"Welcome, are you here for normal housing or more advanced housing options?"
The man at the counter had said as Calamity approached the counter. The man was dressed in a black robe with shorter sleeves than the normal ones he was familiar with. On closer look, he saw a name tag on his chest saying "Chen Wu".
"What's the difference between normal housing and the others?"
"My good sir, normal housing it simply for travelers that need a place to stay. Advanced housing offers additional services for travelers."
"What services do I get normally for normal housing?"
"For normal housing, you pay 10 copper a day, a room with only a bed and free breakfast during the duration of your stay. You would have to checkout after your duration or you'll be evicted by the government."
Hearing the details, he decided to stick to normal housing as it seemed the other options were more expensive. Something he couldn't afford with his now 9 silver and 36 copper.
"Normal housing in that case."
"How long do you plan to stay?"
"7 days please."
With that, Chen Wu began to create a reservation for the man before him for 7 days. He noted his appearance. Although the man before him wore a clean white robe with a healthy flush on his face, it seemed he was still innocent and poor if he came to this place only to reserve normal housing. Even though it wasn't unlikely for travelers to come to their establishment for normal housing, they were more renown for their advanced housing options.
"What's your name so I know who I'm creating reservations for"
"Calamity"
With that, Chen Wu concluded his reservations and gave a card to Calamity, the card having the number 206. Calamity noticed this number and moved towards his room. He saw that the rooms on the floor he was on had only room 100-110. He moved towards the second floor and finally saw room 200, walking down the hall he found his own room. Swiping his card at the door, it unlocked and he walked in.
Inside the room, He noticed it was quite spacious for a room with only a singular bed. Although it seemed uncomfortable to others, to him, it was perfect. All he needed was a bed to sleep, with the addition of the large empty space, he could exercise.
He began to take off his clothes and store it in his own storage ring. Feeling free in his room, he began to execute his workout routine of squats, sit ups, push ups, lunges, and burpees. He repeated these sets for close to two hours, close to midnight. Feeling the sweat soaking his entire body, he decided he needed a shower but because his room didn't have a shower or anything to help, his only choice was to wear his old clothes and head back down to inquiry for a bath.
On his way down, he too met with some people heading down, although curious about their intentions at midnight, he didn't mind too much since all he wanted to do was cleanse himself and sleep. With that, he arrived at the counter and saw Chen Wu again.
"Hey, do you know a place where I can wash myself?"
Hearing this, Chen Wu remembered it was the man named Calamity who he had worked with. Looking at him, he could immediately tell that the man was covered in sweat as his face was soaked, his hair damp, and his rough breathing. Though, he assumed he had done some bed activities, he didn't bother too much about it and simply told him about the bathhouse near the back entrance of the inn.
With that, Calamity proceeded towards the bathhouse that showed labels indicating separation between genders. Entering the side for males, he continued. In the changing room, he removed all his clothing and headed towards the washing area to cleanse his robes and shoes. Inside, he saw other men but unlike him who was naked, they wore their underwear. Putting aside his embarrassment, he headed into a corner where he could silently wash his clothing.
The men inside the washing room couldn't help but look at the figure that had just entered naked. It wasn't just the fact that he had walked in absolutely naked, it was also the fact of his appearance. From the side, they could see a lean figure with refined muscles that stood out. Even when he was crouched, they couldn't help but look at his thighs and calves that seemed to bulge.
They knew for sure that the man before them certainly worked out and had a remarkable body. When they first saw him enter, the thing that caught their eye was his 8 abs muscles that jutted along with his muscular chest. His shoulders looked broad and his arms were jacked. The craziest thing was that the thing that made them do a double take wasn't his remarkable body, it was his monster little brother.
If his body make the men in the wash room astounded, then his little brother made them feel like their prides were shattering. Although the men were all knowledgeable men who've seen scholar works saying the size of a man's little brother isn't important, it still didn't make them feel any better. After all, what man couldn't say they want bigger and better things for themselves?
Although a man can wish, these wishes weren't easily achieved and staring wasn't helping their case either. With that, the men all turned to their own washing as if deciding in unison to ignore the young man. Although the young man looked busy, he knew well about the stares and gazes at his body. Embarrassment flushing on his face as he felt his ears go red. After finishing his washing session, he walked out of the washroom towards the bath room where he saw a bundle of towels, grabbing one, he wrapped it around his crotch as he didn't want a similar situation to occur like the wash room.
Upon entering, he saw a few men already in the waters sitting and relaxing, looking to the side, he saw men washing themselves with soap and water. He walked towards washing area and grabbed a stool to use for his cleansing. Lathering himself in soap and scrubbing it hard so he felt clean again, he rinsed it all off and proceeded towards the bath where he could soak himself.
Once he stepped in and sat, he couldn't help but sigh in relaxation as he felt that this water was somehow better than any other bath he had.
Perhaps this bath water was special?
Closing his eyes to rest, Calamity couldn't help but feel his eyes drifting away into sleep as his body soaked in the waters. Many of the men who saw this young man falling asleep couldn't help but nod in understanding. They too drifted to sleep the first time they came here. Though, they were all spent and needed rest. They just assumed the man had done some intense bed activities with his lover and simply exhausted himself on his first trip.
Hours had gone by and Calamity snapped his eyes open. Feeling rested enough, he walked out and found another towel to dry himself off before he went back to the inn and to his own room to sleep for the night. Currently it was about 5 hours until sunrise but Calamity wasn't rushed as he was confident that he'd wake up in the morning and go job hunting.
Entering his room, he collapsed on the bed and began to drift to sleep under the covers. During the night, he began dreaming. In the dream, he saw himself as a child and watching his life from childhood to now, as if he was watching a movie. There was nothing special about his childhood as it was just him walking around the estate with his family, him constantly exploring the estate and him watching the stars. These were the things he liked to do, explore the and stargazing at night.
Although Calamity couldn't help but notice that he understood himself dreaming, the image shifted and it soon became something unrelated to him. Now, he saw a book. The book was a diary he had when he was still in the family but left behind. It brought him nostalgia as he remembered how little he used the diary. At a young age, he had said he would only write the interesting things in life inside his diary. But now, at most only 5 pages of the diary were written and it was at most about the things he first discovered and nothing else.
Soon, the dream began to fade to darkness and his mind gradually started to wake up. Now, it was officially his first day of being inside the city.