As Kirou entered the treehouse, his eyes surveyed the interior of the room. The walls of the room were adorned with many decorations made from wood and plant-like materials. On one wall hung a longbow with a case filled with many uniquely decorated arrows. On another was an open window showcasing the fantasy view of the village in its entirety. As for the remaining wall, when Kirou's eyes moved to that direction, he was greeted by the sight of an elf sitting in, in his opinion, a rocking chair.
The elf in the rocking chair didn't look that old at first glance, but upon closer inspection, Kirou was able to see the signs of age present on the elf's body. Though his body was well maintained, Kirou could still see slight wrinkles on the face of the elf. If Kirou had to guess, this elf sitting before him was probably a few centuries old. Having observed enough for the moment, Kirou went up and greeted the elf in the rocking chair.
"Greetings Elder. My name is Kirou and I have traveled from Elderwood Village to see you." Kirou had his hands cupped and gave the elf before him a slight bow during his greeting.
"Hoho. Now, this is interesting." The elf in the chair then stood up and approached Kirou before stopping with a foot's distance between the two.
"What do you find interesting Elder," asked Kirou as he straightened his back.
"You are probably the first recruit not from this village that has recognized the fact that I'm an old man. So of course, I would find it interesting," was the elder elf's reply. As he stood in front of Kirou, he spent some time observing Kirou just as Kirou did to him earlier. As he did so, an undetectable light flashed in his eyes. "Looks like Old Wolf has gotten a talent on his hands. Tell me, young one. How were you able to determine that I was an old man, by elven standards?"
Having been asked this question, Kirou didn't answer immediately but instead thought over the words he was going to use. Seeing this, a gentle smile formed on the elder elf's face.
'I wonder what his answer will be. Let's hope it's something interesting,' was the elder elf's thoughts as he waited for Kirou's answer.
After spending a good minute to collect his thoughts, Kirou finally opened his mouth, "My reason for addressing Elder as 'Elder' stems from both the Elder himself and this room."
Hearing his answer caused the elder elf to chuckle before he opened his mouth, "Pray tell, what were the signs?"
"Let's point out the signs on the Elder himself," started Kirou as he pointed to various spots on the elder elf's body. "While you can be considered to be in very good shape, there are certain parts of your body that has wrinkles and your skin isn't as elastic as the elves I've passed on my way here, Elder. This is especially so for your neck and eyes."
Those words caused the elder elf to nod as he gestured for Kirou to continue with his deduction.
"Those points that I previously mentioned could be attributed to stress from running the village so my next point comes from this room itself." As Kirou said this, he pointed to the ornaments decorating the room, "Those ornaments, while still beautiful and well-taken care of, have a mature feel to them, signifying that you've had them in your possession for countless years."
The elder elf nodded and Kirou then pointed to the wall with the bow and arrows, "Next we have that wall with the longbow and the set of arrows. The bow itself isn't that special considering where we are, but the arrows are quite different from the ones that recruits such as myself would use. This is especially so when you look at the feathers used on them."
Kirou then pointed to the wall with the fantasy view of the village, "And finally we have this window over here."
"What's so special about this window, young one?" asked the elder elf with a knowing curiosity.
"On its own, absolutely nothing. But when you realize the fact that it gives a view of literally the entire village and this view is visible from your rocking chair, you would realize that it was made to observe the village in case of emergencies. Should the village come under attack or any problems occur, you will be able to see it from your rocking chair and be able to deal with it should the need arises."
The elder elf had a wide smile on his face as Kirou was making his final point, "On their own, these things wouldn't mean much, but when you add everything together, you get the description of an elder looking out for his children. And that is why I address you as Elder."
When Kirou finished his words, the elder elf started to laugh. This sudden laughter caught Kirou by surprise for a moment but he decided to wait until the elder got his fill. After laughing for a few minutes, the elder elf finally calmed down and spoke to Kirou.
"Very good, young one. Your words have satiated my curiosity."
[You have triggered the Hidden Quest
[You have completed the Hidden Quest
[You have received the following:]
Old Oak Affinity - Intimate
Skill Book - Eagle Eyes
When Kirou looked at the system messages, he was obviously startled. He didn't understand how he managed to trigger a hidden quest like that. Wasn't he just making small talk with the village head? How did small talk turn into completing a hidden quest?
"I know this is late, but allow me to introduce myself, young one. I am the village head of Thousand Wood Village. You may call me Old Oak." Old Oak said this with a gentle smile on his face.
Kirou was still slightly bewildered by the whole hidden quest thing, but he quickly shrugged it off since he had other things to do. He took a glance at the system messages once again before focusing his gaze back on Old Oak.
"Tell me, young one. What brings you to my village from so far away?" asked Old Oak seeing that Kirou was now focusing on him again.
"My apologies for the slight distraction, Elder. As for your question, I am here to deliver a package on behalf of the village head of Elderwood Village." After saying this, Kirou removed an item from his inventory and passed it over to Old Oak.
Upon receiving the package, Old Oak then walked over towards a table and placed the package down. After opening it, Old Oak then removed a letter from inside and read the contents. While reading the letter, he took a few curious glances in Kirou's direction every now and again, which didn't go unnoticed by Kirou. By the time he was done reading the letter, Old Oak let out a hearty laugh, unfit for someone his age(?).
"So it seems my eyes truly weren't deceiving me. That Old Wolf really went and made you his successor. Very good. Since that's the case, I guess I should do my part in this as well." After saying this, Old Oak went into a back room for a few moments. After rummaging in the room for a few minutes, Old Oak finally returned with a package in his hands before passing it over to Kirou. He also wrote a letter and gave it to Kirou as well. "Give these to Old Wolf when you get back to Elderwood Village. These are the items he's asked for, as well as my reply to his message."
Kirou looked at the package and letter in his hands for a second before shrugging his shoulders and putting said items into his inventory. While he was curious about the contents of both, they weren't his items to look at. He already got an unexpected benefit from this trip and Kirou still followed his old rules when transporting packages, 'the less one knows, the better it is for them.'
"Does Elder Oak have anything for me to do while I'm in the village?" asked Kirou after checking to make sure the Thousand Wood Village marker was checked off on his quest list. Just because he was done with his main quest for the village doesn't mean he has to leave right away. Especially since he plans on helping out Reya with her quest later as well.
"Hmm. Come to think of it, my village has been running low on supplies recently. Would you mind helping to secure some materials for the village? I'll be sure to compensate you properly for doing the job."
[System message: You have been given the quest
Quest:
Rank: C
Level Requirement: 10+
Description: Thousand Wood Village has been running low on certain supplies recently. Old Oak has tasked you with gathering the supplies from the forest surrounding the village. Be careful. Some material-gathering areas are being guarded.
Materials:
Towering Oak Wook - 0/200
Forest River Carp - 0/50
Purple-Silver Forest Mushroom - 0/30
Rewards:
Random Lifestyle Class Item (Uncommon)
Forest Mushroom Soup x3
25 Silver Coins
[Do you accept: Y/N]
Looking over the contents of the quests and the rewards, Kirou wasted no time in accepting it. Kirou had no problem with doing these kinds of collection or gathering quests as it was a form of relaxation for him. If given a choice, he'd probably only take on quests like these on a daily basis. Alas, so far his luck hasn't been like that.
"No worries, Elder Oak. I'll make a trip to the forest to gather these items in a few hours." Kirou said this while giving Old Oak a slight bow.
"No need to rush, young one. That is a quest you can do quite a few times since the villagers normally run through the items a lot. Instead, if you need the tools to gather the materials, you should visit the village huntsman. He will give you the tools you need as long as you ask." After saying this, Old Oak returned to his rocking chair and seemingly ignored Kirou's presence. Kirou gave Old Oak another slight bow before turning around and walking out of the cottage.
As he left, Kirou failed to notice the look Old Oak was giving him as he walked away with Reya in tow to visit the village huntsman's home.
'That stubborn old fool really went and passed it on, huh. I only hope this doesn't result in trouble like the last time that class was allowed into the world.' This was Old Oak's thoughts as he sat back in his rocking chair, observing the many villagers and players moving about the village.
*****************
"Come to think of it, Reya. You never did tell me what kind of quest you needed help with." Kirou said this as he and Reya were currently heading to the village huntsman's home, located on the north side of the village. From where they were, it would take them a few minutes to get there.
"Oh right, sorry," was what Reya said while sticking out her tongue in a cute fashion at Kirou, only to receive a chuckle from him in response. "I'm doing a quest called
"So what's the catch?" asked Kirou, looking at Reya somewhat expectantly.
"The quest can be done multiple times and the items I harvest will be used to make some tools I'll need for my apothecary work later on," replied Reya while she had a finger on her chin, staring up into the sky.
"How convenient. You have a mission that requires hunting beasts and I have one that requires gathering forest materials. Why don't we help each other out?"
"That's a deal," Reya said as she started to run in the direction of the village exit, only to be stopped by Kirou.
"Good. Let's go collect the tools from the village huntsman first. I'd hate to leave, only to have to return just to collect the tools again" Kirou said this with an amused smile on his face while Reya once again stuck out her tongue at him.