CH 18

༺ River Styx Flows Indifferently (1) ༻

I woke up in a room under the dim light of a small candle. A musty and damp stench filled my surroundings.

Is this a room in the Inn?

Looking around, I remarked that the room was fairly large. I also noticed a desk in a corner with a chair facing it, the candle that served as the room’s only source of light atop it.

No matter what angle you look at it, this is a single room in an inn. I can’t believe I’ve just slept in a single room. I didn’t know I could afford this kind of luxury.

This oh-so-soft bed was also made of cotton rather than piled-up straw layers and ragged blankets. I felt like my body was melting in.

It took every inch of willpower I could muster to get out of bed.

The first thing I did after getting up was to check the content of my pockets.

It was somewhat of a habit I had to make sure the money I worked hard to save and the amount I brought with me last night wasn’t lost or stolen.

It was a perfectly rational thing to do in a world full of pickpockets and thieves.

My bag contained 10 silvers and 40 coppers. Looks like the amount of money was reduced a little, probably the fees for booking the room in this inn.

The next thing I checked was the number of fingers and toes on my limbs, and whether I had broken teeth or any kind of injury.

I was happy to conclude that I wasn’t lacking any belonging and that there was nothing wrong with my body.

It was time for the next step. When the hell did I enter this room to sleep? I tried to recall my last memory of the night.

The last thing I can remember is drinking with Luna. Then the lights faded out and everything went dark. And that’s where my memories cut off.

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No matter how much I drank in the past, I never blacked out like this. The bluish alcohol that Luna kept pouring non-stop must have been really strong.

It’s hard to believe I drank enough to pass out. It’s lucky nothing bad seems to have happened. Had I been less fortunate, I could have lost my money or even injured myself.

Damn this dumb shit, I’ll never drink again. I packed out my luggage and left the room with that thought.

I went down the stairs and headed to the familiar lobby on the first floor. Unlike yesterday, the tables were quiet, and the atmosphere seemed to be dismal. People were crudely eating their breakfast.

“What do we have here? Oh, It’s the Samaritan gentleman from yesterday.”

The bald man, who was wiping bowls and cups with a dry cloth behind the counter, noticed me and then approached to greet me.

If my memory isn’t failing me, then he is the innkeeper. I don’t remember us being this close though.

“The pain has lessened a lot since you rubbed my shoulders. Actually, it doesn’t even hurt anymore. Take a seat, take a seat. Breakfast will be served soon.”

“…”

Still wondering how to respond, I just settled down at a nearby empty table as the innkeeper asked me to.

It was a rather uncomfortable chair with no backrest. It was also hard enough to be painful on my buttocks by simply sitting. However, this chair wasn’t the biggest reason for my discomfort.

“Look over there. It was definitely the guy from yesterday. Look at that grim expression. It’s giving me the chills.”

“Did you hear the song from the bard yesterday? I heard he slaughtered 50 goblins by himself.”

“Horrifying indeed. This bastard is just as scary as he looks.”

People all around me were staring at me and gossiping. Some strange rumors seemed to have spread for reasons that I couldn’t fathom.

I could gather from their mumbling that one of Marco’s songs played a big part in the outspread of these rumors. I couldn’t see Marco nor could I find Luna, so I was completely in the dark. What the hell is going on?

“Here’s your breakfast. And don’t worry, this is included in the price you paid for that single room yesterday. The add-ons are just a little service.”

A breakfast soup suddenly appeared before me while I was looking around.   

It was an ordinary breakfast with a large earthenware bowl that was filled to the brim with broth. As the innkeeper said, it was quite plentiful. There were a lot more pieces of vegetables and meat compared to what you’d normally get.

It looks delicious.

I was starving after waking up from my inebriated state and as such, I gradually began eating the bowl of soup. 

Because of the lack of seasoning, the soup was rather bland, which didn’t prevent me from gulping it down like there was no tomorrow, however. The bowl was quickly emptied.

My head seems to clear up a little with my hunger satiated. With a clearer head, I finally calmed down after the earlier situation left me a little restless.

To summarize, I drank a lot of booze yesterday after finishing the quest.

After waking up, the innkeeper, along with a few strangers, became friendly and began talking to me as if we were acquaintances.

It looks like something weird happened yesterday. Wait, didn’t the innkeeper say that I healed his shoulders yesterday?

I cautiously muttered under my breath so that no one could hear me.

“…Long Live the Chaos”

I couldn’t help but frown.

Ding-

[Stats]

Name: Hassan

Level: 8

Strength: 3

Agility: 2

Stamina: 3

Task: 227→247

Condition: Styx’s Oath

Blessing: The Blessing of Chaos 》 Imperfect Dexterity

What the fuck? So many things have changed!

First of all, the ‘Task Points’ rose by 20. I probably unknowingly relieved someone’s back pain or insomnia.

The thing that worried me the worst however was my ‘Condition’. There were unfamiliar terms there.

Styx’s Oath?

What the fuck is that?

I don’t know what it is, but I don’t sense any good vibes from it at all. Everything I have seen there until now were things like insomnia and least of all ❰Medusa’s Curse❱.

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I don’t need to point out how most of them were negative conditions that affected your daily life, such as back pain.

I can only conclude that ❰Styx’s Oath❱ didn’t spell anything good for me either. Is it some kind of curse?

A curse.

I felt sweat dripping down my buttocks and my palms gradually grew colder at the reminder of my eunuch life because of Medusa’s Curse.

Well, according to the size of my little brother this morning. It seems at the very least it’s different from Medusa’s Curse…

I couldn’t think of anything wrong with me right now.

So after a while, I quietly approached the bald innkeeper, who smiled at the sight of me, and then winked as if to insinuate something.  

“Uhm- about what happened yesterday…”

“Don’t worry, I know how to keep secrets. I won’t tell anyone about what happened yesterday. I swear by the name of Bacchus, God of Wine and Festivities!”

The bald innkeeper answered on his own without even letting me finish.

Even if I try to ask him, he’d just say “I won’t say a thing, don’t worry.” stubbornly.

Damn, how can I not worry?

I wondered if there was a red spot on my body just like when I was under Medusa’s Curse, but I couldn’t find a thing after going back to my room, taking my clothes off, and inspecting my body.

****

“Oh, Mr. Hassan.”

I went back to the Mars Guild as the day brightened. I met Daphne again and gave back the wooden plaque she gave me and then waited patiently for my commission.

“I heard about what happened from Dr. Plato. That old man is commonly known for being stingy with praise. He said you were a rare seedling that needed to be nurtured.” 

It seems like Dr. Plato told Daphne about what I did. Although, I don’t think I’ve ever done something that would warrant praise by that old man.

The only thing I could think of was that I listened to his jargon and faced the goblins.

Anyway, I accepted the promised 30 coppers. Now that I was done with my commission, it was time for me to ask a question, as it was my other reason for coming here.

“Did anyone other than Plato come? I’m searching for Luna or Marco.”

There’s no better way to know what happened yesterday than to ask those two. I could only head to the guild to ask about their whereabouts.

“Both of them came in early in the morning, got their money, and left.”

“You don’t know where they went?”

“No, I don’t. We don’t pry too much into an adventurer’s personal life. Is there anything wrong?” 

Ugh-

Daphne’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

Although she seemed to be kindly asking, her judging eyes were telling me she would be writing about anything problematic in her personal evaluation.     

“No, there’s nothing wrong.”

“Truthfully, I didn’t prepare another job for you because I thought you might be injured. It looks like your arms and legs are fine. Anyway, I’m glad this quest ended without any mishap.” 

Is it even possible to injure your limbs while cleaning? Anyway, that wasn’t what I had to focus on for now.

“Then, Ms. Daphne. Just a little question. Do you know anything about Styx?”

“Isn’t that the river that leads to the underworld? Why?”

“Then, did you ever hear of something like the Styx’s Oath…?”

“Ah- I think you’d better visit the library. You said you can read, try borrowing this book.”

Scribble-.

Daphne tore a small piece of parchment and began writing on it. She then handed me a wooden thing similar to a key chain.

“This is a library pass. I can’t lightly give it away, but you can have it since I owe you a lot. It would be better for you to get more familiar with the continent’s common sense before going on another quest!”

“You’ll have to deal with a lot of people in the future.” she encouragingly said after stuffing the piece of parchment and the library pass in my hand.

『How to Act Like a Continental for Dummies』

The title of the book is a bit odd. In this world, all things that most folks consider as normal are strange to me.

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* *

I only got to the library after lunchtime. I was once again a victim of the town’s unfriendly direction signs. I couldn’t help but get lost in the middle.

I really have to allocate some free time to memorizing the city’s layout.

That aside, what’s with this library..?.

This city’s Guild Buildings that also served as temples had been so grand and magnificent that I was slightly expectant to see what a library in this world would look like.

But what was in front of me was just a poorly built warehouse. It felt more like a secondhand bookstore in a random alley rather than a grand library.

I opened the door, entered, then walked toward something like a reception desk or a checkout counter. A pale-faced and skinny man glanced at me.

I couldn’t tell whether he was young or old because of his gray hair and pale skin tone. Anyway, he spoke to me with a somewhat shrill voice.

“This isn’t a place you can just barge into, Barbaroy.”

Barbaroy was an old-fashioned derogatory term to belittle Barbarians. That’s what most educated people usually call me.

This librarian seemed to be a fairly educated man since he was in a book management position of sorts. Well, it’s not like speaking elegantly was going to make curses any less insulting, you bastard.

“Here’s my library pass.”

I handed the pass I had taken from my packets in advance to the librarian and started looking around.

All kinds of scrolls and old-looking books were neatly arranged on bookshelves. It still looked quite nice inside, despite its shabby outside appearance.

“Did you steal it?”

“No, I got it from Daphne of the Mars Guild. You can check with her if you feel like it.”

“Okay then, wait a minute. Is anyone here?”

“I’m here, Mr. Erimantos”

“Good, Sophos. Please go to the Mars Guild and talk to the receptionist Daphne…”

Damn it, I hope I’m not going to be subjected to this every time and waste time on these verifications. Living as a barbarian in this world was such a drag.

…

…

“Alright, it looks like there’s no problem after the verification. So, what book are you trying to borrow? It’s easier to learn how to kill people in the wilderness rather than in a library.”

The librarian smiled in self-satisfaction at his sense of humor. Why would I want to learn about that, you punk?

“Do you have this book here?”

Wrinkles appeared on the man’s forehead as I handed him the piece of parchment Daphne gave me.

“Wait a minute.”

He then promptly disappeared and soon reappeared with a hard-covered, bulky, and thick book.

The book was quite thick and was around a foot in length. Wouldn’t I instantly die if someone struck me with it?

How did this skinny librarian lift a book that looked even heavier than himself? It would make more sense for the book to carry the librarian.

“You can borrow it for a week. I swear by Minerva’s name that I will make you pay if it gets even slightly damaged.”

“How much will I have to pay then?”

“23 Silver”

“Gyagh-“

“This book isn’t a geometry book[1]?” 

“Nevermind.”

Shit, 23 was way over what I had on me.

In a world where printing technology was still undeveloped, books were a luxury and an object of entertainment for rich intellectuals.

It makes sense for each one to be expensive since they were handmade.

I was left with no choice but to treat this thick book with extreme care as if it was some kind of sacred object. I only need to learn a bit of information and then return it.

After taking a loan for the first time at the library, I walked out to the street. Soon, I settled down with my back against a tree under its shade in a quiet park and then opened the book.

Simply opening the book was enough to make me drowsy. Maybe it was because I hadn’t read a single book or studied for the past few years, but the letters just seemed overwhelming.  

Wake up, bastard! You can’t let yourself fall asleep and have drools dripping out of your mouth.

After reminding myself not to fuck up and to stay alarmed, I started by checking the table of contents. It seems the subjects were ordered in alphabetical order.

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I need to know more about River Styx. S, S, S…

『Styx. Pluto’s Underground Labyrinth, it’s one of the rivers that was said to lead to the underworld. It was also said that the resentment of the dead and monsters resided deep at the bottom of the river.

It also seemed like it had great significance for Gods and humans alike. Promises and oaths made in the name of this river couldn’t be broken.

Modern theologians seek to drive superstitions and barbarism out of fate and often dismiss these kinds of things as mere symbolic meaning.

Actually, quite a few people suffered from misfortune after supposedly breaking their oath made in Styx’s name. Whether it was purely coincidences or proof of the sanctity of Styx’s oaths is still a controversial topic to this day.

Famous figures associated with River Styx include ‘Goddess Styx’ and-』

The chapter about Styx was dense enough to surpass 16 pages. It seemed somehow useless to read everything, so I only picked the relevant portions.

River Styx looked like a symbol of firm resolve or so-called promises and oaths.

Come to think of it, I think I remember hearing something similar in a cartoon that dabbled in mythological subjects when I was young.

Such a brand being imprinted on me could only mean I had made a vow to someone.