12 The Worst Companion In The World
''Lalalala~''
A woman with very beautiful long hair, a thin face, and a pear shaped body hummed a song naturally, as she walked through a desert landscape. She didn't seem to mind her totally tattered clothes and her completely empty surroundings after leaving the Forest of Blood.
''Huhuhm Lala~''
''How can you be so carefree? It's been two and a half days since we left that damned Forest, and so far we've found nothing but a destroyed gravel road. I thought you were a person who cared about everything, after all you locked yourself in that fucking dungeon for some serious reason."
''Hmmhuuhum~'''
"I see I was completely wrong about you."
She continued to hum and ignored the comment of the young man walking behind her. Lucas looked at 'that thing' in front of him and seriously thought that it would have been better to have stayed on Earth, lying on the couch at home and watching some TV shows.
To the young man's unhappiness, the irritating noise that Ket called 'singing' didn't stop and her sudden giggles beggan to emerge as well. Somehow, even though she was bound by a loyalty contract and served Lucas as her master; Ket was so happy to be out of the dungeon after countless years that she couldn't act properly.
Thanks to Lucas, she had gained the courage and the chance to do so and then made her way safely out of the Temple and the Forest of Blood, making her way through the dangerous place with Lucas' help.
Lucas looked at the blonde who hummed happily through the desert path, unaware of her thoughts about him. That person was the Supreme Goddess of Light, Ket Carinnus… But the woman was nothing like what the developers of the Soulland game demonstrated, Lucas seriously wondered: Where is the mighty, gentle, justice-preaching goddess I've admired for years?
''I knew there was a reason for all my misfortune! Our meeting was a divine revelation after years of enduring bad luck. Hihihiahahah!''
What kind of nonsense was that crazy woman talking about now? And what would be the result of this master-servant relationship they had?
Perhaps it was a great reward to have a unique being like the Supreme Goddess of Light as a servant and teammate… But Lucas wasn't sure about that, after all she had easily lost to him and the woman must have been at least around levels 120~135 at the time, while Lucas was at level 37 when fighting her and he just reached level 39 when he got out of the Forest.
'Maybe he'd made a big mistake making that contract?' Lucas thought painfully.
"If that's really it…" He thought inwardly.
"Then I'm fucked all over again thanks to my bad luck."
''Huh? Did you talk to me by any chance?''
Lucas ignored the good-for-nothing goddess and continued walking forward as he opened her stats window to check her information once more.
''United In One.''
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[Status Window]
[Overview]
[Name: Brightest Light Of Heavens]
[User Level: 123 (47685/138,000)
Main Class: Legendary Holy Archimage (Legendary Classification)
Secondary Class: Divine Light Healer (Legendary Classification)
Third Class: ?????? (Unknown Classification) (Blocked)
Fourth Class: ?????? (Unknown Classification) (Blocked)
Fifth Class: ??????? (Unknown Classification) (Blocked)
Sixth Class: ??????? (Unknown Classification) (Blocked)
Seventh Class, onwards: ?????? (Unknown Classification) (Blocked)
Active Effects: None.
Remaining Stats Points: 0.]
__
[Basic Statistics]
[Agility: 80(+20) / Strength: 80(+20)
-
Dexterity: 110 (+20) / Resistance: 130(+20)
-
Magic Power: 480(+240)]
__
[Special Statistics]
[Dignity: 49
Insight: 72
Concentration: 15
Charm: 45
Elegance: 96
Wisdom: 77
Deity: 1
????: ???? (Blocked)
????: ???? (Blocked)
????: ???? (Blocked)]
__
[User Resources]
????: Unknown (Blocked)
Mana: 7200/7200 (16,2/sec)]
+
Ket's stats certainly weren't low, but Lucas judged her combat performance to be flawed, almost the same as bar brawlers from the young man's former world.
He was impressed by the amount of points the woman had, however, as they were statistics in that complete idiot's hand, probably her status conditions would never improve and it was possible that they would never reach an astronomical value to deal with users and monsters more easily.
'These are things that make me question, how a person like that became strong...'
Ket was a great magician and an extraordinary healer from what Lucas remembered of the Soulland game, and indeed, her current classes confirmed his assumption. She has likely inspired countless healers and wizards who have marked the history of Acaris, but she was still an idiot.
''To think that a person could deteriorate to such an extent... Well, sadly, this is the world.''
''What are you mumbling to yourself there?''
''None of your business. Just a few important things, so I suggest you take care of your own things." Lucas was smiling, but his eyes were cold.
"You're too boring, Lucas~" The woman said in a cute tone, but the young man just ignored her, pretending she wasn't even beside him.
''Aren't you the least bit curious to know why I was in that place? Or how did I get to this state of current power?"
''No.''
And with that response from the boy, the blonde huffed angrily and started walking faster, distancing herself a little from the young man.
Some time passed like this, and the two spotted a middle-aged person driving a battered wooden carriage. A wide smile spread across Ket's face just as the coachman passed them, stopping at the same moment because she waved frantically at him.
''Hi. What can I do for you, miss?'' The man asked, ignoring the deteriorated appearance of the girl and the strange, ragged 'elf' behind her.
''Oh, hello! We need to go to a village, but we don't know where it is, could you give us a ride?''
'Congratulations on getting this right' Lucas thought, for the first time praising Ket.
However, he immediately regretted having done this.
''I am Ket Carinnus, your great creator! I'm doing you the honor of taking me to a nearby human village. What do you think of this proposal, sir?" The blonde woman puffed out her chest in an upright position as she was happy, while saying those stupid things with pride.
"Who are you, you weirdo?" The man asked her in a slightly gruff tone. But Lucas didn't judge him, after all, they were two completely ragged strangers in the middle of a dangerous road. If Lucas were in the coachman's shoes, he would also be extremely worried and would treat anyone who spoke bullshits in the same way.
Lucas just watched the situation unfold silently, as he thought about some things related to his companion.
'This is a useless goddess for you. The discretion she said she would have was long gone.' Lucas thought inwardly as he watched Ket sit on the side of the road with her head down, looking like she was going to burst into tears right then and there.
"And you ragged young elf, do you want something from me?" The man asked Lucas, starting to ignore that arrogant bastard who was sitting on the road.
''We need to reach a city or town near this location.''
Right now, the urgent thing for Ket and Lucas was to get stronger and get some gear. Lucas wanted to earn some money as quickly as possible and therefore needed to reach some civilization, small or not.
The carriage in front of him might not have been waiting for customers, but the boy was smart and asked the coachman: 'And I would like to ask you, which village is closest to here?'
''Woodion Village. Many newbie travelers and novice traders visit this place. If you need a driver to take you there, then you are talking to the right person."
''How much?''
The coachman raised two fingers in response to Lucas's question.
Lucas remembered the price of carriage rides in Soulland and thought the coachman was a real crook. The chariots of this world were apparently a means of transport for the rich. They were a tremendous luxury for people who only had a single coin like Lucas.
However, there was nothing Lucas and Ket could do. At the moment, they could even walk across the path, but it was impossible for them to find a village quickly, as they had no idea where things actually were. Lucas was sure that if they continued to wander aimlessly like now, they would surely get lost in some dangerous place at some point.
''Wait just a moment, please.''
The middle-aged man nodded.
Lucas walked over to the crestfallen goddess and forced her to hand over her only coins, which she had kept for countless years while she was still in the dungeon.
Lucas didn't hesitate and handed over two gold coins as Ket shed tears.
The coachman looked at the coins in his hand, then looked at Lucas.
''Young elf, what are you doing? The price for the carriage ride is 20 gold.''
Lucas watched the coachman in the eye as he took more coins from his pocket, while Ket made an expression of surprise as if she didn't believe the absurdity the man had said.
''Eh?!? 20 gold? Is it 20 gold for a mere ride?''
''This must be the first time you are taking a carriage through these areas. In safe zones like the capital, the minimum fare for a carriage is set at 7 gold coins. In an area considered to be infested with monsters like the one we are in, there must be some profit for the high risk. If I may say my opinion, this price is really cheap compared to the value of my life being put at risk here.''
''Besides, the village is relatively close to here, so I made an exception and lowered the price to the basic fare.''
The coachman then noticed some strange fluctuations in the mana surrounding the place and coughed dryly.
"Cough… I'll make one more exception and accept fifteen gold."
Lucas was silent, the two idiots who were arguing hadn't given him leeway to join the conversation so far. Then, Ket got up from where she was and rushed to the young man's side, looking deeply into the coachman's eyes.
"Ket, I'll sort this out, just sit down."
''No! I'm a master at price negotiations, just watch quietly as I win an extremely cheap ride for us!" She whispered in Lucas's ear.
''So, what are you going to do about the price I offered?''
''We're going to pay 1 gold coin and we won't talk about it anymore.''
''?????'' Lucas' eyes widened at that stupid woman's speech.
''...''
''Excuse me, sir?''
''...''
Ket was confused because the man had not answered her. The man's response was completely different from what Ket had expected.
Ket was a mad fan of noble dramas, so she decided to follow something she had learned from watching one of these plots: The basic rule of any negotiation was to induce the seller to cut as much as possible.
The coachman's reaction was anything but normal, and it was completely different from the responses in dramas where people were always saying, '1 gold coin is too cheap, I take ten gold at the most.' And then, the protagonist of the story got things almost for free.
Ket's grand plan left Lucas surprised and dumbfounded by her stupidity, he wanted to throw the woman as far away from the place now.
"Aren't you going to bargain?" Ket asked innocently.
''Who would bargain with a crazy crook like you? You useless idiot! I was still kind enough to reduce the price to fifteen gold coins because of the young elf, but did you dare to offer me 1 gold coin? Do you really want me to deal with you?''
Ket then tried to appeal to her last card up her sleeve, filling her eyes with tears.
''Please sir... My husband and son are sick and alone in the village... They must be terrified of not knowing where I am. What a sad mother and wife I will be if I can't be reunited with my family to let them know I'm alive... Please, I beg you, have pity on me and consider lowering the price...''
''I can't believe you were a goddess.'' Lucas whispered.
Ket was completely sweaty and her sad, miserable expression was as convincing as possible.
''Since you live there with your husband and son, what is the name of the village?
''H-huh, Old Wood Village?
The coachman snorted even more irritated than before.
"You're a terrible liar, it must be a burden to have such a teammate, young elf. You don't even know the name of the place, girl, and your initial plan was to go to the nearest village, not a specific village, so who would be dumb enough to believe you?''
''.....'' Ket was silent for a few seconds.
"Geez, you're too smart to be a coachman. I thought you would be easy prey.''
''What!?!? You cheap bitch!''
If the negotiation continued on that path, there would be no chance of success. Ket fled from the coachman, who tried to grab her, his face completely red as a tomato. She had hidden behind Lucas, tilting her head to the side to look at the middle-aged man.
"Please, Ket, don't open your fucking mouth."
The coachman was clearly frustrated by the comments and nonsense Ket had spoken earlier. But he made an exception for Lucas, as the young man didn't deserve to be treated the same as that blond haired idiot.
"Sir, I beg your pardon for everything my mate has told you. She's not very smart and has suffered a concussion, so she's been talking a lot of nonsense lately."
Lucas took 30 gold coins from his pocket, and Ket's eyes watered as she watched the scene.
The coachman gladly accepted the coins and nodded to Lucas, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
"Climb aboard."
''Next time, please let me sort things out... Understood?''
"Yes, Lucas."
And so, the pair formed by an idiot ex-goddess and a young vampire who had been mistaken for an elf, left for their first visit to a civilization in that world.
