Chương 110: Chapter 115: A Solution

Oh my fucking god… It felt so good, so warm… My skin was flushed red as I dialed the temperature to the maximum. I think I had forgotten the feeling a good shower could give you. It felt like heaven, like all your problems just washed away. I wanted to stay here forever. But the crusted blood and grime had long since flowed down the drain.

The provided soap must have been magical in some way, because it took with it anything that wasn't my skin, and left behind a cleanliness I had never felt before, and a faint scent of… lilac, maybe. It didn't matter, it was divine. I forced myself to turn it off. Then I felt some wind pick up from inside the shower box, like a gigantic hairdryer. The warm air started drying my skin and hair, and in only twenty seconds I was completely dry and refreshed.

Well, if this is what magic can do in a shabby wooden box, I can't wait to try some magical spa or whatever they'll have outside the tutorial. I exited the shower, squeaky clean, and went into the locker room to get my stuff. The locker room was mixed, both men and women were present, all trying to cover their modesty with towels, or going back into the showers to change. Apparently, aliens didn't believe in differentiating between sexes, and it made a lot of sense when I thought of the System.

It gave power equally, and some alien races probably didn't even have genders, so why should they care? I didn't. I checked my own body. I had lost the little fat I had before. If I was lean and muscular thanks to my swimming practice, now I was ripped. I hadn't gained any muscle mass, despite my strength stat being quite high. How that worked, I still had no idea. Maybe I should just ask someone, or buy another book… yeah, no.

I traced a couple of lines on my flank, scars from when Marco attracted all those Eldir with his stupid explosion. Another wound on my abdomen, when in the shrine I got stabbed. Overall, it wasn't that bad. The little cuts and scrapes hadn't left any blemish on me, but some would have a roadmap if they didn't find some skill or item to remove the scars. First of all, Alya. I dropped the towel and took my new clothes. I had nothing to be ashamed of.

Some people turned to look while I wore my comfy black pants and a white shirt. New shoes too, and underwear of course. I think I'll burn the old ones. Anyone who lived a week in the wild would understand. I retrieved my old boots and cloak. Those I just put to wash and they came out looking like new, except that the cloak was still half burned by that gorg mage on the first day. You'd think a magical cloak would be a little more resistant, but no.

Maybe I'll get a replacement soon, after I understand what the hell to do with my build, or frame. Whatever. The question was still there: should I go with magic? Curses? Or aura maybe? Should I combine them all together, or at least a couple? My aura and curses were already half intertwined, but so were my hexes. They used mana to work. Could I use aura to cast hexes? That would be interesting. As it would be to have some lifeforce to use instead of mana for creating curses.

I got an achievement for that, and I know I could repeat the process, creating more curses to use as a weapon against my foes. I saw it against Vix. While the hexes were more temporary and less powerful, curses were another matter entirely. They were alive in a way. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. The fact I created one with lifeforce should be a big clue. But now I had a book on curses to consult, answers to get. I just couldn't resist my curse.

The damn thing was looking at me slacking off and wanted to push me down a notch. I'd have to go and work on that stupid contract, see if I could do something for these people… why do I always find myself in these situations? Couldn't the tutorial have been a solo challenge? Yeah, no. I wasn't that lucky. I got out of the building and entered the common room. The place was wooden like everything else, but the hall I found myself in was large, and tables were scattered everywhere with some people hanging around.

What the hell were all these guys doing here all the time? Just waiting a couple of months for someone to kill the kings and open the way? I sat down at the same table with Quinn, Tom, Jerome, and Frederick. His kid was nowhere in sight.

"Yo Eli, howdy?"

"Fine, Quinn, fine. I wonder though… do you perhaps notice any difference between us," I pointed at the remaining men sitting at the table, "and yourself?"

"The age?" he asked tentatively.

"Aside from that." He looked at us. The others were stifling a laugh.

"Dunno?"

"Quinn, what Elias is trying to say is that you need a shower, or two," said Tom, patting the boy on the back.

"Huh? Do I really stink that much?"

"Let's just say that it's fine as long as we stay at least ten feet away from you," I replied.

"Yeah, but—""Quinn, go and take a shower. You'll thank me later, trust me." The teen looked annoyed as hell, but he got to his feet, scraping the chair loudly.

"Ok, ok, sheesh, such a bunch of sissies." We got a laugh at Quinn's expense, but after getting clean, the stench wasn't easy to ignore.

"Thanks, man, I wasn't sure how to explain it to him," said Frederick. The man looked happy. He was fully clothed finally, and if his son wasn't with him, it meant he was safe somewhere.

"You're welcome. With teenagers you don't have to beat around the bush. Speak plainly to make them understand, you'll see," I told him.

"I hope so…" he replied with a sigh. I didn't come here to start a pity party. I wanted to move on with things, but before I could say anything, Tom turned to me.

"What do you think of the situation? We finally got to a safe zone. We have a shop, a load of points. I wanted your input on how to plan things for proceeding from here." I thought about it. I knew what I wanted to do with myself, but about the others? I hadn't even thought about that until now.

"I think we should take advantage of anything we can find here. You heard the chief, they plan on moving the others as soon as the way is cleared. The crafters could stay here, protected until it's time to go. Probably that would be for the best. For us instead, we should train for a couple of days, explore possibilities, buy all that we need, and then start scouting. We need to try and start to communicate with other safe zones too. Did someone try that?"

"No, not yet, but I was thinking the same. Leaving the non-combatants here would be for the best. We could even come back to escort them at the right time, or when we find another safe zone further in… I just… I'm scared that they'll get swept up in these dealings with the aliens. I saw the contract, it's a nightmare."

"That's something I would like to rectify if possible," I told them.

"How?" Jerome was holding his head up on his hands, elbows on the table as he looked at me with his one good eye.

"I still don't know, but I wanted to read the contract Bikrmorr gave us. I think I could find something, a clause maybe. I'd have to see." Tom started rummaging in the backpack he kept leaning against a leg of the table.

"Here. I just read a couple of pages quickly, but this is the stuff of nightmares, and I'm not good in legalese. If there's someone who could find something here, it's you."

"Why him?" asked Jerome with a surprised expression.

"Not to be rude, just asking." As I took the stack of papers, I started flipping through the pages.

"Until last week I happened to be a lawyer. Contracts and bullshit like this were something I enjoyed cracking open, like crosswords, but harder."

"Much harder," I added as I skimmed the pages.

"Well, good luck with that. I know that the people here will thank you for it. Just now they started to realize that they got scammed pretty hard. After the whole merchant thing they nearly revolted."

"Yes, well, when you deal with profi—" I tuned out their conversation as I focused deeper on reading the documents. At least while I was actively working towards fixing a problem, my curse didn't act up. I just have to find a solution…