Fragile Phantasy

Part 14

In the midst of bustling shops, a young man named Carlo was juggling his five jobs. The vendors who passed him by would often remark on his unwavering work ethic and remind him to take it slow and rest.

"Thank you," Carl would grin in response before resuming his work.

After some time, he finally collected his hard-earned salary. "I guess this is enough," he muttered to himself before immediately heading to the red light district. He entered a brothel and sought out the owner.

"What do you want? Hurry up, don't waste my time," the nobleman barked.

Without hesitation, Carl showed him the money. "I'm here to buy Vica," he said.

The nobleman scoffed. "Not enough. She's my main attraction here. I won't sell her for a measly amount. We're done. Guard, take this bastard away from me."

"But we had a deal! You promised to sell me Vica for this amount!" Carl screamed as he was dragged out by the guards.

"I've changed my mind," the nobleman retorted.

As he was thrown outside, Carl caught a glimpse of Vica at the window of the brothel. He screamed for her to let him in, but the guards slammed the door shut. A sad face and tears were the last things Carl saw of her before the window closed.

"Vica, I will keep my promise. I will save you. Just wait for me," Carl vowed.

Vica was Carl's childhood friend turned lover. But when she reached the right age, her parents sold her off to become a courtesan to pay their debt to the nobleman. The memory of Vica being dragged away while screaming for him to save her was still fresh in Carl's mind. He couldn't do anything about it then, as he was too weak.

Lying on the street, Carl thought of hiring adventurers to help him. "This is the only way I can save you, Vica," he murmured before heading to the guild.

"Mom, Dad, I promise if I become president, our lives will be better," a young Kc happily told his parents.

His parents smiled at him, brimming with pride at their son's lofty aspirations.

As Kc entered the classroom, he was greeted by a group of shadowy figures who ridiculed him. He tried to approach them, but they only threw papers and jeered at him. The crowd turned into a pack of laughing demons, and Kc attempted to flee. That's when he met Doc and the portal.

"Kc, we will help a lot of people with this invention," Doc said as Kc nodded, smiling. But the demons from the classroom were still chasing him, and Doc sacrificed himself so that Kc could escape into the portal.

Kc suddenly woke up. It had all been a dream. He whispered to himself, "It's better not to chase your dreams. You'll only end up disappointed anyway," before falling back asleep.

As the morning light shone through the window, Kc planned to take the day off and rest to recover from his wounds. For the time being, he was staying at Andok's place because he couldn't bear to listen to Edgar's fairy tale stories that he told to his adopted children every night. Kc despised fairy tales and happy endings, believing that they were nothing but lies that would never come true in reality.

Suddenly, Andok interrupted Kc's thoughts, "Someone is calling you outside."

Kc rubbed his eyes and saw that it was Edgar standing there.

"Hey dude, you promised to help me find and prepare food for the children," Edgar said.

Kc's mind was still groggy, and he replied, "I forgot and I'm still tired from our last mission. My body still hurts."

"OK then, come on. We need to get a mission," Edgar said.

"Could we rest for a day?" Kc stretched out, still feeling the bruises from their previous mission.