Soaked to the bone, he walked forward, stubbornly moving towards his goal, and at last arrived at the Blue Pharmacy, which always gladdened him with its coziness and tranquility. When he stepped inside, it was quiet and dark.
«Naaza and Miach are probably asleep.» – He decided to himself, trying to be careful not to wake them. Kopii took off his backpack with the herbs and went up to his room, where his bed awaited him. There he took off all his clothes, immediately felt bliss, and trudged towards the bed. Lying down, Kopii whispered to himself.
– Ah! What bliss.
The soft bed was so wonderful and cozy that he did not notice when he fell asleep.
Waking up was easy; there was no fatigue in his body from sleeping on something hard. For the first time in three days, he had gotten a good night's sleep.
He got out of bed, looked around the room: his wet clothes were lying on the floor.
«I should have hung them on the wardrobe to dry. Well, whatever.» – He thought, picking up the wet clothes.
– Ugh, they stink. – he grimaced.
He dressed in what he had in the wardrobe and went downstairs.
– Good morning, Naaza.
– Morning, Kopii. I see your herb gathering was successful.
– Of course, if you don't count the downpour. Then everything was really fine.
– Yes, I understand...
But before she could continue, he interrupted her.
– How long do you think these herbs I brought will last? – He asked, raising his gaze to her face, which was, as always, almost emotionless.
– Well... – Naaza pondered, not averting her gaze from Kopii for a second. – I think about a month, I'm sure of it.
– Oh, that's good. – He smiled at such news.
– ...
– ...
– Anything new happen in my absence?
– Nothing.
– I see.
– ...
– ...
Kopii looked at her, and she at him. An awkward silence hung between them, which he did not know how to break. Until.
– And where is Miach? Is he entertaining himself as always?
– Probably, – Naaza answered shortly, sinking even deeper into her thoughts.
– ...
– ...
Again, an awkward silence hung. Turning over thoughts about what he could talk about, suddenly a sound rang out – someone entered. Kopii did not recognize him.
«This is my chance.»
– Well, alright, I won't distract you.
She simply nodded at his words and focused all her attention on the customer.
Exiting the Blue Pharmacy, Kopii did not know what to do. He stood outside for a while, watching the people passing by. The city was as lively as always.
Kopii watched the surrounding world a little longer, after which he went back inside the pharmacy. Heading to his room to grab his equipment and set off for the dungeon, he pondered that today he might perhaps give himself a day off. But he changed his mind, for he had thought it over well and realized that he had nothing to do except help Naaza or descend into the dungeon. He didn't even have any friends.
He decided not to take his sword, because he did not intend to descend below the fourth floor. He wanted to spend half a day in the dungeon, and then set out to search for a party.
Having exited the Blue Pharmacy again, he headed to the Tower of Babel. Entering it, he was met with a familiar scene.
«As always, sweaty pigs going about their business.»
The descent was quick. Reaching the fourth floor, Kopii stopped. Here, as always, it was rather crowded. The first four floors were teeming with beginners just like him.
Kopii wandered through the dungeon for several hours, destroying small monsters and collecting magic stones. Nothing special dropped for him; nothing had ever dropped for him at all, so much so that he had already begun to think that the Guild had again presented him with false information, but he was not upset. Having satisfied his need for exterminating monsters, Kopii decided it was time to head to the surface. He was already beginning to feel fatigue, and his stomach insistently demanded food, reminding him of the need to take care of himself. Having ascended to the first floor of the Tower of Babel, he stepped outside, and the first thing that greeted him were those annoying rays of the sun.
Squinting from the sunlight, Kopii headed towards the nearest tavern; the most important thing was that Syr wasn't there. That was the main reason.
Exiting the tavern, he headed to the guild to exchange magic stones and find himself a party. The guild, as always, was noisy and crowded.
Kopii decided to listen to the adventurers' conversations again, staying among them. He began to eavesdrop:
– I finally saved up… Hehehe, – one of them said joyfully.
– What did you save up for? – his friend asked, looking at him with a question.
– I finally saved up enough to go to the entertainment district. I'm going to enjoy myself all night with the Amazons! – exclaimed his companion, steering the conversation into a more cheerful direction.
– Well, wow... and that's it? I thought you were saving up for something grandiose. Turns out you're just a pervert. – He said in a disappointed voice.
– Just imagine: I'm surrounded by sexy girls, I can do whatever I want with them. Heheheh. – he giggled again, clearly enjoying his fantasies.
– Well, there is something to that. – He pondered.
Kopii turned completely red; thank gods no one could see him, but his thoughts had already raced ahead; he imagined it and turned even redder.
«How can they talk about such things in places like this?»
He did not understand them; if he had a friend, he would never in his life have started talking about such things in such a crowded place.
But even in denial, he still continued listening to their conversation, solely for the sake of gathering information and nothing more.
– But I don't see the point in rejoicing; what if you get unlucky, have you thought about that? And instead of beautiful, sexy Amazons, or whoever you want, you might catch the eye of the Toad. – Noted one of the companions.
After his words, everyone's faces abruptly changed to disgust and utter horror.
– No, that can't be! She likes the cute ones, so I don't fall into her category. – But there was a note of fear in his voice, clearly indicating some worries.
– Alright, I was joking. – He patted him on the back with a smile. – She would never look at you; you're ugly.
– Go to hell with jokes like that, you stupid creature! – he shouted, clearly displeased with the jokes. – Look who's talking; you're not much better.
– Why so serious? No negativity.
Kopii stopped listening to them, pushing through the streams of conversations.
«Who is this Toad that the mere mention of her instilled such fear in them?»
Kopii did not understand where such fear came from exactly. Maybe she was so horrible, or too scary and disgusting, maybe both. In the end, he cast these thoughts aside, for he did not need it. He was not going to the entertainment district, so these worries were unnecessary.
Kopii continued listening to conversations and discussions, but he heard nothing of use. In the end, he decided that it was time to act. He did not want to assemble a party from beginners; he had a plan, and he was ready to implement it.
«I can do it!»
Returning home, Kopii felt awful and upset. Everyone had refused him again. Some even tried to humiliate him, and it was unpleasant, but who would like it? Yet Kopii quickly fled before they drew the attention of other adventurers.
«Why does no one want him to join their party?»
Of course, in reality, it was not all that bad, for some truly wanted him to join, but there were only girls there. So no; he still remembered their gazes, which seemed to devour him.
«I need a tactic. If I can't join someone's party, I'll have no choice, and I'll need to look for a party among beginners, just like me.» – He planned mentally, avoiding negative emotions.