in his ear.

"I saw you breathe fire. What was that?"

"You... You saw that then? But of course, of course." Sorin nodded to himself.

"My humble self is a [Pyromancer]. Those flames were... Hmm." Alice did not understand the look that came over him. It was a mixture of confusion, concern, and childlike excitement.

"Apologies, Alice of the Merry Weather, but your question... Do you mean to ask if- ""Uncle!" Sorin almost dropped Alice in his surprise.

"What... What is it?!" Sorin asked, looking around in a mad panic. Alice herself shared in his worry. Were more daemon dogs heading their way?! The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Uncle, you are worrying me!" Mittica said, stomping his feet.

"You are talking to yourself! You are talking to... to that rock!" Sorin's droopy face twitched, and he frowned at his nephew.

"Boy, this is not- ""Father warned me," Mittica continued over his uncle.

"You... You can get carried away. Please, put the stone down. There is something... We found it on this cursed mountain, Uncle. You said yourself it was a grudge stone."

"I understand your confusion, lad," Sorin said, his expression softening.

"But- ""No buts!" Mittica interrupted, and some of the fire he had shown at their first meeting reappeared.

"You sent Petre away! You're talking to a stone! Have you lost your mind?!" Sorin glanced down at Alice the Rock with a nervous look.

"Nephew... I understand your concern." He tried to pat Mittica on the shoulder, but the boy swatted his hand away.

"We will... I am sure we will find Petre in Waterhold. I will apologize. I was too short with him last night." Mittica did not look satisfied. He continued to glower at his uncle.

"But this is not a grudge stone," Sorin said shortly.

"We'll surely reach Waterhold tomorrow or at most the day after. We'll write to your Father for funds. We will find Petre, and all of this... this confusion will be resolved."

"There was a church in Waterhold," Mittica said, his voice firm but trembling.

"We should... Wouldn't it be best to have a [Priest] appraise the... the stone?"

"Eh?" Alice was not sure she liked the sound of that.

"We can have it appraised," Sorin said placatingly, and he patted Mittica on the shoulder.

"We can even ask for a blessing, though I do not think either of us cursed." Mittica heartened at these words, but Alice winced inwardly. She was not sure this new friendship would survive Alice's reveal as some kind of... demonic rock.

"That's a good lad," Sorin said, and he glanced back down at Alice the Rock with a somewhat anxious look.

"Nothing to be afraid of. When I found the first overland route into Castúel...!" The [Pyromancer]'s story was interrupted for a fourth time as an unusual wooden branch sprouted from his stomach. Alice and Sorin both looked down at it in muted surprise. A second arrow thumped into his chest, however, and Alice realized what was happening. Sorin roared with fire, a long lance of red bursting from his lips to blast the trees in front of him.

A third arrow buried itself just below his throat, and the fires began to sputter and fade. Clutching Alice the Rock tightly, Sorin toppled forward and collapsed onto the ground. Blood soaked through his robes and stained Alice. Several notifications flashed across her vision. Skill Progress: Bloodthirsty [3 /10] A curse has reached its end. Received experience! Received cursed energy! Skill Progress: Echo of Misfortune [1 /10 0] The bandits melted out of the woods and into Alice's vision, one by one.

"Told ya that one looked like trouble." The man wore a brilliant smile. His face was a patchwork of cuts and burnt flesh. His long hair was black as sin, and there was no kindness in his blue eyes. Mittica screamed. It was not a war cry like Petre's howl, nor was it a wail of fear. It was simply an explosion of emotion as the boy ripped his small knife out. Mittica's mouth gaped like a fish as he stared, wide-eyed, at the bandits.

"I'd drop that toothpick if I were you," the Smiling Man said, not unkindly. He did not carry any weapons himself.

"Wouldn't want to end up like dear old dad, eh?"

"Brave...! B-Brave...!" Mittica sputtered the word over and over as if it was a prayer. Tears streamed down his face as he charged towards the Smiling Man. But Mittica's foot caught on Alice the Rock before he took so much as two steps. He stumbled forward and fell face-first into the dirt. The bandits hooted with laughter, the Smiling Man chief among them. Mittica rolled over with a howl, and Alice wished she could look away. The boy's knife was sticking out of his own belly.

He had stabbed himself when he had fallen. The Smiling Man seemed hardly to notice. He rolled Sorin over, Alice's doughy-faced friend staring blankly up at the sky. Dead.

"What a pretty stone," the Smiling Man said, and Alice felt a flash of hate. It had been so long since she had burned with this red emotion. Even before her isekai misadventure, it had been so much easier just not to care. But now...

"Pick it up!" Alice prayed as she watched the Smiling Man inspect the stone clasped protectively in Sorin's dead hands.

"Pick me up and get cursed!" She had finally found someone to speak with! After more than a decade, she had not felt alone! And this bastard had killed them, had killed the man who seemed to know so much about what she wanted to know! The Smiling Man pried Sorin's lifeless fingers away and hefted Alice's bloodstained rock body into the air. She was surprised the rock did not roll around with laughter. The idiot! The absolute idiot!

"So, who're you supposed to be?" There was no notification, however. The Smiling Man walked over to Mittica, tossing Alice the Rock from hand to hand as if she were an overlarge football. And still no notification appeared. There was no indication at all that he had been cursed.

"But that... that makes no sense..." Alice mumbled noiselessly in confusion. Mittica's face was wet with sweat and fear. But he was not wailing like before. One of his hands was wrapped around the knife buried in his belly, and he stared up at the Smiling Man with venom.

"Looks like a noble's get," one of the bandits said from outside Alice's vision.

"Good ransom on thems," another said. The Smiling Man stood over Mittica with a sly smile, as if he found the whole situation to be hilarious but was trying his hardest not to laugh.

"What is this?" the Smiling Man asked, lifting Alice the Rock a little higher. He brushed some of his long black hair away from his eyes. Mittica did not answer. Blood, tears, and snot dribbled down his face as he continued to bite his lip.

"That old man of yours was holding onto it for dear life even with three arrows in his belly." The Smiling Man flashed another amused smile.

"Can't imagine it's just some pretty rock."

"... l-luck..." Alice's thoughts went very still as she listened to Mittica chew on the word.

"Luck?" the Smiling Man repeated. His face was a collection of scars, but he almost looked friendly as he tilted his head in confusion.

"I-It's a... l-l-luck stone..." Mittica spat, his face twitching.

"Y-You r-r-rub it... for g-g-good... good luck..." Alice wanted to throw her nonexistent arms around Mittica. She was struck with such deep respect for the bravery of his reply.

"A luck stone, eh?" the Smiling Man said, studying Alice's sparkles. The air misted with blood and bits of teeth. Mittica collapsed onto the forest floor as the Smiling Man cracked him across the face with Alice the Rock.

"Doesn't seem particularly lucky," the Smiling Man said, which earned him several hoots of laughter from his bandits.

"Did ya forget ta rub it this morning?" Mittica whimpered in answer. Blood poured down his face. The Smiling Man flashed Mittica his brightest smile yet. There was no warmth reflected in his eyes, however.

"I think we ought to test this thing out," he said, waving Alice in the air.

"I'm thinking of a lucky number. You guess it right and I'll let you scamper off." Mittica said nothing. He was breathing very harshly. He clutched the knife still embedded in his belly while his other hand clutched his dirt-stained clothes.

"Nervous?" the Smiling Man asked, kneeling beside Mittica.

"Let me help you." Craaack went Alice the Rock across Mittica's face.

"Do you think one is the lucky number?" Craaaack went Alice the Rock as Mittica's hands fell limply onto the ground.

"How about two?" The Smiling Man lifted Alice the Rock high into the air and smaaashed it against Mittica's skull as if it were a watermelon he wanted to pop. Skill Progress: Bloodthirsty [4 /10]"Did three feel particularly lucky, boy?" Over and over and over. The Smiling Man's smile never faded, though some of the bandits behind him seemed to sicken. Alice watched with a numb fury as her vision constantly shifted as she rose and fell, rose and fell, until... Defeated: Human Merchant (Level 5) Received experience!

A curse has reached its end. Received experience! Received cursed energy! Skill Progress: Echo of Misfortune [2 /10 0] Congratulations! You have reached Level 6! New Skill Unlocked: [Serpent's Whisper I] Level: 6 VIT: + 1 END: + 1 INT: + 4 WIL: + 1 Alice felt no joy at leveling up. She did not care at all about the new skill. She hated this man. She had been used as a hammer before with Eva, but there had been none of this cruelty then.

The Smiling Man knelt over Mittica's corpse and pulled the knife out from his belly. He looked over his shoulder and flashed a mischievous look at his comrades.

"I think the kid was telling the truth. This is a lucky rock." He threw the knife into the air and caught it as it fell.

"Sharp blade like this could have really hurt someone if he hadn't tripped." None of the other bandits laughed.

"Didn't need ta do the kid in like that, Dale..." one said, more annoyed than anything else.

"Coulda gotten a ransom..."

"Ransom?" Dale rose in one swift movement. He kicked Sorin's corpse and spat. His smile was gone.

"And who do ya think would pay it? Hmm? Not dear old dad." Nobody said anything, and another smile quickly found its way onto Dale's face.

"Strip the pair of them. Those robes look like good silk. And don't forget ta give this stone a good rub." He lifted Alice the Rock high into the air as the bandits bent over Mittica and Sorin.

"I wouldn't want ta hog all of this good luck."