Chapter 135 New Roomates
Locating the doors matching their two keys presented no major obstacle with the campus map in their possession. The huge dormitory block was clearly marked on the map, and even without the map it was impossible to miss.
They first visited Malia's single room, which was in the same building on the seventh floor, to find out how much they had been screwed over by the surly secretary. A few minutes later, after climbing an endless staircase during which they could only hear the sound of Ellie's gasping breath, the group stopped at a rickety door.
Their faces turned grim with anger.
" Erm... Not to complain, but are those... vents in the door normal?. " Kellam remarked hesitantly.
" Well, I'm more concerned about the lack of a lock. " Nardor snarled angrily. "What's the point of that damn key she gave you?"
"All right, calm down guys. We're not gonna sleep in it anyway. And a door can be repaired." Ikaris mediated but deep down he was also furious.
"That Miss Kiwi seems to have a grudge against Crawling-Thralls and Vampires." Danchun analyzed aloud. Turning to her Lord she asked out of curiosity, "Are you one?"
Ikaris figured he had never clearly told them what he was. Last Saint Village was full of Otherworlders of different races so it hadn't occurred to him to do so. But now that they were destined to interact with the other Lords and inhabitants of the Warring Lands a short briefing was in order.
Danchun and the others had already learned from Malia the basics about this planet. They had of course heard about the Glenrings, the relentless and rampant invader that constantly threatens the civilizations of the Forsaken Lands. However, they didn't know the specifics.
Ikaris opened the door with just a slight push of his fingertips and it squeaked open. A cloud of dust blew out of the room from the draft, triggering a coughing fit in the group. After dusting themselves off and coughing their lungs out, they were finally able to take a look inside.
It reminded him of those student residences barely bigger than a closet where the kitchen, the toilet and the bedroom were one and the same. There weren't even any windows. The place was covered with a layer of dust that had accumulated for who knows how long, while a dense network of century-old spider webs formed an impenetrable jungle.
Malia clenched her fists, her bloodshot eyes glistening with fury as she peered inside. Ikarus even thought for a second that she was going to turn into a Kitsune.
"I-I want to kill her." Malia snarled through gritted teeth. Her lips curled up exposing her long canines.
Ellie petted her head to calm her down, and it seemed to do the trick as the Dhampir mellowed and stopped growling. A trick she must have discovered by chance during their recent cohabitation. It should not be forgotten that they were sleeping in the same bed.
"This doesn't look like a dorm room." Danchun said as she surveyed the interior, her face grim.
"Yeah, more like an old abandoned closet. At best, a former servant's room. And I mean the slave kind." Kellam whistled bitterly.
"Let's go check out our dormitory. We were supposed to wait a few hours so maybe the cleaning hasn't been done yet." Ikaris suggested instead of brooding needlessly. He himself did not believe his own words.
His companions agreed with his plan.
Their dormitory room was on the third floor and they did not need to use their key because there were already people inside. Five people, four males and one female. And why not four men and one woman? Because it was... confusing.
"Hissss !!!!"
A goblin half a head smaller than Ellie showed yellowish fangs and started hissing as soon as they entered the room. He was significantly larger and aesthetically more bearable to look at than his smaller, primitive brethren. His ears were pointed like those of the elves and his skin was a pale violet-blue that contrasted with the poopy green of his fellow creatures. His only clothing was a loincloth and a long chain mail that fell to his knees like a dress. Clearly too big for him and still stained with dried blood that had not been scrubbed for a very long time. Way too long.
If that's all it was, Ikaris couldn't care less, but this goblin happened to be wielding two daggers covered in fresh blood and looked ready to use them again. The other four individuals were on the defensive, grouped around a wounded woman.
"By Zar's light! We're not alone with this freak!" One of their future roommates exclaimed as he spotted their group at the door. "We need someone to disarm this raving lunatic."
Ikaris and his companions exchanged confused looks. But as they stared at the five students in the dormitory, a glimmer of understanding lit up their faces.
'They're all... eccentric. The kind that get hated on sight.'
"It seems we're not the only ones being discriminated against by Miss Kiwi." Nardor spat out in a foul mood.
"I wonder how long she's been doing this. It must have been years. I'm surprised she hasn't been fired yet." Ellie remarked instead.
"That would mean that Iannaril isn't as neutral and impartial as Anaphiel implied, that's all." Taguchi finally spoke as he took a step forward.
The goblin must have taken it as a provocation because he hissed at the otaku again, then charged at them.
"Hisssss!!!"
Bam!
Ikaris greeted him with an uppercut to the stomach that made him vomit his breakfast. The untamed goblin's eyes bulged out, then he slid to the ground gasping for breath as he tried to claw at his attacker's clothes.
His fine clothes were still brand new, so Ikaris didn't give him the chance and jumped back. Danchun then incapacitated the alien with an arm lock while pressing her knee hard into the middle of his shoulder blades.
"String."
"Erm... Take my belt." Nardor offered as he began to unbutton himself.
"Take mine too for his legs." One of the other roomates volunteered as well.
"Don't forget to muzzle him too. His teeth can eat through leather in no time." The goblin's bloodied victim said as she struggled to her feet, her face pallid.
A moment later, the goblin was completely tied up. Luckily, the creature was fierce, but its strength was not much greater than that of a human.
"Soooo. What's going on here?" Ikaris asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
This was also an opportunity for them to take a closer look at their other four roomates. As could be deduced, they were not exactly human either.
The victim was a young woman with chocolate skin, quite voluptuous and curvy. Her curly hair was completely matted and in dire need of a shampoo. Her clothing style was also... questionable. A short black skirt, and a few strips of fabric of the same color tightly bandaging her chest. She wore a satchel of braided reeds and a necklace of bones around her neck. She was barefoot and her right arm had a deep gash running down her forearm.
The man who exclaimed first was probably the darkest-skinned, most obese native Ikaris had ever met. He didn't think he would meet such a guy anywhere but in an American fast food restaurant. He was sweating profusely, reeking of rancid sweat. He had a large nose, huge lips, a triple chin, impressive hair growth, and frizzy hair in a mess. He wore only a loose black tunic that looked more like a poncho, the only type of clothing he could comfortably wear with his build. He wasn't exactly the definition of handsome. At least he looked nice and seemed pleased to see them.
The one who had lent his belt was a tall black man with dreadlocks, sporting an impressive musculature. His sleeveless leather armor revealed his massive biceps covered with scary tribal tattoos, which made Ikaris realize that Magnus was wrong. The concept of tattooing existed on this planet. In his right hand, the man was wielding a gigantic battle axe almost as tall as himself, while his belt was literally a string of small human skulls... That same belt was now used to bind the goblin's legs.
The last man in the group was supporting the wounded woman to keep her from staggering due to blood loss. He was the only one somewhat properly clothed. His black-red gown and suede boots looked refined, but he wore a tribal headband decorated with gigantic red-gold feathers giving some tidiness to his long silky black hair. Not even Danchun had such beautiful hair. He also wore metal guards along his arms and a large fur cape. Apart from that, a quiver and a gigantic bow reinforced with steel blades at its ends hung from his back, but he also wore dozens of mismatched bone amulets, ruining that proud warrior image a bit.
Ah, and there were two details to add. They both had long black horns growing from each side of their skulls and displayed rows of sharp teeth like those of a saw or a shark whenever they grinned.