It was already dark outside when Maria logged out of the game. She's hungry so she went to the kitchen and found plates that were carefully covered. "Oh, wow! It looks yummy." As she uncovered each plate, she was already salivating. "Who-- could it be Peter?" She felt a tickle in her stomach. She chuckled. "I must be really hungry."
"Are you that happy?"
"Ay, Kabayo!" Maria jumped and dropped a spoon on the floor. She looked behind and saw Peter walking towards her. "Stop doing that. My heart almost jumped from my chest out of fright." She was a bit exaggerated.
He reached Maria and lightly tapped Maria's forehead with affection. "Silly."
"Did you cook all of these?" She turned her attention to the food on the counter. (Hmm...Looks like I will run out of stock soon.) "You have been cooking generously." She laughed awkwardly.
"Yes. I was waiting for you to log off. Come on, let's eat." He washed his hands and sat on one of the chairs by the counter. "Sit here." He tapped the chair next to him.
"If you keep on cooking like this, I will be short of my food supply soon." She voiced her concern. But who would complain about having a personal chef around?
"Nonsense. I told you that you need to keep fit and healthy while playing games. You need to have a balanced diet. and plenty of exercise." She looked at Maria. "Do you feel tired?"
"Is it that obvious? I have been running around doing gathering quests. I do not have a mover yet, so I was extremely exhausted. Even running drained my HP so I must sit and meditate to recover. The game felt so real!"
"Poor Maria. She is so unfit for the game. Pfft!. Do you want me to help you train your body?"
She felt like he was making fun of her. She lightly punched his biceps. "Ouch!" she cried. Her punch backfired. His arms were muscular, she thought.
"See? Even punching me hurt your first." He grabbed Maria's right hand and held it. "Let's eat first. We'll discuss it later."
(Oh my gosh! Holding hands again!) She blushed. She didn't look at Peter and concentrated on eating. She felt that Peter was looking at her from time to time. (So embarrassing!) She tried hard not to look affected by his stares.
"Eat slowly. You might choke if you eat that way."
"And whose fault is that?" She wrinkled her nose.
Peter lightly chuckled. "Cute."
Maria's face reddened and she wriggled her hand away from Peter's hand. "Hmmph!" She's inexperienced with this scenario. (What should I do? Ah, change the topic.) She reached for her glass of water and stood up. "I realized the NPCs in the game somehow have their free will, is my deduction correct? Did you design it that way?"
Nice try of changing the subject, he thought. He didn't answer.
"The affinity points I earned with an NPC differs. Like I got 1 point just by introducing myself. Other points I got from completing the quest given by this NPC." She eyed Peter for a reaction. "I want to know the pattern so I can get more affinity points."
Peter just shrugged. "You will not get any help from me inside the game. It is for you to figure it out. Isn't that the gist of having a fun adventure?" He collected the used plates and walked towards the sink to wash the dishes.
"I will do it!" She ran to him and snatched the foam. "Let me wash the dishes. Just sit down. You already cooked, so this is on me."
He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "How about we do it together?"
She turned pink. Her heartbeat faster. "Peter, stop teasing me. I don't like it!"
"You don't like it?" He switched his position as if hugging her from her back, his lips almost touching her ear when he whispered. "Or are you uncomfortable since this is the first time you are experiencing this kind of stuff? How do you know that you don't like it if you have not experienced it?"
Badump! Badump!
Maria's cheeks were all red. "Then, you do the dishes! I don't care." She ran away from Peter.
She heard Peter laughed. She went inside her room flustered. "That guy is too much!" She pacified her heart while patting her cheeks with her hands. She felt her cheeks hot. "If you don't want me to change the passcode of my house, stop doing that kind of stuff, Peter! I don't like it! She shouted so Peter would hear it.
He laughed even louder.
Maria lied on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Well, he's right. She has not experienced this before. She was also not aware of any man at all. Chloe said she was not fun at all because she's not interested in any opposite sex. All the men Chloe attempted to hook with her all failed. She was frigid. But why was her heart beating so fast when Peter whispered in her ear? "That smelly man! So contemptuous!" She fell asleep while steaming.
"Are you asleep?" Peter silently called when he opened the door of Maria's room. He saw her lying on the bed with eyes closed. He walked towards her. "Adorable. She fell asleep while fuming." He warmly smiled. "I am sorry, but I really liked teasing you, little one." He checked his watch. He lightly kissed Maria's lips. "I will come back tomorrow. Promise, I will not tease you again if you really don't like it." He felt his heartbeat faster.
Badump! Badump! "Oh."
***
In the next few days, Maria worked on gaining affinity points with the master alchemist, Albion. She did not grind nor earned money at all. She basically just talked to Albion, almost to the point of pestering him, and completed some gather quests for him. She has not found any quest chain since the first gathering quest. "Should I move on? There is no progress with him at all."
She looked for Albion. "Master Albion, I am going away for a bit. So, you may not see me around. Can you recommend a place where low-level monsters appear?"
"Are you going on a hunt? Did you check the town hall for some quests for low-level monsters?"
"I did. But the quests there does not suit me. I am not strong enough to kill high-level monsters."
"I see." Albion thought for a moment. "If you can fetch me some slime serum from killing slow snails outside the east gate, I will appreciate it."
[Ting.]
[New Quest: Gather slime serum from slow snails. Do you accept it? Y/N]
(Oh my gosh! I have been talking to you all day and only now you are giving me this quest?)
[Quest Accepted]
"Sir Albion, I will do my best. But, can I ask if you can lend me a weapon to kill slow snails? Right now, I do not have a weapon yet."
"I don't mind at all, Blumock. In fact, I will bestow this old dagger to you. I don't have a use for it anymore since it didn't contain mana. Here." Albion handed her the dagger.
[You acquired a weapon.]
[Do you want to equip it? Y/N]
"Yes."
Maria checked the weapon information.
[Crystal Dagger - Unique]
[A dagger made from a mysterious crystal.]
[STR: 20/ DEX: 15/ DEF: 25/LUCK: 5]
Maria's jaw dropped. "Oi grabe! A unique-type weapon! This is a godly weapon for my level! Why did the alchemist bestow it to me?" she thought. She checked her affinity points with the alchemist Albion.
[Affinity Points: 25]
"Is already 25 a high-affinity score for him to give me this precious dagger?" she thought. "But not high enough to make me his apprentice though." Who would have thought she would gain a precious weapon by raising affinity with Albion? (Although he said it didn't contain mana--it doesn't matter. This is a unique weapon and it was given for free!)
"Thank you, honourable Alchemist Albion. This crystal dagger is a precious weapon and I will put it to good use." She bowed to the alchemist.
[Ting.]
[You earned +1 Affinity point.]
"Woohoo! I love it! I think I am getting the hang of earning affinity points."