༺ Hassan – Sodomora’s Rising Star (1) ༻
After waking up, all around me, the vision of a landscape completely dyed in a deep shade of black greeted my eyes. Confused, I couldn’t help but muse… Wasn’t I sleeping with Luna in the Interlude room mere moments ago? How the hell did I end up here?
Let alone the bed and the inn room, I couldn’t even spot the source of my warmth and affection, Luna, around me, as I glanced at my surroundings, looking for her. Only a cold and somber sense of pure darkness greeted me wherever my eyes went.
The somber darkness and the eerie silence didn’t last for long as something in the shape of a round ball, softly glowing in the middle of the ever-stretching darkness, illuminating the area around it, suddenly floated in the air in front of me. Thanks to the illumination of the fuzzy, glowing ball of light, I could now see my body and the surrounding scenery.
Ripple—
With the entrance of light, I was able to notice that I was buck-naked. It was funny that I wasn’t able to notice that until now. Moreover, now that I focused, my body seemed to be submerged underwater, well, part of it. The water was shallow so only till my ankles were underwater. The water around my ankles was softly rippling in a constant pattern.
Was this a dream? No, I don’t think so. I was too clear-headed for it to be a dream.
Damn, just what in hell is happening here?
Inevitably, I felt very flustered at this unexpected and sudden situation I was thrown into.
I wasn’t able to ruminate much on that thought as soon I felt something, slowly creeping under the depths of the ever-stretching darkness, abruptly appearing right under my nose. It was… it was an existence with a kind of indistinguishable, and utterly indescribable shape.
No that wasn’t just it, the thought of even terming it as indescribable felt wrong somehow. It looked curved yet straight, soft yet hard.
In fact, its shape denoted its existence to be close to a weirdly wriggling monster. I was so confused by its abstruse form that I didn’t even have the time to feel afraid, the primal fear I should be feeling from confronting such a being of horrors. Damn, What the hell even is this fucker?
Little Night.
Little Moon.
Little Knox.
You sought me.
Worship me.
Sing my praise.
Your destiny.
He opened his mouth, well, assortment of mouths, and whispered in a tone that chilled me to my core. There were more than ten of them and each was saying a different type of word, constituting a sentence and consequently a series of sentences. It was honestly scaring me out of my wits.
Worship me. Little one. Kneel before me and worship me, I’ll give you all of it. Everything you desire.
Damn, why the hell do you want me to worship you all of a sudden? Give me what exactly? What do you even mean by everything, huh?
Abruptly, out of nowhere, a podium rose within the darkness in front of the utterly confused and terrified me.
I could see three fruits resting on it with a soft luster. There was a pomegranate, an apple, and a grape.
Pick.
One.
Up.
I picked up the most-ordinary-looking apple at the enthusiastic urging of the creepy voice.
Rustle—
The apple was cold to the touch as if it had just been taken out from a refrigerator. I then heard a familiar Ding— sound.
Ding—
Apple of the Darkest Night》
『Along with Gaia, mother of earth, Knox was called the mother of all things and beings. This is an apple she cultivated in secret, not even Jupiter, Lord of the Skyes, ignores its existence. It’s her own little private secret. Well, no one has tasted it, so the taste can’t be guaranteed, however.』
『After ingesting it, “Night’s Curtain” can be strengthened by consuming accumulated karma.』
『Would you like to upgrade “Night’s Curtain” to “Night’s Cloak” by consuming 1 strength stat?』
『Caution: 20% chance of Acquiring “Nyctalopia”』
Using your karma to strengthen a blessing, a ludicrous concept no matter which way I spin this matter. This is the first time I have seen something like this.
I wouldn’t have been surprised if it was the usual jargon along the lines of “Consume task points to…” etc etc, but it wasn’t the case this time around.
Holy Shit, I didn’t expect anything remotely similar, at all, when I had decided to pick up the fruit. Using my stats to boost my abilities? This was a little baffling concept, but, more than anything, the word ‘Caution’ gave me the chills.
What am I supposed to be careful about? What risk? Damn it, I need some answers not more and more questions like this…
Eat it.
Accept it.
Little one.
That strange-looking eldritch abomination, standing silently without any sort of movements, in front of me was urging me to eat this apple. I wasn’t nearly air-headed enough to let it fool me into absentmindedly eating it, however.
I carefully returned the apple back to the center of the podium above and now took up the pomegranate-looking fruit that was next to it. It felt warm, akin to a hand warmer and a sizable chunk of it looked shattered as if it had exploded from the inside out.
Ding—
Sunfilled Pomegranate》
『This pomegranate was carefully cultivated by the priestesses of Delphi in the garden of the Great Temple of the Sun God. It was, however, so ripe that it ended up cracking on its shell, showing its insides. While Pomegranates are usually said to be good for women, Delphi’s Pomegranate worked best for men instead.』
『After ingesting it, “Imperfect Dexterity” can be strengthened by consuming accumulated karma.』
『Would you like to upgrade “Imperfect Dexterity” into “Hearty Hands” by consuming 1 dexterity stat?』
『Caution: 90% chance of acquiring “Weakened Capilar Roots”』
Weakened Capilar Roots? Motherfucking bitch. This has to be avoided at any and all costs. Even in the modern world, where I hail from, hair loss was an incurable disease. There was no going back from this shit! I’d rather die than be faced with that situation.
I can’t help but wonder, would the scientist who would eventually cure hair loss feel guilty if he got a Nobel Prize? Wouldn’t it be a slap to all the previous winners?
Quickly forgetting that nonsensical thought, I hurriedly put the pomegranate down with such force and movements that one would think that I had touched something extremely filthy. I then went and picked up the grape next to it, it was purple and full of grains.
Ding—
Ding—
Diana’s Secret Grape》
『Athene, the city of philosophy and politics, is famous for its annual production of high-quality grapes. Among them, the highest-quality grapes of each batch were said to be offered to Minerva, Lord of the city and the goddess of wisdom. This is one of such grapes that Diana, goddess of the moon, stole to eat secretly.』
『After ingesting it, “Imperfect Dexterity” can be strengthened by consuming accumulated karma.』
『Would you like to upgrade “Imperfect Dexterity” into “Nimble Fingers” by consuming 1 agility stat?』
『Caution: 80% chance of Acquiring “Hand Tremors”』
Well, overall, this looked to me like a chance to strengthen my abilities albeit selectively. It was still quite hard to choose though. Couldn’t there have been more explanations regarding the effects and the drawbacks?
“Is this the end?”
…
The eldritch monstrosity, which had been making a lot of noise until now and was spouting random bullshit like “Worship me-” and other similar crap, suddenly stopped speaking altogether, having closed its innumerable mouths.
Well, I didn’t expect it to just stop its mouth, or rather mouths, shut like this.
Anyway, inferring from what I’ve just seen “Hearty Hands” will probably make my hands warmer… I think… It doesn’t seem outlandish to also expect that it would improve my dexterity.
Night’s Cloak sounded very mysterious from the get-go, I have no clue whatsoever as to what it might do with how cryptic the prompt was. Even the description of the fruit was obscure and veiled in mystery. It was worth noting that it had the great perk of being the least risky one among the lot. Only a 20% chance of getting a debuff was far more desirable than the other two.
Damn, I’m getting a bit worried now. Do I really have to choose one among these fruits?
With thoughts of escaping pervading every corner of my mind, I decided to look around for any form of exit. My gaze, however, happened to land on the eldritch being standing silently in front.
Wriggle- Wriggle-
…
This…thing…looks so weird, it was giving me the creeps, not gonna lie. No matter which angle I look at it from, I could only describe it as horrible to look at. Just being in its presence was enough to terrify me to my very core.
With a cursory glance at my surroundings, I eventually came to the conclusion that I won’t be able to get out of here unless I choose one of the three fruits placed on the podium.
I chose to go for the apple. I don’t know what Night’s Cloak was but it seemed to be the one with the lowest risks, safety was my first priority, after all. In the first place, I was even picking up these dangerous fruits because I wanted to get the hell out of here.
Knox’s apple.
Eat it.
The power of the Protogenoi.
Hesitantly, I took a bite out of the mysterious apple while being mindful of this blabbering monster.
Crunch—
Unlike what I was expecting, its hard pulp tasted oddly refreshing. Abruptly, my eyes widened. I felt a jolt had passed through my brain. It ended up tasting so delicious that I stuffed it completely down my mouth, straight into my stomach, in a single mouthful.
Come back again.
Little one.
**********
When I opened my eyes the next time around, I was greeted with the sight of a ceiling made of densely stacked wooden planks and ocher-colored wallpapers.
The ceiling was rather familiar to me.
If I recall correctly, this should be the ceiling of the Interlude Room of the Nymph’s Wing Inn. The windows were wide-opened letting the sunlight and the chirping of the birds in.
When did it become morning again? It was such a weird and mysterious dream if I say so myself. What did dreaming of eating an apple mean?
My father often did dream interpretations and fortune-reading for the old people that would visit the clinic, but all of his spoutings sounded like a load of bullshit to me, even by my father’s standards, so I never paid attention to his ramblings at all.
As a result, I wasn’t sure what the dream meant. Damn, I’ll just ignore this silly dream. Better to leave it that way.
According to what I had learned in the liberal art classes, dreams were merely a manifestation of your subconscious, was my subconscious telling me it wanted to eat fruits now?
I muttered the usual incantation just in case. There was no way all of that absurdity happened to be real, but it didn’t hurt to be sure.
“Long Live the Chaos…”
The usual words appeared in front of me with the usual sound.
[Stats] Name: Hassan
Level: 9 → 8
Strength: 4 → 3
Agility: 2
Stamina: 3
Task: 37
Blessings: Blessing of Chaos 》 Imperfect Dexterity 》 Night’s Cloak 》
Damn, it was real! It was not a dream! Holy shit!
My Strength was actually reduced by 1, consequently, my level was also reduced by one. And just as I frowned at the term Night’s Cloak. Words began appearing in front of my eyes.
Night’s Cloak》
『Increases the probability of not being caught when moving covertly in the dark.』
Ooooo-
There was even an explanation for what the blessing did. I tried doing it on my other blessings, but nothing appeared this time.
Anyway, just as I tried getting up from the bed, I noticed that the other side of it was now empty. Did Luna wake up first and leave the room?
Sleeping alone in this king-sized bed felt very lonely to me. Where did she go? Did she leave to eat? Why didn’t she wake me up then?
Just as I was immersed in all kinds of thoughts revolving around Luna.
Creak—
The door of the Interlude Room opened and a familiar pink-haired girl barged inside the room.
“Ha-Hassan, you’re awake…!”
Luna talked bashfully as if she felt very embarrassed. Her lovely face turned crimson as soon as she faced me.
Well, I was very embarrassed too. I could feel my whole body becoming hotter and my little brother hardening every time I thought about what happened yesterday. How did lovers put up with this feeling every day?
Trying to avoid this shameful and awkward situation, I decided to take the lead and talk about something else.
“Where did you go? I thought you left already.”
“I couldn’t wake you up, Ha-Hassan, you were sleeping so d-deeply. I just went out to get some fresh air. My body feels very light you know? O-Of course, I feel a little sore between my legs…”
Luna stopped talking after saying that line. The pain between her legs was probably a constant reminder of what happened yesterday.
“A-Anyway, take this.”
Luna gave me a wooden cup after gathering her bearings.
After accepting the cup and looking inside, I noticed a gold-colored sparkling drink inside. Barley tea? No, it was too bright and smelled a little too sweet for it to be Barley tea.
“What’s this?”
“This? It’s honey water. I picked up some from the Bashkir bee house. You looked very tired, Hassan… So, I thought I’d get you something to drink…”
It was really honey water. I couldn’t deal with my thirst anymore and gulped it so fast that the sweetness almost made me a little dizzy.
The sweetness was so intense it made my mouth numb, and the sleepiness and tiredness that seemed to have seeped into my body directly disappeared with a single mouthful.
“It tastes really good.”
It really tasted way too good. Sweet things were a luxury in this world. When was the last time I tasted something so sweet? I can’t even remember, damn it…
Anyway, it had been time since I had a decent intake of sugar and my whole body was now energized.
“It’s delicious. Thank you, Luna.”
“R-Really? That’s a relief. Anyway, the sun is already up high in the sky. It’s almost lunchtime.”
So late already? It’s been a long time since I fell into such a deep state of sleep. It was probably the accumulated fatigue after the expedition and all the night watches that I had to go through.
Anyway, me and Luna went down to the inn’s first floor and had a simple breakfast followed by a light brunch.
It was a simple meal with sausage and corn porridge. I wasn’t really concerned about the taste. I was honestly more concerned about the awkward silence between me and Luna rather than the taste of whatever we were eating.
Should we talk about what happened yesterday?
I directed my gaze towards Luna. I could see her round lips blow cool air through her mouth to cool down her soup.
Did I actually kiss those thin, soft, and glistening lips just yesterday?
I felt my schlong become stiffer every time I saw Luna bite the thick sausage with her small mouth.
I felt like I finally understood why so many men sought girlfriends and lovers, be it here or in my previous world.
The world felt drastically different. Did all couples in the world feel the same?
What was my current relationship with Luna? Couples? Girlfriend-Boyfriend?
I don’t know. And I feel like I won’t be able to get the answer to that anytime soon.
Needless to say, I wanted to do it again. Have sex, I mean. But considering what Luna previously told me, it seemed to be a one-time thing only… Didn’t she say her life would be at risk if she broke her vow of chastity?
Just as I started fretting alone in impatience, hesitation, and anxiety.
“…Hassan, what are you gonna do today?”
“Today? Today…”
What are we going to do today? Should I give her a massage in the inn today as well? Damn, My mind is filled with all kinds of improper thoughts, I can’t think straight, fuck!
I heard there were a lot of people who never had sex but never who had only done it once in their entire life. I now understand why.
Whoo—
I let out a short sigh, took a deep breath, gathered my thoughts, and then spoke out the thoughts that I had gathered through my mind.
“I have to get to the guild to fetch my payment.
“I have to go to the guild too. So…let’s go together.”
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