It was the little things that could really make the biggest of differences. Lily really didn't change so much after our midnight confessions. She still smiled and made breakfast for the two of us. Yet, the corners of her lips were just a tad higher. Her eyes were far more radiant. And, honestly, she seemed to have this glow around her that put more energy into every step she took.
"I know it's not much, but I tried making something new this morning!" she said with a motherly smile.
I blinked as she placed my plate on the table. It was a large slice of steak with two delicious, salty fried eggs on the side. The few slices of tomato were just the cherry on top.
"Is this-"
She nodded excitedly.
"You're to thanks for our bounty," she said, lifting her knife and fork. "It's not every day we get to eat such a rare kind of meat."
Without hesitation, Lily dug into her own steak. Me? I didn't know how to feel about eating a bear. No, wait, it was a monster, wasn't it?
…
I guess in this world monsters were just really strange animals? At least there wasn't any problem with eating them, right? This sort of stuff wasn't in the game.
"Thank you for the meal," I said with a nervous smile, carefully slicing off a small chunk of the cooked meat. My mind wasn't too keen on it, but my stomach and nose were all for it.
And in the end, it wasn't half bad!
—————
The town's "caravan" was still a few days away. I'd made my mind up to follow them into a bigger city, maybe not the capital, but a city closer to it. The trip would be far too long for those of this town to make, but if they could even take me a quarter of the way there, I'd be happy.
Until then, I had a lot of things to do. First off, I needed to see If skills could be leveled through repeated use. If so, how much effort did it take? Could I do it indefinitely? What about learning new skills?
There was honestly just too much for me to try out. This world and the game it was based on- how much could I exploit it? How far could I push the boundaries? What could I learn?
It was because of these questions that I'd gone and found myself a nice, quiet spot in the forest and started punching anything and everything I could get my hands on.
My fist smashed into the tree, practically exploding the area it struck. With a large crack and a splintering growl, the tree fell to the ground. I took another breath, focused, and punched the now fallen log.
For the first few moments of my punch, It felt like my fingers would break the instant they hit the tree's bark. Halfway through the motion, I felt a geyser of strength erupt from within me. My movements became more refined and sharp. It was like I suddenly knew precisely how to perform the actions that I needed to.
Another deafening crack echoed through the forest.
"Still need a little bit more practice," I said to myself. "I should move onto boulders or something."
Before, it was the sort of thing I could only do after hours of trying, but now these feats came as easily as kicking a ball. I just needed to nail it down so it could happen faster and nothing could distract me.
But, that wasn't all I wanted to try.
"Let's see what I can do with my inventory…"
Bringing in and taking out items was easy enough. I plucked a rock from the ground and tried it out a bit. How much could I carry? Was there a stack limit? These questions lead me to fill my inventory with about a hundred or so rocks. It just kept going with no apparent limit. At least, that was what I thought.
"What about this log?"
I reached out, trying to put one of the trees I'd knocked over into my inventory. Nothing happened. I tried again with a nearby branch, just to make sure it wasn't full.
"No, that still works," I hummed. "I guess maybe there's a size limit?"
But what about living things? Flowers and such did work, but animals? I needed to check that out. First, I started with bugs. Surprisingly, I could take bugs. I didn't know how having a few spiders or centipedes would do, but I could definitely ruin someone's day.
Moving on, I needed something meatier. Finding a rabbit wasn't very hard. The problem was catching one.
There was a reason people made tools and traps for this sort of thing. However, I had a workaround.
My fist smashed into the ground right next to the sprinting rabbit. In an instant, I'd crossed the distance between us. It was like something someone would see in an eastern kung-fu movie.
My skills could let me perform inhuman feats. Then, what If I used that to make myself fast enough to catch the rabbit? That had been my plan.
Even the little fluff ball was surprised by my insane boost of speed. The momentary surprise was enough for me to scoop it up in my hands.
Unfortunately, no matter how much I tried, the little bugger wouldn't go into my inventory.
I looked into its cute, terrified eyes. I could let him go but I could also bring him back to Lily. We still have a bit of bear meat, but surely a rabbit would be a nice gift, right? This might not be my world, but food was always a great gift.
My stomach rumbled and the little thing trembled.
I guess it was time to head back. How long had I been out here? An hour? Two? Five? Either way, I'd been punching at things nearly nonstop.
I opened up my menu and looked at my skills. Had anything changed?
…
What was that?
===================
Unarmed Combat: Rank [1*]
===================
My skill had a small asterisk next to it now? What did that mean? I clicked it, but nothing happened.
Ah well, whatever. It had changed, and that was enough for me.
—————
"Rabbit?" Lily asked with a hum as she watched my catch intently. The small thing had stopped struggling by the time I was halfway back.
"I know someone that loves it," she said with a smile. "She'll be very happy! Thank you, Lance!"
"Don't mention it," I said softly. "I just kinda came into it while I was training."
"Well, thank you either way!"
The days here were slow and kinda boring, but they were also nice and relaxing.
==========
Call it curiosity or a desire to follow me, but Lily was no longer content just staying at home and… doing whatever she did. Honestly, I didn't know much about what the woman got up to when I was away training. I was sure she went around the village and helped others with their work, but was that really everything she did? Clearly not.
Everyone in the small village had a job, though that didn't necessarily mean they were busy every moment of the day. Or, maybe they were? Life in a world like this was not easy. It almost made me feel a bit bad. Sure, I helped out with a few jobs here and there, but most of the time I was off doing something or other.
Then again, I wasn't part of the town. It was a really complicated situation to be in.
"It's incredible…" Lily said in a hushed whisper. "You just… kicked that rock and sent it flying away as fast as an arrow!"
Yeah, that wasn't something I was expecting to happen either. Still, the fist-sized stone had drilled a hole through a few trees and eventually exploded when it hit the ground.
How many trees had I killed now? Honestly, I'd have felt way worse if this place wasn't a fantasy world. The planet was practically all trees and global warming wasn't a thing! At least, I didn't think so? This world had magic, so maybe magical global warming could happen?
"Yeah, it was a bit surprising," I said with a laugh. "Are you sure you just want to see me practice?"
Lily gave a confident nod.
"I wanted to see how you took down that bear," she said with a soft smile. "The past two hours have really told me a lot."
She wasn't the only one impressed. I'd made incredible progress yesterday and the day before. I could call my skill almost on command and I'd started experimenting to see what I could use it for.
It was called "Unarmed Combat" not "Punching and kicking." Sure, I could throw a punch strong enough to mulch trees or kick hard enough to do the same, but that wasn't all. Perhaps the most useful part of the skill was its unknown ability that made my body tougher than steel.
Some people might buy that with enough training and the right movement someone could break a boulder, but I wasn't one of them. Without the skill, I'd break my hand. So, clearly, the skill made me tough enough to follow through with all my attacks.
However… did that mean it also made me durable enough to take something similar? At least when I was dodging or attacking? There really wasn't a way to test it out without risk.
"You want me to punch you?" Lily asked in confusion.
I was incredibly lucky that she'd come with me today.
"Yeah," I said with a nod. "I want to try a few things. Is it too much to ask?"
She giggled and shook her head.
"I'd really rather not hurt you, but If it'll help out, then sure!" she said with a soft smile, bringing her right arm up and flexing it. "I might not look like much, but M-Michael always said that learning a bit of self-defense was good!"
Her face fell at the name of her lost husband and her smile weakened slightly.
I didn't know what to say to that.
"Ready?" she asked hesitantly. I nodded.
Her fist came out like a bolt of lightning, hitting my chest hard enough to knock me over. I clutched at the point of impact, letting out a pained hiss.
"Oh my gosh! Are you ok?!" Lily rushed to my side, quickly helping me up.
"Y-Yeah," I said with a wince. "I just wasn't expecting you to hit so hard!"
It was the truth, but not all of it. This was the control experiment, and boy did it sting like a bitch!
Lily furrowed her brow and puffed out her cheeks.
"I did warn you," she said with a little laugh. "Don't underestimate village girls, you know?"
I chuckled and nodded.
"Yeah. Alright, we'll try again on three."
She nodded and took a breath.
One.
Two.
Three.
She reared back and sent another punch my way. This time, I was prepared. I tapped into the strange pool of something inside me, pulling forth the memories and movements. I stepped forward and her fist smashed into my chest.
It felt like a wet noodle had hit me. That is to say that I didn't feel anything at all.
"Oww!" Lily pulled back, cradling her arm softly. "It felt like I hit a wall."
So it did work! No, wait, oh shit!
"Are you ok?" I asked, the hint of an apology building on my tongue. "I didn't think of that. I'm sorry."
Lily giggled and shook her head.
"I'm fine," she said with a smile. "But you really are incredible. Do you think you could teach me a bit?"
Huh? Well, If she wanted me to teach her, then she probably was ok, right?
"I'm not exactly the best teacher," I said hesitantly.
"That's fine!" she countered with a small grin. "I don't think there's anyone else around that can punch holes through trees! Heck, you're like one of those chosen from legend!"
A chosen?
"Hmm. Alright," I said with a shrug. "I'll teach you, but you have to tell me about these chosen, alright?"
The more I knew about how players were seen in this world, the better.
"Sounds perfect," she said with a nod. "I never thought you were one to like that sort of stuff, though."
I shrugged.
"Eh, I'm just curious. Anyways, your first lesson will be… punching!"
Seriously, how could I teach someone a skill? The best I could do was just fumble around. By the end of the day, the most we'd accomplished was working up a sweat. Still, when we returned home and I checked my skills, I found yet another tiny asterisk next to it.
It was progress! Though, the caravan would be here the day after tomorrow. That meant it was probably time to do any last-minute things that came to mind.
Like preparing to say goodbye to Lily.
==========
"Oh, thank you for the help, dear…"
I smiled, shoveling yet another scoop of shit into the pile. God, how could someone do this every single day of their life and not smell like literal shit every second of every day?
"D-Don't worry about it," I said, biting back the churning feeling in my gut.
I just had to ask around town if anyone needed help. What was this? The fourth person that had some disgusting or menial task they needed to be finished?
"I think that should do it," the older woman said with a soft smile. She wasn't exactly a granny, but she wasn't a spring chicken either.
"You can go get cleaned up in the back and come inside for a nice treat."
I took a deep, calming breath and immediately regretted it.
This is what I get for trying to be nice.
——————
Thankfully, there wasn't anything nearly as bad as shit shoveling again. Helping pull eggs out of a chicken coop and harvest honey was a cakewalk in comparison.
A part of me was hoping the villagers might give me some sort of reward for doing so much. I'd be gone tomorrow and a bit of coin wouldn't hurt.
What was I thinking?
The people here didn't exactly have money to throw around. Every coin counted to them. Still, I didn't stop offering help.
NPC's or not, they'd let me stay in their town when I had nowhere else to go. I was scared, terrified, and frankly lost. There had been no word from the game's systems or the outside. I was completely alone and with no idea if anyone was even looking for us.
For all I knew, I'd died and my mind had been copied into the game or some shit. That guess was as good as any other for all I knew!
I tried not to think about it too much. Something like that… I didn't know If I could really handle it.
"I think I'll try and make this into a daily thing!" Lily's voice was soft and confident, pulling me out of my thoughts. I'd spent so much time here that I'd gotten comfortable with her presence.
"I'm no expert, but you've definitely improved a bit!" I said cheerfully.
And I really wasn't. Honestly, I couldn't see any difference at all. I felt a small pang of guilt in my chest for lying, but the smile that wove itself onto her face was the perfect balm to soothe the small sting.
After everything she'd done for me, a small, white lie would be fine, right?
Lily nodded and wiped the sweat from her brow.
"You're a good person, you know that?"
I quirked a brow.
"Thanks," I said as a small blush singed my cheeks. It was the sort of bare compliment that had no deception. I still wasn't used to it.
"Don't thank me," Lilly said with a tired chuckle. "It's everyone that wants to thank you."
"I guess that's fair," I said with a nod. "Not every day someone helps put down a big bear."
I wasn't so humble as to ignore that.
"Alright. I think I can go for a little bit more!" Lily said with a confident grin.
She was a real fighter. If she'd been the one to gain my class, I was sure she'd probably already be ahead of me.
I smiled and nodded.
"Alright. I guess we could go for a bit longer."
There wasn't much time left. Out of everyone in the village, Lily deserved it most of all.
———————————
Like the rising tide, time just rushed by, drowning out what I thought I had left. I woke to the sound of singing roosters. The day was here and with a yawn, I sluggishly roused myself from the grip of sleep.
Waiting for me in the kitchen was Lily, and like the last few days, she'd prepared a delicious steak for breakfast. However, there was something else that she happily showed to me once both our plates were clean.
"Think of it as a… goodbye gift," she said, pushing the wrapped bundle into my hands.
"What is it?" It was definitely a bit heavy and lumpy. There were also some pointy parts near the end. Wait-
"Everyone got to choose something from the big bear," she said with a smile. "I chose two of its big paws."
Oh. That was a pretty interesting choice.
She could see the curiosity in my eyes.
"I was going to make a lucky charm," she said with a giggle. "Hang them by the front door and all that."
A weird custom, but not the weirdest I knew of. People cut rabbits' feet and carried those around after all. That's not so different, though it took a lot of balls to do it with a bear's.
"Thanks," I said with a soft smile. "I'll make sure to put it to good use."
It would probably sell for a bit or I might be able to turn these into weapons or something. Maybe.
"That's all I ask," she said and took a deep breath. "Well, they arrived about an hour ago," Lily said softly.
Already?
"I guess I should pack my stuff then…"
Not that I had much. Anything important was in my inventory. The few things not there were just trinkets I'd found or things given to me by the locals. Still, it was better to look like I had something to carry with me. Going out empty-handed would just needlessly worry the woman who'd given me a roof to live under.
"I'll show you the way," she said. This time, the smile on her lips was far frailer and reserved.
I simply nodded and followed her out of the house. The caravan that would carry me from the town was parked near the entrance. I could see a few people going to and from the large wagon. Some were taking care of the horses while others went about unloading goods, no doubt to keep the town fed and healthy.
This was it.
I turned around and gave the town one last look. Surprisingly, I found a crowd gathering. There were a few familiar faces there, all looking at me with warmth in their eyes.
I… I didn't know how to feel.
For a short while, the people here let me call their village "home."
NPCs or not, it was a gesture I couldn't forget.
I would find my answers. And perhaps when it was all over, I'd come back and say one last thank you to Lily.
==========
The road slowly rolled by me and all I could do was watch. There was nothing around me aside from green grass, trees, and the dirt road. I couldn't even see any sign of Larion. The small village had long since vanished into the distance.
"Hey, did you really kill one of those massive bears?"
I turned to one of the men coming along for the ride. He wasn't from the town, rather, he was hitching a ride into the next one.
"Heard that from the locals?" I asked.
The man nodded, his raven locks flapping in the wind.
"It's something you'd expect a knight of the holy order to do, not some amnesiac out in the middle of the forest."
Huh.
"Learned a lot about me, did you?"
He blushed and chuckled nervously.
"Sorry if it seems odd. I'm the curious sort and that sometimes has me digging a bit too deep into things," he mused and rubbed his naked chin. Unlike the other men driving the cart and keeping an eye out for trouble, this one was free of any facial hair.
"Honestly, it's gotten me into trouble before!"
Yeah, I could guess that. Curiosity could lead people into dangerous situations, especially in a world like this.
"Anyways, my name's Mindas!" he held his hand out. I stared at it for a second before giving it a firm shake.
"Lance, though you probably already knew that."
"Yep!" he said, perhaps a bit too quickly. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but he seemed really eager to do something.
"So, where you headed, Lance?"
I took a breath, savoring the fresh air. Compared to taking a bus through the city, this was so much more relaxing. Sure, the cart was practically full of goods to be sold, but I still had more room than transit. More personal space too!
"I'm trying to make it to the capital."
"Quite a journey you have ahead of you," Mindas said with a laugh. "I suppose you'll be heading as far as this cart takes you, eh?"
I nodded.
"No idea where that is, but yeah."
"Hmm," Mindas blew a hum, his brow furrowing. "I guess that'd be Isanya…"
I blinked and he easily picked up on my confusion.
"It's a town to the northeast. You get all sorts there and their wine is superb."
"Really? How close is it to the capital?"
Mindas shook his head and shrugged.
"Still quite far, but not nearly as we are right now. I think Isanya would probably be a great place for you to stock up on supplies and hitch a ride on a caravan or something. Plenty of them head off for the capital from over there."
"You know a lot about this stuff." Maybe it was common knowledge?
The man, who seemed to be about a decade older than me let out a laugh.
"I'm a bit of a merchant, you see. I've been around most of Engel, so I know a thing or two."
That was the name of the Kingdom, right?
…
"A merchant, huh? So is most of this your stuff?" I pointed towards the bags stuffed around the back of the cart. A lot of it was just trade goods from the village, but some of the bags were definitely not from there.
"Some," he said with a chuckle. "I made a bit of a… blunder not so long ago."
Well, I had nothing better to do…
"What happened?" I asked.
"Just a bad business decision," he said dismissively. "I'm stuck lugging this stuff around now and the only place I'll make a profit is in a town closer to the capital."
I wasn't one to say I knew anything about being a merchant, but losing money was something everyone could understand.
"Sorry to hear that," I said with an apologetic look.
"Eh, don't worry about it," Mindas said with a shrug. "Unless you'd like to buy some quality vase warmers?"
…
"I'm sorry, vase warmers?"
Were those actually a thing? No, he had to be making a joke, right?
He laughed.
"Sounds insane, doesn't it? But, they were surprisingly in demand up north. Thought I'd beat everyone to it, but by the time I arrived, the demand just dried up."
I didn't know what was more unbelievable. The fact people actually wanted this stuff or the fact that it existed in the first place.
"Yeah, well, sorry to say, but I'm not interested."
A soft, rolling laugh burst from his lips.
"Didn't think so."
I nodded, and before long our conversation moved into small talk. There wasn't much I could do, not knowing a lot about the world but the basics, so an eventual awkward silence came over us.
"What about you? Why are you heading for the capital?"
That… I guess it was fine to tell him.
"You know my memories are a bit jumbled. I'm hoping that going to such a big place might help me a bit. I'm sure there are lots of people there, right? Maybe one even knows me."
All a lie, of course. Hopefully, he'd buy it.
"Hmm, I'd say it's a good a plan as any. Still, just asking if anyone knows you there doesn't sound like it'd be very efficient."
"I guess…"
He turned to me, eyes sparkling with delight. I could just about see the idea that just burst into his mind.
"Say, how about I help you out a bit?"
…
"Help? How?"
"I'm a merchant, you know! There are people I could ask to help you."
Ah, crap. Now I'd definitely look suspicious if I just blew him off, though, wait, maybe I could use this?
"I'm guessing you'd want something in return for this, right?"
He laughed.
"You're a sharp one, ain't you? Yeah. I could use someone with a lot of muscle to help me with something."
"Like what?" I asked skeptically.
"Just some bodyguard work. We'll basically be heading in the same direction, so why not, right?"
I'd be lying If I said it sounded like a bad idea…
"Can you give me a bit to think about it?"
"Heh, don't worry. We have hours until we get to the next town."
Great. Something was telling me I'd need the time.