"!!!"
I ducked, weaved, and slid, avoiding the chickens that charged and jumped at me.
"Cluck!"
As one of the chickens charged at me, I slid to the side, then wrapped my arm around its neck, catching it in a chokehold between my elbow and my arm.
"!!!"
Holding onto it, I began spinning and hitting the chickens surrounding me, causing them to back off.
*Cluc-*
Pressing my bodyweight to its neck, I grabbed its body and pulled it towards me, snapping its neck.
"Two."
*Cluck!*
Seemingly angered by this, another chicken charged towards me. Then, from my crouched-down position, I let go of the dead chicken and did a spinning back kick, forcing the charging chicken back.
"!!!"
Then, as I charged at it to finish it off, two more chickens jumped me from the sides.
*Cluck*
"!!!"
Immediately rolling forward, I grabbed the stunned chicken while the other two rammed into each other.
*Cluck!*
Pinning it to the ground, I began hitting it with a barrage of attacks, deforming its face and bloodying my hands.
"!!!"
Immediately rolling forward, I quickly turned around and focused my attention on the remaining 4 birds.
"Three."
As the four slowly confronted me, I lowered my stance and strengthened my center of gravity.
"…"
*Cluck!*
All four charged at me at the same time.
"!!!"
Sliding to dodge one of them, I immediately hit one of them, then did a hook kick, hitting another.
"!!!"
However, the fourth chicken caught me off guard and grappled me down.
"Argh!"
*Cluck!*
It pecked right at my face, but I barely managed to move my head, causing it to peck the dirt next to me instead.
"!!!"
As its beak got caught in the ground, I grabbed onto its neck with my left hand, then, turning my body, I hammered it with my right, crushing its head, and causing blood and gore to spray on my face and shirt.
*Cluck!*
Noticing another chicken running up to me, I immediately stood up, but as I did, I brought my arms together, hitting it in the sides of the head, discombobulating it.
"!!!"
Stunned, it wasn't able to do much as I grabbed onto the two parts of its beak, ripping it in two, killing it, and spraying me with more blood.
"Four and five."
Diverting my attention to the final two chickens, I saw them back off a bit as I walked closer.
"!!!"
Noticing a rock next to my feet, I picked it up and calmly walked towards it.
"Cluck!"
Almost in a final show of bravery, the two chickens charged at me a final time.
"!!!"
Immediately hitting one of them, causing it to fall onto the ground, I charged at the other chicken and threw the rock right at its face.
"!!!"
Being hit, the chicken also fell on the spot, but I immediately jumped on it, grabbing the rock, I then used both hands to continuously bash its head in, bloodying myself more but killing it in the process.
"Six."
Leaving the rock with the deformed chicken, I walked towards the final chicken, bleeding out.
"!!!"
Stepping on its neck, I quickly snapped it, bringing it mercy.
"Seven… and done."
Finally done, I took a deep breath before wiping some of the blood off my face with my shirt.
"Ah, jeez…" I said to myself, seeing how ruined my clothes were. "Let's hope the laundry service is good in town."
"Kenneth!" Came the voice of Annabelle.
Seeing the tiny elf flying towards me, I relaxed a bit.
"Hey, nice of you to join the party." I joked, "A bit late though."
"…"
She didn't say anything, just came and observed the area, and me.
"Gods… you really had it out for them…" Annabelle said, sounding a bit frightened.
"Well, I didn't exactly have the tools for a quick and painless death." I cleared, "I had to make do with what I had."
"And that involved beating them to death with a rock?"
"Hey, I didn't have much of a choice here, now did I?"
"…"
"Well, anyway," I continued, "I guess that's done… now what?"
"Now you go get your reward." Annabelle said, "Then you buy some new clothes, and then wash the blood off your body."
"Sounds like a plan, but…" I spoke, "Do we gotta bring 'em individually or?"
"Nah, the kills should be marked in your enhancement slate," Annabelle explained. "As for the chickens, we gotta burn them, or sell them to the champions hall." She continued, "They'll charge a transportation fee, but it's good food."
"We'll go with the latter." I decided, "As for the other thing…"
Taking out my enhancement slate, I took a good look at it.
"Wow!"
"What?" Annabelle asked, sounding confused.
"My stats! They are all in the 150s?"
"Heheh, that's all thanks to my buffs." Annabelle explained, "It'll go back to the usual amount when they run out."
"I see…" I continued reading. "I leveled up as well… level two, only one level for all that?"
"Leveling is pretty slow… you'll be lucky to reach level 40 by the time you retire."
"Hmm…"
Continuing to look into the card, I pressed the kill table, and it was now filled with a date, and in it were dire chickens with a 6x in front of it.
"Neat…" I said, "Although I have no skills yet… guess I gotta get someone to teach me something." I mumbled.
"I could teach you a few." Annabelle said, "I'm sure heal would be useful."
"You would do that for me?"
"Yes?" She asked, tilting her head. "What, did you think I'd gatekeep my skills or something?"
"Well… isn't that how this usually goes?"
"Look, Ken…" Annabelle spoke, "Even if you learn all my skills, you won't be able to cast them nearly as well as I can, even with a lifetime of work. So I have absolutely no fear of being replaced."
"Jee, prideful much?"
"You know it."
"Well…" Putting the enhancement slate in my pocket, I spoke, "Why don't we head back? The blood's drying, and it's making me kinda itchy."
"Yeah… think we both need to soak in a tub after today..." Annabelle said, as she flew up to my shoulder and took a seat, dissipating her wings.
"I suppose so," I said, feeling a sense of exhaustion in my body. "Well then," I continued, "Shall we?"
"Right with you!"
***
Opening the twin doors of the Champions Hall, I entered the building.
"…"
I stood in place, a bit perplexed, as the gazes of every champion and worker in the building were drawn towards me.
"Maybe we should have hit the bath house first…" I mumbled.
Of course, their eyes were drawn to the dried-up blood that currently coated my arms, face, and shirt. The same questioning gaze I got from the passerby in the street.
"And pay for it with what?" Annabelle said.
"Touche."
Ignoring the gazes, I made my way into the counter area, only to see that it was all empty except for one counter.
"Sarah not here?" I said, walking up to the open one.
The woman working it was the same one I saw earlier when the whole Kafka commotion happened. She has South Asian features, light brown skin, dark blue eyes, and the same colored hair braided in a ponytail. Her figure was curvy and pretty robust, and her modest guild uniform failed miserably at hiding her femininity.
"Oh, Mr. Kafka." She spoke, maintaining a professional smile, "Sarah just got off shift, unfortunately."
"Right… Well, I finished the quest." Saying so, I gave her my enhancement slate, displaying the kills.
"So you have it seems…" She said, eyeing the blood. "Did you happen to burn the bodies?"
"Oh no, I was hoping to sell them."
"I see." She continued, "And did you happen to bring them here, or will you request transportation?"
"Transportation." I specified, "There are 7 in total. Their bodies are fine, but some of their heads are a bit…"
"Not to worry, the heads aren't used for any cooking." She reassured, "As long as the bodies are intact, the guild will pay full price minus the transportation fees."
"Right… and how much would that be?"
"Well, the full price of a bird would be 10,000 fields, but deducting the transportation of 2500 fields per bird, they'd sell for 7,500 fields each."
7,500 each… for seven birds, that's…
"52,500 fields!?" I snapped, "That's more than the quest!"
"Haha, yes, those birds do fetch a high price."
Damn it! If I'd known, I would have dragged the birds one by one! 70,000 fields on top of the 50,000 would have been insane!
"Still though… that's over 100,000 fiends only for a single day's work…" I spoke.
"Not too shabby, huh?" Annabelle spoke.
Keep this up, and I'll be a rich man!
"Well, Mr. Kafka, as the slate has confirmed your kills, you'll be paid in full for the quest today." She said, "As for the birds, we'll pay you tomorrow once the carcasses are gathered."
"Not immediately?"
"The meat may have been scavenged in the meanwhile… you'll only be paid in full if the meat is still edible."
"Fair enough, I guess."
"Now then," Taking out the same log book as Sarah, she looked through it to find my quest, "There." Signing it once more, she handed it over to me, "Sign here, please."
"…"
After I did, she took it back. "Done, please wait a moment till I bring your reward."
"Take your time."
After disappearing to the back a bit, she arrived shortly with an envelope. "You're payment for today."
"Thanks." Accepting the envelope, I refrained from opening it immediately, despite wanting to see what the currency looks like.
"You're most welcome. On behalf of the Champions Council, I thank you for your effort, and we are looking forward to working with you further."
"Right, well… oh yeah." I spoke, "I didn't catch your name."
"It's Naomi," She said, smiling. "Just Naomi."
"Well, Miss Naomi, you have a good night then."
"You too, Mr. Kafka."
***
"35, 40, 45… and 50,000, we're good," I spoke, finishing up counting the cash.
I was sitting at one of the tables in the Champions Hall, waiting for the waiter to bring me the takeaway I had ordered.
I continued, "We're gonna be eating good today!"
"You're gonna be eating good… with my size, eating a single bite of fried chicken will get me a heart attack due to its oil content." Said Annabelle.
"Well, what else are you going to eat then?"
"Nothing, I'm good with water."
"Hey now… I can't let you do that…"
"No, no, I'm genuinely good." She reassured, "Light elves can survive off just water and sunlight."
"Sunlight… what are you, a plant?"
"Well… more like a fruit."
"Huh!?"
"Look, it's complicated, elves here aren't the same as the ones you see in your anime and light novels."
"I figured…" I spoke, "With you being so tiny…"
"Oh no, that's something only seen in light elves." Annabelle explained, "The other subspecies of elves are human-sized."
"So, my dream of a big titty elf mommy can still come true?"
"They're all flat… elves are more androgynous plants than they are mammals."
"… I don't think I want to hear anymore."
"Figured…"
With the counting done, I put the money back in the envelope safely. The notes in this world were a beautiful pink, with a picture of a crowned woman in the middle, the late queen, according to Annabelle. And also the notes value written on the top left and bottom right, and other authenticity details are written. The back was different, it seems to show a different historical monument for different values.
"Heyyyy Kafka!" Came a slurring voice.
"Hmm?"
Turning my head to the source of the noise, I saw a drunk man waddling over to me.
*hick* "I- I heard you finished your first quest!" *Hick* "Well congratulations!" He slurred.
"Thank you… And you are?"
"Anderson!" *Hick* "I'm a b- big name in the hall if you couldn't tell!"
"That right?"
Waddling his way over to me, he stood right next to me and put an arm around my shoulder.
"Ken… let's go somewhere else." Said Annabelle.
"O-oh t-the light elf!" *Hick* "So it is true! You're something else, man!"
"…"
"Ken…"
"Hold one… let's see what he has to say," I reassured. "What do you need, mister?"
"Mister huh?" *Hick* "I sure do like the sound of t-that!" Saying so, he got uncomfortably close to me, "Hey kid! Why don't you join me and my party? They aren't here right now, but they're damn good people!"
"I'll have to pass on that…"
"Huh! A no-go, huh!?" He snapped, "You're like those two over there, refusing to socialize!" Saying so, he pointed at a corner table, where two women were sitting alone.
Those two women ignored the commotion and quietly talked among themselves.
*Tsk* "Damn whores!" He snapped, "But you ain't like them, ain't ya kid!?"
"Biologically speaking, I don't have the anatomy to be a whore."
"Hah! Biology, anatomy, new words!" *hick* "You're smart too huh!?"
I was starting to get a bit irritated too… mainly because he reeked of alcohol and his breath stunk. I saw the other champions giving concerned glances at us.
"Say, kid! Why don't we get a beer?" He slurred, "You'll treat, of course! You gotta show respect to your seniors!"
So that was his plan, huh?
"Ken, let's go…" Annabelle spoke, looking a bit concerned.
"…"
I spoke, "I don't really have anything against drinking, but today really isn't the day." I excused myself, "Maybe some other time?"
"!!!"
Standing up, I removed his arm from me and walked towards the bar counter, so I could immediately pick up my food and leave.
"Hey, wait up!" The man slurred, jumping onto me.
I stopped for a moment and looked at Annabelle, who was standing on the table, looking wary.
"Please let go," I said calmly.
"What?" *Hick* "Would your mommy get mad if you got a little drunk?" He mocked.
…
"Well, mommy would laugh it off, but the more dangerous daddy would not be pleased, so I think I'll pass."
"Come on, kid!" He slurred, "You don't have to drink, just buy me one!"
"I'll pass on that, too." Saying so, I attempted to walk away, yet his grip on me tightened.
"Hey, hold it!"
"…"
"Look here kid, my name is fucking Anderson." He snapped, "And if you didn't get the deal before, get it now, I'm a fucking big deal!"
"Anderson, let the kid go." A lone champion called out.
"You stay out of it!" The drunkard then focused his attention back on me, "Now listen here, kid… I don't care how mad your daddy will get." He slurred, "He's probably out of the picture anyways, while your mommy's whoring around to secure funds, that's usually how it goes with you people aint it?"
"…"
"Ken, don't!" Annabelle yelled.
Ignoring her, I calmly put my arm around his shoulder as well.
"Oh?"
Looking at him and smiling softly, I tightened my grip on his shoulder.
"H-hey!"
Not letting him think, I drew my head back and rammed my forehead into his nose.
"Gah!"
"!!!"
Drawing blood, the man stumbled back, and taking the opportunity, I immediately saw an opening, and kicked him right in the dick.
"!!!"
As his body got paralyzed, I rammed him into the ground, getting on top of him.
"The fuck you say about my mother you filthy rodent!?"
Yelling, I grabbed onto his shirt with one hand and began punching him with the other, damaging his already broken nose.
"Break it off!"
As I continued to punch him, I got rammed by a random champion.
"!!!"
Pushing them off, I tried to run back towards the drunk.
"!!!"
I felt something trip me as I fell on my face, hitting my jaw on the hardwood.
"!!!"
Immediately, my attacker got on my back, holding my arms in place and subduing me.
"Calm down!"
"!!!"
Despite my best attempt to resist, I found myself expertly locked in place, with no openings to slither away.
"!!!"
Calming down a bit, my vision cleared, and I saw a few champions helping the drunk get up.
"J-jou jour bucking inane!" The man snapped, unable to form words properly.
"I'll show you insane! I'll make sure you never speak again you fucking waste of breath!" I yelled, knowing that I couldn't move till the person holding me down let go.
"Ken! Please calm down!" Annabelle begged, flying down to my face.
"But, that bastard!"
"I know, I know!" Annabelle spoke, "And you got him good, now calm down!"
"!!!"
I looked back at the drunkard which pissed me off again, but taking a deep breath, I calmed down.
"Fine… I'm calm…"
"Jeez…" Annabelle spoke, "I'm sorry for the trouble, miss, can you please let him go now?"
Miss?
"It's alright… his anger is warranted, but he still needs to show restraint." Came a feminine voice from above me.
"!!!"
As she let go of me, I quickly turned my body around.
"!!!"
Still on top of me, she had a bit of a stunned face at my sudden movement. She had light blonde hair, tied in a braid and anchored on her shoulder, going down past her breasts. Her golden eyes pierced mine even through her stunned expression, her skin was pale, smooth as glass, and glowing like the sun. Her body was robust, plump in all the right spots. Large breasts, plump buttocks, meaty thighs, slender waist… she had a figure that would bring a man down to his knees. She was alluring.
"Ah!"
After I broke out of my trance, my attention was drawn to her clothes. A dark blue denim jean tightened by a brown belt, brown boots, and a pale white shirt that was loose in her body tucked under her pants, with a blue wild rag around her neck, and finally, a light brown top hat to seal the deal.
"Holy shit you're hot!" I said aloud, not even thinking.
"Wah!?"
Immediately getting off me, she gave me a stunned look.
"…"
Lying down still in the awkward silence, I couldn't help but miss her body on mine, but a bit glad she didn't stay long enough to feel the tightening in my pants.
"I uhh…" Slowly getting up, I spoke, "Sorry, please pretend you didn't hear that…"
"Even if you say that, I can't just do that!"
Feeling a bit shy at her gaze, I struggled to hold eye contact, as Annabelle flew over to my shoulder and sat down.
"Glad you're back at least…" Annabelle mumbled.
"Lara!" Came another feminine voice, this one sounding a bit younger.
Looking at the source of the voice, I saw a girl around my age.
"!!!"
My attention was immediately drawn to her face… and not due to its beauty… but the 2 purple horns on her forehead.
"!!!"
Taking a step back, I panicked at the sight.
"Relax…" Annabelle spoke… "I know what this looks like, but she's not a demon… the complete opposite, actually."
"…"
Dark purple horns and matching dark purple eyes, complemented perfectly by her almost ghostly white skin and deep black hair, which flowed down to her shoulders. Her face was almost like a doll, and her body petite, yet not childish, a complete 180 from the other girl.
She wore a black mini skirt, semi-transparent stockings showing her flesh, and black boots with spikes implanted in them. The semi-transparent stocking continued up to her breast, while her chest area had a thicker material, the same as her skirt covering it, yet still exposing her cleavage. Her outfit was complete with a choker and bracelets on her wrists, giving her a look I recognized to be gothic from Earth.
"…"
A bit lost, I stared at her in silence, wondering how Mother Death ended up in Radia.
The goth girl walked up to the blonde one and mumbled something, only for her to mumble back.
"…"
They then looked at me, almost like they were ready to say something, but…
"Umm, Mr. Kafka…" A waiter called out, "Your order is here…"
"Uh, ah, right…"
Walking past the drunkard who was being tended to by the other champion's I went over to pay for my meal.
"That'll be 4,500 fields."
"Damn, for a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken?"
"I.. don't know what that is…"
"Don't worry about it, just an isekai joke." Saying so, I took out my envelope, then gave her a 5,000 field note."
"Keep the change, as an apology for the commotion."
"Right, thank you."
Taking the bag with the chicken, I walked back over to the girls and waited.
"…"
"Do you need something?" The gothic girl asked.
Wasn't it you two that looked like you were about to say something? Oh well…
"No, it's just… sorry about earlier… You had to put yourself out there because I couldn't show restraint."
Hearing this, the blonde girl smiled, "Don't think much of it, he was a prick."
"Jey!" The drunkard snapped, only for one of the champions tending him to whack him on the head.
"Well…" I spoke, "Not the best first impression, but my name's Kenneth Kafka, and this right here is Annabelle."
Looking at Annabelle, who remained silent, the two girls looked at themselves, then looking back at me, the blonde girl smiled, "It's nice to meet you too, Kenneth Kafka, Annabelle." She spoke, "My name is Lara, and this here is my friend Melanie."
Like Annabelle, Melanie remained silent.
"My pleasure." I smiled back, "Again, sorry about earlier, I'll even make it up to you, how about I buy you dinner?"
"No need for that, I'm not holding it against you." She said, without her smile wavering.
Expertly rejected, I saw Melanie trying not to laugh, while I heard a snicker from Annabelle.
"Well, if my apologies are accepted, then all is well," I continued, "Anyways, it's late, I gotta go, stuff to do, see ya!"
Trying my best not to let the nonchalant persona drop, I quickly made a break for the exit before anyone could process what I said, then as I left the building and closed the door, I…
"Annabelle…" I spoke.
"Don't tell me…" She cringed
"Yea…"
"…"
"I think I'm in love."
To be continued.