After thinking for a while, Arthur finally stood up, and dusted his clothes from all the snow and dirt accumulating on him before he opened the menu to log out. He was feeling pretty annoyed but also even more eager to look around.
“If you think I’m going to give up just because I couldn’t find anything yet, you’re very badly mistaken, game. I will scour this fucking city inch by inch if I have to. Don’t underestimate me.” He muttered.
Arthur is a very stubborn person when it comes to things he sets his mind to. He has never given up on something unless there are simply no more options left. This was no different; he was ready to keep searching until there were exactly zero places left to look for.
As he was thinking of what he had to do the next time he logged in, he suddenly heard a noise behind him.
“Hm?” Closing the menu, he turned to look around. Since he was standing in a secluded alley, the noise was very peculiar. It sounded like the hooves of a monster walking through the street. The place was dark with a few lights to illuminate the street.
Peeking through the alley, Arthur saw a hooded figure walking toward him. The hooded figure was completely covered from head to toe. In their hand was the rope keeping the lizard monster tied to them and behind it was a large carriage being moved by the creature.
Arthur squinted his eyes, feeling rather suspicious of the carriage and the person for some reason. Even though he had seen so many of these carriages across the entire city, this particular one made him quite confused as its vibe was completely different and off.
“…” Squinting his eyes, Arthur watched secretly as the man moved through the street. He made sure he was silent and hidden. He kept watching as it passed beside the alley he was in.
As it moved past him, Arthur noticed a sign hanging on the side of the carriage, loosely pinned to it. Arthur read the words written and he immediately raised an eyebrow.
“Forgotten Armoury?” He muttered. ‘Wait? that’s an Armoury?” Arthur muttered in confusion. ‘They’re selling weapons and armor on that carriage? A moving merchant!’
Arthur had never seen a moving merchant before so it took him a few seconds to link two and two together. However, once he did, his eyes lit up. ‘Well, if it isn’t a weird opportunity that came my way. What if he has what I’m looking for?’
Licking his lips, Arthur slowly moved out of the darkness and snuck behind the moving carriage with impressive stealth. Using his agility and perfect footwork, he was able to stay completely silent as he followed the vehicle.
He didn’t know how to actually approach given the very dark and ominous atmosphere around the entire carriage. He felt like simply popping up and asking the man was simply too… Odd.
A few minutes passed just like that with Arthur following the carriage from one street to another, and from one turn to the other. The more he followed it, the more he went far away from the main streets of the city.
Although Arthur was too preoccupied with the carriage and the person dragging it to even care about the very eerie atmosphere around him, he still was contemplating if his decision to simply sneak after it was a good idea.
‘I mean… I’m acting like a creep now, I should just approach the man like a normal person. But… Nothing about this carriage screams normal. It’s like this thing came straight out of a gothic city.’
As Arthur was struggling with his own thoughts, the carriage suddenly stopped moving. Instinctively, Arthur also stopped and hid himself so as not to be discovered by the mysterious person.
Without realizing it, the boy instinctively held his breath as he waited patiently. ‘Why did he stop? Did he notice my presence? Surely not, right? I kept myself considerably far away from the carriage.’
A few seconds passed in silence before finally, the carriage resumed moving again as if nothing happened. Arthur exhaled the breath he was holding and watched as it got further and further away.
“That was unnecessarily scary… What is wrong with this carriage?”
“It’s a pretty good carriage, nothing wrong with it.”
“Oh come on, can’t you see how terrifying it looks?” Arthur shook his head as he looked to the side. “Especially, its own-”
Then, Arthur’s heart stopped beating for a second as he realized… Someone had just appeared beside him!
His brain took a split second to react as he jumped back with a loud yell, feeling very terrified. He fell against the wall and hit his head. “Ouch!”
“Hey there, be careful with your head. You could hurt yourself.”
“… How did you appear beside me like that?!” Arthur asked in shock. He had recognized that person to be the mysterious owner of the carriage he had been chasing.
‘That speed… Why does everyone in this game like to appear behind you without prior notice?!’ Arthur cursed inwardly.
“That question is mine, kid. Why were you following me?” The person, with a feminine voice, said as they slowly unraveled their hood, revealing their appearance. It was an older lady wearing big glasses. She had bright brown hair and grey eyes with a surprisingly soft appearance.
“…” Arthur blinked. “Uh… Uh, I…” He was completely speechless.
The woman stared at him silently before she sighed. “What is a small kid like you doing this late in such a place? Do you want to get killed?”
“… I can take care of myself.”
‘Who are you calling little kid, lady? I’m almost 16!’ Arthur screamed in his head.
“Ehem, I am really sorry for chasing after you. I was just curious about your carriage and so I ended up following it. I didn’t know how to actually approach it.”
“Curious about my carriage?” The woman raised an eyebrow. “It is as you said, a very odd carriage and I’m the weird owner. What made you want to chase such a clearly shady carriage?”
“…” The boy blinked slightly. “Weird doesn’t mean bad. Besides, I really like the design. Truly 10/10.” Arthur made a circle with his fingers as he stood up.
“Haha! You’re the first to ever compliment my humble carriage.”
“Tsk, people are just blind! They don’t have a good taste like I do.” The boy shrugged with a smirk.
The woman smiled too as she closed her eyes. “Exactly.”
*Swish*
Then, out of nowhere, a blade appeared out of nowhere in the woman’s hand as it aimed at Arthur’s neck. Everything happened so quickly and so swiftly that Arthur’s smirk didn’t leave his face immediately.
“Now… Tell me why you truly were chasing me, little kid. Depending on your question, I may or may not severe your head.” The woman said in the same calm, gentle tone. Except, this time, that calmness sent a deep chill down Arthur’s spine and made him freeze in his place.
Slowly, he lifted his hands up. “Please, wait. I am really no threat to you. I was just looking around for an armor I can use in the future and couldn’t find anything useful so when I saw your carriage I got curious!”
When he yelled all of that out, he closed his eyes. ‘Shit! This woman is insane! Good job, Arthur! Your curiosity always brings you insane people!’
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3