CHAPTER 420: ARC 6, CHAPTER 36: REAL AS REAL GETS

"You really think this is all fake?" Jotou glanced around the vicinity. Fires caused by her lightning fortunately were not able to catch onto other forestry and snuffed themselves out.

She was kneeled in the grass, with Ben’s head on the ground staring up. "Can’t you breathe the fresh air? Don’t you feel the soft grass?" her hand idly caressed through greenery.

...

...

"The brain’s a fickle thing man... It’ll believe what it’ll wanna believe," he parted his lips and watched the sky. "That said, it’s not like I can’t believe the things I physically feel."

"So it’s the people who’re fake to you? You honestly believe that," Jotou replied.

"This’s all been a fantasy world. It’s something I’ve always dreamed about. In this world, I wanna be whoever the hell I wanna be; do whatever I want that I couldn’t... You think my fat ass could be a hero in our world? You think I’d be getting dates and-"

"Be confident?" Jotou interrupted.

"..."

"I think your mentality’s the issue there buddy."

"Don’t gimme that ’You can be whoever you want to be’ crap. Or ’You can do whatever you set your mind to’. It’s not that simple and the world doesn’t make it fucking easy either. Even your body works against you half the time.

You get to be this beautiful noblewoman with lightning magic and I get to be this awesome dude with fire magic. The NPCs? Complex as hell to figure out, but you can figure them out eventually.

Every time I live out the fantasy I once had, I gotta remind myself that it’s still a fantasy. I get where you’re coming from... But you gotta realize the facts my guy," he mournfully watched the clouds.

Jotou leered down at him. "Your party—Clyde and Colwyn. I don’t know them much at all, but you do. You’re telling me nothing about them feels real to you? Every conversation you’ve had with them—every joke, every story, every fight?"

"..." His light grey eyes finally darted to the grass around him.

"All the strangers you’ve helped—all their thanks and gifts? Did it feel like you were just redeeming quest rewards? All the problems, outside of the monsters and quests; they’ve felt empty to you?

Like they lack any personality or are just bunch of archetypes and clichés that will stay the same no matter what you do?" Jotou continued.

"Dude, I think I have a concussion, can we not?"

"No, cause you won’t hear me out otherwise."

Ben sighed.

"Did last night feel fake to you? The fun we had? Do you really think that all the people around you have stats assigned to them that you can raise and lower without you ever caring about it? What about it feels fake to you other than you saying it’s fake to yourself?

Face it Crispy, this world is as real as real gets. The people are just too complex for you to be calling them NPCs. So you gotta treat this like an actual life, as different as it may be. Those goblins should be treated with the same regard," she advised.

"..." He shook his head in the grass. "I’m still gonna just kill them and complete the quest. Whatever you say, the quest’s the quest still."

Jotou frowned in disgust and stood up. The sky was heading into the late afternoon. She spun the handle of her blade in between her fingers, "You’re welcome to try." She headed towards the goblin encampment...

_

’It’s always been like this with him. He gets an idea in his head and he won’t change. Am I that stubborn? To that extent?’ Jotou looked at her own palms. ’I don’t think so. Daiyu’s always been gung-ho, but I guess that’s different.

Different kinds of stubbornness? I guess it makes sense. But Crispy’s is just so, UGH! Are all my friends just different kinds of stubborn? The hell am I even going on about—I’m tired.’ She held the bridge of her nose.

The armite sword was impaled into the dirt. Next to it was a shapely rock Jotou sat on—knees bent and slouched over. Her waning eyes passively viewed the goblin encampment. ’I’m bored.’

She turned her head and scanned through the woods. ’Did he go back to the village? Did he just leave without me? I wouldn’t blame him I guess.’

Dusk extended the preexisting shadows and turned the skies into hues from orange to purple. The blonde pouted, watching her own shadow stretch and stretch. Beams of sunset rays sparkled past her eyes and bangs.

’Do I honestly cut him off? He’s... one of the friends I have left from Earth. But is it really a good idea to stay friends with someone acting like this? If I act out of line, would I want my friends to set me straight? It’s their responsibility.

I’ve tried so many times to convince him, but he doesn’t want to be convinced. I...’ Her head started filling with memories of playing games and having hundreds upon hundreds of conversations about everything. Chemistry, physics, school, hangouts-

’Dammit.’ Her eyebrows knitted and she clenched her teeth. ’I thought finding him would be great. It was gonna be; we were all gonna meet up and it was gonna be us, all of us again. And now I want to punch him till his teeth break.’

Her eyes scrunched shut and she exhaled deeply. ’What do I even do?’ She welled up with tears, but wiped them away and shed no more. She let her face fall into her crossed arms. ’Am I the one in the wrong and overreacting? Is it not that deep?’

"Hiwi?"

Jotou popped her head up and noticed a goblin guard standing in front of her with a spear. "Oh. Didn’t know I was spotted here."

"Moi kisht fashtuwali? Iljack fush waytak," he pointed to the camp. Torches were sparse and the biggest source of light was the bonfire in the middle of it all.

There were more green figures walking about, ranging from, presumably, men, women and children. Some waved at each other while some stopped to converse; it was like a morning stupor for them.

"Am I invited in?" she grabbed her pack from the side of the rock. She then pointed to the camp with inquiry.

The goblin nodded and huffed out something in his language.

"I don’t quite follow..." her face scrunched.

He walked behind her and pointed the spear at her back. He pointed to the encampment and then stuck the back of the spear into the dirt.

"Need to be escorted, understood," Jotou picked up her sword and sheathed it, before promptly being ushered into the encampment of goblins.

All red eyes would immediately dart to the blonde human stranger in their midst. The scent of smoke was mixed in with some form of breakfast stew being boiled above the bonfire, with bones and meat.

The other smell that hit her senses was one of leather and moss. It was not from the smoke, bones or meat; rather from the goblins themselves as she glanced around.

Two spears crossed in front of her, barring her from walking any further. About the height of herself, was a conical tent with some special markings and writings upon the tan-hued fabric. ’Doesn’t look like any language I’d know.’

Hearing goblin whispers, her eyes darted to the side. Goblin children no taller than her knee peeked around tents and corners, observing her while gossiping. They scurried off the moment she looked.

"Hiss." The tent ruffled, catching her attention once more. Out came furry insectoid legs of brownish-black. The blonde’s brows furrowed and she sparked just her hands in a defensive position.

A giant spider with all its eyes trained on her crawled out with a belt around its body and a throne-like seat on top, which carried a wrinkly goblin with a leather cape and a crown much too large for its head.

It squinted up and pointed at her, revealing the dozens of jewellery wedged onto five fingers. "You, hooman."

"Oh great, you know English- Krian, I mean," Jotou dissipated her sparks.

"Why seek me, fashtuwali of tribe?" she curled her fingers. Her green hair was starting to fade into lighter yellows and her razor sharp teeth were dulled.

’Assuming that means leader.’ "Well, the people in the nearby village have reported your tribe for stealing and pillaging them-"

"Yes. We survival, need eat," she hissed and so did the spider she was riding.

"R-right, I’m not saying you shouldn’t survive, but they do have a problem with it. The guild’s put out a bounty on your tribe to adventurers who can get rid of it, by killing your people- But!" Jotou put both her hands up.

The goblin leader’s eyes crinkled more as they widened and she was about to yell something out till the blonde exclaimed right before.

"I’m trying to negotiate; make a deal. One so that the villagers don’t get pillaged and your tribe can move elsewhere," she explained.

"You come as warning?" she sneered.

"Yes, but not as a threat."

The other goblins flanked around Jotou while the leader groaned to herself in thought. "Guild..." she hissed. "No need deal. We be kill if we no move. So we move."

Jotou’s brows rose, "Alright, that works."

The leader shouted something in goblin to the rest of the nearby tribe. Many of them hissed and sneered in response, baring their teeth. They pointed spears at the blonde and looked to the leader.

The leader in response waved her hand down, muttering something else and then looked to Jotou, who watched all the goblins cautiously.

"Hooman lucky you polite pretty. Or you have become sacrifice," she pointed.

"Thank you...?"

The leader growled and scrunched her nose before the spider turned and walked her back into the tent while she commanded something to the other goblins.

_

In the dark, through the shrubs he watched the goblin encampment. "Slap!" He hit his own ear, killing a mosquito now squished on his palm.

"Damn, knew I’d miss this thing," he looked at the dented helmet he hung on his belt. Ben kneeled down and crept closer and closer towards it till the last of the bushes.

From there he could hear music being played—flutes and some string instruments? He carefully peered at the lit torches and one shadowed figure was much taller than the rest.

A couple of strands of her blonde hair being whisked by the wind while she sat on a log surrounded by goblins varying in heights. "What the..." Ben furrowed his brows.

Meanwhile, "No, I’m good, thanks," Jotou refused a bowl of... whatever the brownish-white mush was with a bone sticking out of it. The goblin muttered something and walked away.

There were six or so tiny goblins excitedly surrounding her, with two adolescent-looking ones and three adult ones as well. A few played music of odd rhythms by blowing into large jars and carved string instruments. One guard constantly kept an eye on the human.

"Ripa! Ripa!" one of the tiny goblins jumped in front of her.

Jotou smiled and sparked a finger, to which the tiny goblins stared at it with smiles—their sharp teeth were barely even formed. The jumping one reached for and touched her finger, before promptly yelping as it got shocked.

The blonde retracted the finger immediately, "Don’t do that."

One of the adult goblins grabbed the tiny one by the ear and dragged it away, scolding it in goblin while the tiny one whimpered along.

Two younger-looking goblins stuck a post into the dirt with a crudely painted target. "Ripa, kundalak!" they pointed to it from a good distance away.

Jotou shook her head, "I can’t shoot that far."

"Ripa kundalak! Ripa kundalak!"

She sighed and formed her fingers into a gun-shape. Aiming at the target, she continuously shot her zap spell forward. However, it flowed just about a few centimetres away from the tip of her fingernails before it just fizzled into the air.

The two goblins’ shoulders fell and the ones around her muttered sounds of disappointment. "Told you so. Though I guess none of you understand me," she remarked.

Her eyes then widened as a rush of sparks went down her neck. She turned and put her hand out, only to catch something. Jotou knitted her brows and opened up her fingers; it was a pebble. She glanced around, as did the other goblins in a slight panic.

She spotted red armour that gleamed in the dark from the distant torchlight. Jotou arose in an instant and swished around before marching in the direction—hand on her sword hilt.

Branches crushed as Ben walked out with his hands in the air and brows creased up.

Jotou eased her hand off of her sword.

"...Hey," Ben slowly lowered his arms.

"Hey."

"Howaiyah!?"

Jotou turned to the goblin guard behind her, "It’s fine," she calmed with her hands out. The goblin kept his spear up, but did not advance.

...

...

"Look, I was thinking about it and... if you don’t wanna kill the goblins, we don’t have to," Ben avoided eye contact.

"Good," the unfazed blonde kept her glare.

...

...

Ben glanced at the encampment behind her. The tiny goblins had run off and hid behind the log while most seemed unaware of his arrival. Music still played and the smell of food cooking permeated the air.

"Had some time to think have you?" Jotou broke the silence between them.

"Yeah," he admitted, sheepishly eyeing the ground. "I guess, you matter to me here."

Jotou’s scowl faded in an instant and she stared a bit blankly at him for a while. One brow raised alongside the slightest tilt of her lips, "You were listening?"