Caelus Online

13. Bromance*

Astaria walked out into the market square that was bustling with activity, taking in a breath of the fresh air and feeling more at ease than yesterday. Instantly recognising where she was, she thanked her good fortune that Gerald had led her to such a convenient inn that was located right next to where she needed to be.

Looking around, market stalls lined the outside of the large square, thrumming with activity as the locals went about their daily business. The majority of these stalls were filled with food, local handicrafts, and clothing. Around the outside of the square a mixture of stone, wooden, and lath-and-plaster buildings, all at least two stories high.  

In the centre of the square was a large fountain featuring the statue of a knight, mounted upon a rearing steed, his lance pointed to the sky.

Checking the time on the system, she could see that it was now 10:13 am, and so she made her way towards the fountain, the previously planned meeting spot with the rest of the combat group.

As she walked closer, the nervous lump that had formed in her stomach grew with every step from the anxiety over meeting her friends given her current situation. A part of her wished that nobody was waiting, however, her hopes were dashed as she arrived before the statue and heard a voice call out from her right.

“Chester… is that you?”

Hearing her old name called out, she turned around to see a tall man with slightly messy black hair, wearing a long black coat over a white shirt and breastplate. His boots were covered with metal plates while his black trousers were left exposed. A bow could be seen slung over his shoulder while a quiver hung from the right side of his belt.

Feeling the anxiety once again grow, Astaria spoke, her voice low with slight embarrassment.

“Yeah… kind of awkward, huh?”

With a shake of his head, Ben answered her greeting.

“No kidding. Your luck must be completely fucked with all the crazy stuff that’s happened to you recently.”

Sighing, Astaria raised a question to Ben, curious to find out what else he now knew.

“Well, I guess you’re not wrong. I assume you spoke to Fortuna since you were able to recognise me?”

Raising his hands in exasperation, he shared his experiences so far.

“Yeah man, that completely threw me off. I was speaking to that guide lady till she suddenly stopped moving and that goddess descended all dramatic-like. She said that since I already knew that you had come back to the past, she would skip explaining that, saying that because of the time travel your body and soul needed to be changed or something. Some crazy god stuff, that’s all I understood from her brief explanation.”

Shaking his head, he continued his explanation.

“Anyway, she told me that I should stick with the plans we had and that I would know who you were as soon as I saw you since you had been turned into an earth shatteringly beautiful girl. I won’t lie, I cracked up listening to that but seems she was not joking around. Dude, it must really suck.”

Astaria's shoulders slumped as she responded, a defeated tone entering her melodic voice.

“You have no idea. I was in complete shock and ended up just moving on without thinking about it too much. By the time I got to do some grinding, I ended up going kinda berserk remembering some horrific things from the Upheaval, spending 6 straight hours slaughtering goblins till I was exhausted.”

Walking up to Astaria, Ben gave her a supportive hug. She recalled the past where the only times when Ben had given her a hug was when she had really needed it, like when her parents had passed away. To her, this hug meant a lot as she knew Ben could see how shaken she was, the situation making her quite emotional as she let out a few tears at how blessed she was to have such a friend.

“Hey man, sounds like this whole thing got to you pretty bad. But you know I got your back, so give me a holla whenever you need to vent.”

After a short moment, Ben pulled away, noting the few tears on her face. The moment was disturbed by a whistle from one of the onlookers who was paying attention to the beautiful girl hugging a guy, causing Ben to shoot the guy a sharp glare before looking back.

“Hey man, I never knew you were this easy to get some tears from, you good?”

Quickly wiping her eyes while feeling quite pathetic that she let her emotions out after becoming sentimental, she replied.

“Sorry, I guess it’s a mixture of relief and reassurance. I guess I felt a bit lonely, but knowing you are the same as ever took a weight off my shoulders. Plus, I guess the new body might be having somewhat of an effect on me.”

Sighing, Ben looked her in the eye.

“Hey, you remember what I said back then, we’re brothers, you have had my back through my own shit and I have yours. And from what few things you told me about what happened in the future, that never changed. What kind of guy would I be if I got all weird with you over some fuckery the gods sent your way?”

Wiping a few more tears away, Astaria tried to calm the welling grateful emotions in her heart.

Placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, Ben asked a question to move the conversation from the sensitive topic.

“So, what’s next? The others have already gone on ahead, are we going straight to catch up with them?”

Shaking her head, Astaria explained her plans given the change in the situation.

“Not just yet, I first need to register at the guild, sell some drops, and get myself some better gear and a horse.”

Giving a nod while thinking, Ben pointed towards the guild.

“Ah, that’s right, you mentioned you were exhausted last night. Right, let’s get going then.”

Starting to walk to the other side of the square where the guild was located, Astaria noticed she was gaining a lot of attention from the people nearby, but she focused her attention on the conversation with Ben in an attempt to ignore it. 

“Oh, I need to add you and message the other guys… here.”

Remembering this, Ben opens up the menu and looks at the name tag above Astaria’s head.

“… and done, you get that?”

Seeing the notification, she accepted Ben’s friend request.

“Yes, all good.” She replied with an ok gesture.

Seeing her name, Ben commented with a raised eyebrow.

“Astaria huh? Yeah, definitely suits your beautiful new looks. You’re going to cause a lot of chaos in other guy's hearts, you know.”

Holding her forehead with her right hand she sighs in exasperation.

“Ugh, I would prefer if you didn’t remind me. Seems the gods changed me into a beautiful woman in hopes of getting some entertainment.”

With a face scrunched in displeasure, Ben commented, his opinion on the matter clear.

“Damn, that’s messed up. I guess Fortuna told you? She didn’t give the impression she would mention such things.”

Laughing, Astaria responded while rolling her eyes.

“The goddess of luck is not fickle; she is just an airhead.”

Scoffing a laugh, Ben shook his head.

“Well, that explains a lot. Guess I should complain about that time I was trying to get a tank drop from loot boxes last year. Like I spent over £200 and got nothing!”

Hearing Ben's complaints Astaria gave a quip in amusement.

“Heh, that’s because you were praying to RNJesus.”

Laughing, Ben opened the door to the guild as they arrived. Glancing around, the guild looked the same as she remembered, resembling a typical fantasy guild. There was a restaurant and bar to one side of the main reception and the notice boards to the other.

Walking up to a free receptionist, Astaria gave a respectful greeting.

“Excuse me, but may I register?”

With a smile, the receptionist lightly bowed.

“Oh? Another new adventurer? There are quite a few appearing these days. Are you one of the Immortal Warriors?”

Astaria nodded in affirmation.

“Yes, I am.”

Pulling out a piece of paper ready to start the application, the receptionist asked a question.

“I see, I assume you will want me to explain how the guild works?”

Already expecting the question, Astaria smiled and causally waved her hand in dismissal.

“It’s alright, I already know the gist. Adventures take on requests and get paid for the trouble. Requests vary from killing goblins to finding cats. The more you contribute and the higher your level rises, the higher your guild rank. That should be everything right?”

Raising one eyebrow, the receptionist leaned forward slightly, clear intrigue showing in her expression.

“Oh, that was so concise! Yes, you are perfectly correct. There are penalties for failed requests, and there are also requests made to specific adventures. The guild will give rewards for handing in any proofs of subjugation and purchase any items and treasures you may wish to sell.”

Nodding at the ease of this registration, the receptionist put a glowing white orb on the desk.

“Do I need to explain this to you?” The receptionist asked with another raised eyebrow.

With a slight chuckle, Astaria answered with a cheeky smile.

“Not at all”

She placed her hand on the crystal, causing her basic information to pop up on a screen above the crystal ball.

[Astaria]

Age: 20

Gender: Female

Race: ???

Class: Mage

Lv 10

Seeing the information now presented to her, the receptionist exclaimed in surprise.

“Wow, Lv 10 already?! I heard that the Immortal Warriors arrived only yesterday?”

Quite surprised herself by the revelation since she had not bothered to check her status yet, Astaria spoke with a contemplative expression.

“It would seem so. I sort of went and massacred a bunch of goblins yesterday. I killed…”

Pausing to check her inventory, she revealed the staggering number.

“A total of 350. Hmm, I did not think I killed that many.”

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