CHAPTER 10: CENTRAL ASHVALIS (1)

Navigation through this part of the city might be a lot more difficult than I expected with how busy it is. There are a lot more people here than the last time I was here.

The streets are flooded with people so I’m not really sure I know what the best route is for us to take.

"I planned to stay next to you the whole time... This is a bit more intimidating than I expected.." Ghost says with nervousness in her voice.

"It’ll be okay, we just need to find a place to stay." I reply while taking a few looks around.

A lot of the buildings around us didn’t seem to have a sign indicating that it was place to stay. Most seem to have a shop feeling to them or were used for trading whatever items you had.

I took a few breaths in and out as I looked around, trying to calm myself down a bit since I’m not usually good with all these crowds.

Minami usually helped me get through crowds like this since I would freeze up a lot back then... I’m not really that great with people like this.

"Rokuro are you okay?" Ghost asks with concern in her voice.

Sounds like she pushed her nerves aside because of her worry for me but how could I explain it? Would she even understand what it’s like for me to be overwhelmed by the amount of people here...?

I raise my hands up to my head for a minute while drowning out the sounds of everyone’s voices. My heart is beating out of my chest as I try not to look at all the people around us too much.

I’m 19 years old so I shouldn’t be letting all of this get to me this much, come on Rokuro.

What the hell is wrong with me?

The pain in my wounds began to bother me as I held my hands up, slowly forcing me to let them down after a few moments.

I’ll never be able to do anything to help anyone if I can’t even be around people without having a reaction like this. I’ll just be more of a hindrance at that point... That’s not okay.

Weakness after weakness.

I’m tired of having all of these problems that I can’t overcome because I never awakened anything.

A warm feeling pulls me out of my head as I look down at my hand to see ghost holding onto it. "Do I finally have your attention?" Ghost asks with a concerned expression on her face.

"Sorry... I just don’t do well around such a big amount of people. I know it’s stupid..." I respond with a bit of disappointment in my voice.

I would’ve been happier if I grew out of it but that wasn’t the case for me at all. In a world like this with such a stupid weakness, I’ll be eaten alive.

"It’s not stupid, I’m here with you though. It’s a lot for me too but we’re keeping each other company so let’s get through it together." Ghost manages to say before her nervous tone returns.

"Thank you, let’s check out the building over there." I reply gratefully before suggesting where to go.

She didn’t let go of my hand as we went over to one of the buildings on the East side of the street. A sign was just barely visible on the side of the door that read "Valis Hotel".

The building looks like it’s in fairly good condition like the Velgrade guild building is. It reminds me a lot of the older architecture from a couple years ago, before the collapse.

When they were still trying to keep more of a modern look instead of some futuristic crap.

"Shall we head inside Rokuro?" Ghost asks with a bit of anxiousness in her voice.

"Of course." I answer before opening the door.

Upon entering the main lobby I could see a few people sitting in the booths on the other side of the room. A woman at the reception desk with long blonde hair that looks freshly washed, green eyes, and wearing some sort of uniform.

I guess it’s expected that some places would still keep a uniform, even after the world fell apart. I’m wondering how much it’s going to cost to stay in a place like this for a night or two since I never stayed here before.

My last trip to central Ashvalis was very brief and I didn’t really look around like I did today. How did I even manage to survive my last trip with the way people are here?

Surely there wasn’t as many people as there is now, or did I just ignore it back then? It’s impossible for me to do such a thing.

"Welcome to the Valis Hotel. How long will you be staying?" The woman asks with a small smile on her face.

The lobby was actually quite nice in here and everyone seems to be dressed kind of nice for the most part. Even the counter was in pretty good condition, have they really fixed up a lot of this shitty city?

"One night will be good for now." I answer with certainty.

"Four silvite please." She says with a kind tone.

I hand her the four coins from my pouch and wait for her to give me the key. "This is for you, room 22. Up the stairs over there." She says after handing the key card over.

A place that can still utilize key cards is definitely rare since I thought most would be without power. I should’ve assumed otherwise with all the neon signs, even if they aren’t fully functioning.

"Thank you." Ghost replies to the woman before dragging me along.

She drags me up to the room and uses the key card to get us inside , it was even nicer inside of the room. Freshly cleaned, the bed was made, and an old TV was on the dresser in the center of the room.