Unsafe Working Conditions : A He Who Fights With Monsters 6+ Companion Story

Chapter 8 - Exasperated Sigh

The two men had removed all but their underclothes, Henri was done first and with a look of resignation walked back towards the small room. Liam was having trouble stripping off the garments as they had adhered to his skin with industrial adhesive strength, seeing Henri heading back into the room he called out, "Can you grab my stuff while you're in there?"

The tall man stopped and turned to look at Liam, the tall dark skinned man's face a look of complete consternation, "Hell no! You have to go back in that pit of misery and get your own stuff." A look of anger replacing the confusion. It was difficult for Liam to take him seriously with his pale teal boxers standing out starkly against his midnight black skin.

Henri entered the room and began to extricate his things, along with emptying out as many of the compartments as he could without getting covered in the rank up goo. As he tossed things out of the room he saw Liam had finally managed to peel off his shirt, the little man was just completely out of sorts now trying to remove his pants. The stream of curse words that flooded from the man as he thrashed on the ground like a fish were plentiful and creative while being oddly specific and colorful.

With a roar and squelching sound that lasted far too long Liam was finally separated from the second skin that was his pants. Standing up the shorter man looked like some sort of humanoid zebra. With a disgruntled huff he stormed into the small room, his eyes streaming from the smell. He grabbed everything Henri had left, he was about to exit the room with the last items when he remembered the compartment beneath the bed.

"Henri, there are these cubes under the bed. When I grabbed them earlier they started to drain my mana. What do you think we should do with them?" Liam tossed the last few items into the pile of goo covered possessions. Liam returned to the bed and gripping with his fingers lifted the bed to show the cubes that were nestled in their crevices.

A handful of coins flew from the side and with a splat stuck to the torso, arm and a single one stuck to Liam's cheek, "Have some spirit coins and pick one up." Henri leveled a flat look at him, the slender man had dressed himself in a blue jumper with a seven and gamma symbol on the right side of his chest. The clothes did not fit him well, the sleeves were considerably longer than any human would need, based on the thickness of the rolled cuffs, and the legs ended in that awkward space between shorts that were too long and pants that were too short.

Peeling the coins from his body he placed them in his mouth, the feeling of energy entered his body. Reaching out he picked up the small cube, the feeling of a popping soap bubble occurred just before he touched it. The cube disintegrated, and he felt the mana drain from his body, the drain was less than he remembered. As the dust from the cube began to travel up his arm, he noticed it was accompanied by a pleasant tingling sensation. Closing his eyes, he focused on what the dust was doing. It was at his elbow when a grin spread across his face and he turned to face Henri, "Hey, I think these are cleaning equipment or something, it's only destroying the goo and any dead skin as it passes over me."

Henri had a skeptical look on his face, as Liam turned to show the arm that was clean from the elbow down. The lean man's look shifted to a contemplative one as he watched the progression of the dust he spoke up, "I'll wait and see once it's done doing whatever it is doing to you."

Liam shrugged and waited while the dust slowly covered his body. There were a few moments that worried him as the dust covered his face and traveled downward. Since he had recently purged, his body was sensitive, therefore making the experience very awkward. Once the dust had completed its routine, it seemed to vanish, the vaguest whiff of rainbow smoke was sensed.

Henri nodded his head and proceeded to engage one of the dust cubes. It spread over him just like Liam saved for when it consumed his teal boxers. The Frenchman was dismayed he had to change into a bland white pair after just having changed.