Thanksgiving Festival (3)
Thanksgiving Festival (3)
"Ugh......."
Waking up with a hangover, I gulped down the water I'd left on the desk. Even after that, the hangover didn't let up, so I sat there grimacing for a while.
Then it hit me—hangovers are pain too—so I used my ability to convert the pain into pleasure.
Instantly, the deep headache enveloping my head vanished, replaced by a refreshing wave of pleasure sweeping through my entire brain. It felt like a minty scent clearing my nostrils from deep within.
The crisp freshness, like bleaching my brain clean, had me, now fully awake, check the clock for the time.
Still 5:50 AM. Too early for sunrise. After roughly scraping out the sleep from my eyes in the bathroom, I started running a lap around the city.
The festival cleanup from last night wasn't finished yet, so vomit and trash were scattered all over the place.
Back in my room after breaking a light sweat, I showered off the sweat and changed clothes right away.
By then, the inn's dining hall was buzzing with people coming down for breakfast.
Festival Day 2.
Today, I had a date planned with Seoyun too.
"You're late."
"Ahaha, sorry."
I got up early, did some light stretching, washed up, got dressed, and waited for Seoyun, who wasn't even awake yet.
But in this Otherworld with no smartphone, no TV, not even a decent book to read—what was I supposed to do?
Sleep was the easiest entertainment people had access to, and I fell right into it. What was supposed to be a quick nap turned into over an hour, and I didn't wake up until Seoyun was fully ready and came out.
"Who sleeps in on a date day?"
"Sorry about that."
"......I'm letting it slide just this once. Next time, you're done for."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks."
I thanked Seoyun for accepting my apology and gave her a once-over from head to toe. She must've noticed my gaze, because she subtly brushed her hair behind her ear.
"You tied your hair up? Looks pretty."
"......Just 'cause it's hot."
"Suits you well."
She usually wore her hair down straight, but today it was in a half-up braid.
That braided ponytail pulled back made her look like she was wearing a laurel wreath from the goddesses.
'She even did her makeup.'
As someone who knew how hard it was to get cosmetics in the Otherworld, the fact that she'd dolled up to look pretty for me hit me right in the feels.
Meanwhile, what had I done? Nothing special. Feeling a bit embarrassed about that, I grabbed her hand and took the lead.
"I'm showing you around today, right?"
"......Yeah."
"Get excited."
I led her toward the city.
Long ago, they say the Otherworld had Colosseums where humans fought humans. But as time passed, it became rare to see humans pitted against each other.
They made slaves fight one another and watched safely from afar, all to feel superior.
I'm better than those guys.
I'm a slightly better human.
It was for that tiny sense of superiority, but then real inferior beings showed up—ones worse than humans.
Monsters with zero intelligence.
And with intelligence lower than humans but physical abilities way beyond, it was only natural their duels were more entertaining.
"Fucking huge......."
"Yeah."
The two of us had come to the Demi-human Colosseum. Today's match was a giant monster special: a 5-meter-tall Ogre and a 10-meter-long massive Salamander.
Both were reportedly captured alive from the dungeon's upper levels. In other words, those two monsters were enemies we'd have to face someday.
"What do you think? Could you take 'em?"
"......No clue without trying. Especially that salamander."
Seoyun said that while pointing at the Salamander stomping around on all fours.
"Could I freeze it to death?"
"......If I do it from this distance, maybe they won't notice?"
"Hmm......."
Soon, the Ogre and Salamander clashed. The size difference was over double, but the Ogre had a weapon in hand.
It was said to be a club carved from World Tree wood aged over a thousand years. True or not, the wildly swung club smashed into the Salamander's body without a single scratch.
The Salamander endured the blow from the club strong enough to snap ancient trees, then used its mass to smother the Ogre.
The Ogre wasn't pushover either, but the size gap was over double, making the weight difference over ten times.
Even a strong Ogre couldn't outmuscle something ten times heavier than itself easily, so holding onto the Salamander was its limit.
Just as the Ogre's defeat seemed half-sealed, Seoyun closed her eyes and focused.
And right after, moments later—the Salamander let out a "Gurk" and flinched. The hunter Ogre didn't miss the opening.
The club swung full-force cracked its head, and the Salamander, struck in a vital spot, stuck out its tongue and collapsed.
With the Salamander's defeat confirmed, the mages cast spells to subdue the Ogre and carted both monsters off to the cages.
The crowd went apeshit, unable to believe the Ogre had won.
"Fuck! That's cheating! No way!"
"Rigged! Why'd it stop like that!"
Where there were duels, there was gambling. The Otherworld was no different. Plus, the Ogre was the underdog given its size. The odds were over double-fifty percent......
Seoyun, who'd caused this disaster, opened her eyes casually like nothing happened.
"Failed."
"Y-yeah?"
"Yeah. Tougher defenses than I thought...... Stopping it briefly was my limit."
Unlike physically tough lower-floor monsters, upper-level ones tended to be more magically resilient.
The Salamander was a beast that spewed magically potent fire, so resisting Seoyun's ability was par for the course.
Which meant me or Eunha would have to beat that thing down ourselves.
'......Is that even possible?'
I unconsciously fiddled with the hilt of the sword at my waist. Honestly, no confidence. Humans hesitate to fight someone just 20cm taller.
Taking on 5-meter, 10-meter monsters was logically impossible. The problem was, people in the Otherworld were pulling it off......
'Who knows.'
Watching the ended match, I stood up. Still places to go. The festival was in full swing, and with money, entertainment overflowed.
"Let's head out."
"Yeah......."
I grabbed Seoyun's hand. It felt inexplicably hot. Just from using that ability?
"You okay? Can you handle it?"
"......Fine. For now. I'll say if it gets tough."
"Tell me if you can't take it. If it's bad, we can duck into a back alley or......."
Thwack—Seoyun's fist slammed my shoulder.
"......Kidding, kidding."
"Let's go."
But Seoyun, still pissed, ignored me and strode ahead. I had to soothe her, so we skipped the next spot entirely.
"Come one, come all—not always here! A circus made entirely of mages!"
A circus made entirely of mages.
Sucked in by the pitch, we headed straight to the circus tent. It was ridiculously pricey for a regular circus, but once inside, the show started soon enough.
[Welcome, esteemed audience!]
True to their all-mage billing, as soon as it began, a booming sound-amplification spell made our bodies shake.
The mage who caught our eyes dangled from a super-thin wire, flying through the air, spinning to stir up wind that circulated the potentially stuffy tent air.
'Using magic like that.......'
Next, a Goblin juggling multiple balls while balancing on a ball appeared, and a following mage shot fire arrows that pierced every single one the Goblin was rolling.
The flames seemed headed for the seats but were scattered mid-air by the wind mage flying around, turning into a bird that vanished.
My take? Meh.
'Not bad, but kinda underwhelming.......'
Even these mages who didn't seem to be exerting much started panting hard.
After a couple more spells, when they were too exhausted to even lift their heads, the show ended.
They charged the price of ten Earth movie tickets for barely ten minutes, so I grumbled a bit.
"What the hell is this......."
But the crowd reacted differently.
"To see magic for money."
"Hope we can catch it again."
"Dream on—word'll spread by tomorrow, no seats left."
Hearing them, it clicked why they were like that.
'......Right, this is the Otherworld.'
To modern folks used to flashy CG, this magic was like a magician's trick show or a cheap B-movie on a shoestring budget.
But Otherworlders? They'd never seen computer graphics, probably not even filmed movies.
"Fun."
"......Really?"
"Yeah. Pretty fun?"
Luckily, Seoyun seemed to dig the bargain-bin magic show. Gauging her mood, I slipped out of the tent.
Right then, my stomach growled. I locked eyes with Seoyun. She didn't show it, but she was getting hungry too.
"Let's grab food."
I said that and led her to a restaurant.
Lunch was at a ridiculously expensive restaurant. One where a single meal cost what Seoyun made in a day.
No choice. The Great Thanksgiving Festival was a nationwide event, packing every eatery. Only spots like this high-end joint had seats left......
"Tasty."
"At this price, it'd be soulless if it wasn't."
"It's fine. Not that pricey."
"Two days' pay gone."
"I can earn more easy."
"......True, but still."
Seoyun didn't bat an eye even using her own money. From her view, a few hand waves and cash poured in.
She could've earned even more, but held back to avoid crashing the magic stone market with too much supply.
'Lately, doesn't seem like a worry though.......'
Thinking that while walking the streets with Seoyun, someone blocked our path.
"Wow, looking cozy. Dating?"
"......What, picking a fight out of nowhere."
My hand naturally went to my sword hilt, but I froze seeing who it was.
"Yo, good to see ya. Been well?"
Han-young and his thug crew were there. Han-young eyed our joined hands back and forth, grinning.
"Knew you two would hook up."
"......Long time."
"Yeah, long time. You been good? Leveled up?"
"Nah, not yet."
"......Not yet? Why?"
Han-young stroked his chin like that made no sense, deep in thought. I told my former party member the truth.
"......What? Still messing around on floor 3? Why?"
"Well, rushing up and getting in danger......."
"Are you retarded?"
"......Huh?"
"I said, are you a fucking retard? Why're you still on 3?"
Saying that, he pulled a silver-plated badge from his pocket. It was the High-rank Adventurer Badge given only to level 2 adventurers.
"We leveled up ages ago."
Then the nameless thugs behind him flashed theirs too. Same High-rank Adventurer Badges.
Meaning we'd fallen way behind these guys we'd ditched long ago.