The Sleep World

11: Mumbaki Town [18th March, 2013]

Mumbaki Town

This town is located southeast in Rich Island east of High School City and west of Shuttle City. To G, this was his parents’ new hometown after they immigrated from Memoria Region, Gocembo, a country in the southern hemisphere of the Sleep World. In their home within this town, G’s parents were murdered by two high-profile criminals known as Macay and Kroth. In fact, they were killed in front of him. The reason why he wasn’t killed was because his parents bound, restrained, and hid him from the criminals so that he won’t get killed. G’s parents died on 7th December, 2012… two weeks after G’s graduation. From 8th December, 2012 to 11th March, 2013, which was his birthday, G isolated himself from people and friends around, ignoring calls and messages from his relatives, blaming himself for the death of his parents, and pretty much suffering from depression. Thankfully, Orchid the goddess of destiny was able to bring him back to reality… and here we are… now…

Before arriving in the town, G plans to covers himself up with a bonnet, an eyeglass with a darkened lenses, a scarf, and a heavy sweater. However, his cover is completely suspicious because it is seasonally inappropriate considering that it is already in the mid-season of spring. However, since it is already at the peak of spring time where all flowers bloom… pollen is allergy is rampant! So, he decides to put on a mask… the bonnet and dark lens still stays with him though… leaving behind the scarf and the heavy sweater.

“Hello G! Glad you’re back here in town!”

“They can recognize me!!!”

“Are you sure you’re okay now, sweetie?”

G nods at the concerned townspeople, “Yes, I am okay now… I need to-”

“G! God look at you, so skinny,” another concerned one comes at me from behind, “Have you been eating well? I know that the loss of your parents is very depressing, but could you at least take good care of yourself?”

“Uh yes auntie, I will,” G sways his palms trying to leave the conversation. “I’m actually busy… I have a job now…”

“Oh wow,” and yes, another one of them comes, “have ever introduced to you my daughter? She is aspiring to be an Alpha Agent like you. Maybe you can, you know, come and see her sometimes to give her some tips, you know what I mean?”

“Is he selling out his daughter to me? I’m not gonna fall for that even if your girl is a beauty though…”

“I’ll try to do if I’m not busy,” G makes an excuse. “You see I am still searching for spies from the government after the liberation, you see… so if you’ll excuse me…”

“But someone is here doing that already. She says it was official business from the guild showing her ID, but I never saw them clearly, she also wore a Gatsby hat, and that awful taste of shades, but what you are wearing is cooler than hers, I’m just saying…”

“Damn… the power of gossipers… they know a lot of details…” G ponders in his thoughts while simultaneously listening to the lady. “It’s too bad that gossips remain as gossips because they exaggerate their stories a lot passing the right message with the wrong elements… and when the gossip reaches the one being gossiped about, the information becomes false news…”

“…oh and she was also wearing a trench coat, you know how hot it is. I don’t know about fashion these days…”

“So where did this person go?”

“She was asking for the Fallasleep Residence…”

“Alright thank you!” Alarmed, G hurries to his parents’ home.

Upon reaching his parents’ house, he finds out that the door has already been unlocked. He summons out his gun, as he make his way inside. Since the house is practically magically protected from the outside, the only way that the intruder could get inside is by unlocking the door with a key. The key was entrusted to his aunt! That could only mean that the intruder might’ve convinced his aunt to give her the key to get inside.

“Maybe because of the guild ID that the intruder possessed,” G continued to formulate the crime scene in his thoughts. “I have a copy of the key, but I can’t let this slide again… I need to take the key from my aunt because my brother and I were done with the settlement of our heirloom.”

Suddenly, G hears footsteps on the second floor.

“The intruder is up there. Even if this ‘she’ is a guild mate, it doesn’t mean that she can just stroll inside my parents’ house so casually…”

Hearing the footsteps moving away from the staircase, G slowly and stealthily climbs up. Before he could get to see the her, she has already entered another room.

“What if she is a strong member? Strong member… fudge…” G suddenly makes a realization and rubs his forehead. “Now I know who the intruder is…”

“Snow! I know you are inside that room!” Anticipating that she might attack him, G summons the Unbreakablade, while aiming his pistol at the door. “I just want some answers so that none of us could get hurt!”

As he slightly pushes the door open with his pistol, he sees her hands behind her head.

“Alright, you caught me… so drop your gun now… I am an S-Class and I sure am stronger than…” she then turns around to look at him in the face, “…you… what the hell happened to your hair?”

“Answer me first, why have you been following me and snooping around my parents’ house, HA?!” G glares at her.

She suddenly feels intimidated. From her point of view, G appears to have changed within such a short time since she last saw him. Now, she’s unsure if she is still stronger than him. Staring at him in his blood red eyes, she notices that those aren’t the contact lenses for they move as his irises constrict.

“I w-was just curious as t-to why Orchid gave you many privileges…” she stutters a bit, feeling her own lips tremble. “I didn’t k-know that your parents were murdered…”

G sighs and lowers his weapons putting them back to his storage. He closes his eyes and massages his upper eyelids, “Having these body changes puts a strain on my eyes… you could’ve asked me nicely, you know? I won’t be telling you everything because death in the family is a personal matter… I’ll go down and lock the front door while you take a sit in the living room downstairs…”

Sensing that the intense pressure in the room has toned down, Snow lets out a sigh of relief. She follows him down and heads to the living room. She takes a sit on a three-seater couch and waits for him.

“How much information have you gathered already?” G sits down on the couch in front of her. He offers her a drink, “This is iced tea. I never put anything in it.”

“I know that your parents were murdered by Macay and Kroth… that’s about everything I know about you right now…” she picks up a glass of iced tea, “this is the reason why I tried to collect more information…”

“If I tell you everything, will you stop stalking or snooping around?”

“Something about you, I cannot put it into simple words.” She stares directly in his eyes. “You changed. I won’t be doing this again… even if you won’t tell me anything.”

“It’s fine…” G takes his glass of iced tea and takes a sip from it. “I know that you aren’t the only person who is jealous of me. There are others from the guild, humans and non-humans alike, who have those glaring look in their eyes. Well, there were those who already lightened up to me after the incident in Jungle Town, but there were still some of you who won’t shut up and talk behind my back. To be honest, if I were Orchid, I could’ve fired you… and if I were in charge as me personally… I will not allow you to see the daylight again. In that short notice, tell them about the reason why Orchid took me in.”

Snow just nods at him. She feels it… G’s changed. Something could’ve happened yesterday that made him change physically and emotionally…

“I was born in Memoria Region in the country Gocembo… to be specific, I was born in Eon City, Voodoo Empire District. My mother and father, they were both medical agents and researchers… however, they were also obsessed with ancient mythology. Mom was from Ragna Town, Alufobia District while dad was from Zenbaki Town, Demineral District. You might not know these places yet, but if you had gone and took tours because of your alter ego as an idol, then maybe you’ve been to those places. Memoria Region is actually brimming with spiritual energy, something that it is unique about that region as it is for this region, Alphabeta, which is brimming with magical energy. Sometime soon, I will gain the power of my spirit partner who hasn’t manifested itself yet. I am expecting it appear this year. I’m getting sidetrack a bit, I hope this is fine with you.”

“It’s fine,” she sighs. “you are laying the groundwork for your story after all…”

“I was the first one in the family to arrive here in Alphabeta Region, after I was given a high school scholarship by Principal Samon Detan of Babylon High in High School City. Realizing things now that I’m an adult, it made things easier for my parents to migrate to this country. It also made it easier for them to conduct their researches. They were probably, at some point in time, got acquainted with Orchid and I won’t deny that I have talents that might’ve been the reason why Orchid took me in after their death.”

“So their research was the cause of their demise…”

“Yeah, Macay and Kroth, when I met them during the time Orchid gave me the difficult quest… they were obsessed with the god artifacts within the temple. The insides of the temple have been, of course, destroyed… thankfully, the outside view remained the same, unscathed.” G finishes drinking his iced tea, “I think that those two stole some of the research works of my parents… if not… then maybe the government came to confiscate those things too. However, it seemed that the former was more obvious than the latter.”

“I’m sorry for your loss… and I… understand you a bit better now…” she hands him the empty glass of iced tea. “I’ll make sure to tell them about your ordeal… I’ll be waiting outside…”

“So you’re not leaving yet,” G washes the used glasses. “I’m not gonna say anything…”

“I won’t be snooping around anymore, I assure you that.” Snow goes outside to wait for him.

“Somehow, even without Index telling me… I feel like there is something hidden in this house that I must find…” G takes a feel of his surroundings. “It won’t work like this… but I know that there is something. Index, there is something in this house that I need to pick up, will you locate it for me?”

“You called,” Index shows a red dot beeping in a larger view of the house. “I found something, underneath the pile of wood in the fireplace… it’s a relic.”

Taking a glance at the front door and making sure that it is closed, he proceeded to move the pile of wood from the fireplace.

“I remember when I was still living here with my parents, they never allowed me to set these pile of wood on fire… because they told me that these were for display purposes only. Now, I know the reason why,” opening the hidden door, he picks up the relic. “A sword shaped like the crescent moon… what’s this supposed to be called, Crescent Blade?”

“Apparently its name is Moon blade, G.”

“Does it do anything special? How am I supposed to handle a curved blade like this with its handle in the middle?” G examines the double-edged sword. “If I use the sword in a concave [inward] curvature, I might accidentally cut myself… so then maybe I should use it in a convex [outward] curvature. What do you think?”

“Using it with you facing the inner curve, it will trigger the long range abilities of the blade which is to fire lunar beams of energy like holding a bow and firing an arrow. Just aim it, and it will shoot… no need to act as if there is an arrow.” Index smirks of his own joke and then he continues. “Using it with the blade facing the outer side will turn the blade into a full circle, like holding a hula-hoop. You can throw it once and when it hits or lands on any surface, it will disappear from the spot and will reappear in your grasp.”

“I see,” G stores his weapon back using his storage magic. “Snow might be waiting outside… I’ll contact you later…”

“As you wish, my lord…”

“Lord?” G scratches his head… “That’s new…”

Making his way out, it looks like Snow is back with her disguise.

“Sorry I made you wait longer than anticipated,” G scratches his cheek. “I was locking the doors of the room inside…”

“Yeah, it’s fine, but your aunt came a while ago…”

“Let me have a word with her…”

Speaking with her aunt, G tells her that the settlement of his parents’ belongings had been finished and that the house will soon belong to his brother when he becomes 20 years old. Meanwhile, while he’s still a minor, G will have to be the temporary owner of the house and so all the key holders and the copies they made will be returned to him… that is in accordance with the law.

“So where are you heading off to now, G?” Snow asks him. “Do you mind if I accompany you for a while?”

“Well, do what you want… except for stalking and snooping around…” G sighs, “I’m heading off to check my brother’s house at Naguil Village in Naguilngar Town.”

“Alright, I’ll accompany you…” Snow seems friendlier now, than before. “Do you want to have lunch, first?”

G checks his phone for the time, “I didn’t realize… let’s head to a nearby restaurant then…”

Someone as rich as her, of course, she wouldn’t want something like eating in a canteen or simple eatery. She’s a high profile idol… to which I still don’t know what her idol name is… I’m not really into the stuff. I noticed though, she is also famous even if she weren’t an idol since she is an S-Class magician… not to mention that she is beautiful and kind of attractive with her icy blue hair and eyes that she have. As for me, I accept that fact that she has to maintain her attractiveness physically because she is an idol… though I can say that all I can do now is just be friends… nothing else…

While waiting for the food that they order, G notices her silence because it really is deafening already. He was thinking that maybe this was due to his attitude towards her a while back, so just to even things out, G finds an interesting topic…

“So what’s your story, Snow? You heard mine… what’s yours?”

“I guess…” she starts telling her story, “comparing our lives, I may have been more jealous of you now that I’ve heard of your story…”

“Why so?”

“You had all the support that you needed, while I never had those. Coming from a clan of nobles, your family would expect great things from you. All they talk about is how to do this and to do that… with the only time that I had fun was when I was practicing ice magic with my grandparents. My parents were almost absent… they were always busy only appearing in birthdays and graduation ceremonies. They force me to do what my heart never desired and so I ran… and here I am doing what I always wanted… adventuring and questing. My parents forcefully tried to claim me back from the guild, but Orchid and my guild mates were there to rescue me from my clan. In the end, they gave up… but it was so harsh that I immediately became poor after that. All my accounts and my personal savings were frozen by the clan, that I had to start from scratch. Thankfully, the guild’s prestigious and trustworthy that it has its own bank. Also, going through high-ranking quests and becoming a performing idol using my own name and my father-side grandmother’s maiden name. It’s hard… but it’s worth living for…”

“Well now you’re free from them,” G hands her a napkin to wipe her teary eyes. “As for me, I’m going to continue my parent’s research even if I’ll have to start from scratch. Anyway, I’ll pay for our meals.”

“No, I insist that I must pay mine.”

Respecting her decision, G lets her pay hers, “If you insist…”

“Thank you.”

“So, by the way, aren’t you going to take any quests?”

She shakes her head, “No, not really. I’m not yet in need of cash…”

“So I noticed,” G speaks softly, “there’s somebody following us. It could be me or it could be you as well… and I thought that you were my only stalker…”

“I have a feeling that my disguise isn’t working anymore…” she groans, “I may have endangered you as well if that’s the case…”

“So an overly obsessed fan of yours is going to kill me?”

“I can’t allow that…” she pushes him toward the way-gate. “Let’s just leave!”

After they disappeared, the mysterious individual… wasn’t actually a stalker, but just someone who looks highly suspicious that G, who was still training his observation skills, misjudged. Even though he’s gained a lot of experience, he still has a long way to go…

Or is it?