A few hours later, Yuuta cleared all of the quests he got, earning him four level-ups in return. With warm-up done, he decided to finally venture into the Spirit Jungle so he could map it out.
"Tomorrow is the weekend, and my next fight in the underground is two days from now, I have plenty of time to complete this quest... it wouldn't take long, right?" Yuuta said to himself as he returned the knife on its sheath which hung on the right side of his belt.
[Equipment: Bronze Knife (Normal) ...]
The Spirit Jungle was as gloomy as ever. And yet, for some reason, Yuuta didn't feel any goosebumps on his skin. To him, the quietness of the place has become the atmosphere of tranquility and he found it rather peaceful. Just like before, he enjoyed the place as he mapped it. If it were any other Dreamer, they would've sprinted like madmen to get out of the damned place but as for Yuuta, it was like he was experiencing the time of his life, strolling through the Jungle as if he were strolling in the middle of the city in the middle of the night.
A panel on top of Yuuta's head suddenly flashed as he reached a certain point in the Spirit Jungle. Yuuta took a step back and braced himself for an ambush. Seeing the panel appear on top of his head made him feel like there was danger nearby... but his thoughts were misplaced. Apparently, the panel on top of his head indicated the percentage of his mapping quest. Right now, it was at 23%.
But just as he reached the 25% mark, he felt something creep up on his skin, making him flinch and put his guard up as he looked around. He could've sworn that a figure was standing behind a tree 36 meters from him but it could be his mind playing tricks on him.
And that's when he saw it.
A panel appeared in front of him, showing someone's identity as if he were standing there. Seeing the panel made Yuuta believe that he wasn't seeing things. There really was a figure behind that tree.
One glance at the panel was enough to make Yuuta choke up.
[Name: Ki-ru Shoumetsu
Race: Human
Gender: Male
Class: Assassin
Level: 474
Title: Killer
— You have tasted the blood of the innocent, granting you the title of a murderer
— Having a human as a target increases your speed and attack by 50%. Having a beast or another race as a target increases your speed and attack by 25%... ]
"What is a killer doing in the Spirit Jungle?" Yuuta asked himself. Fortunately, the killer didn't even bat an eye in his direction. He could sense that the killer's presence was already gone.
However, Yuuta knew that the killer was watching his every move for just a few seconds. With that thought at the forefront of his mind, he decided to keep his guard up for the remainder of his quest.
.....
A day passed in-game and Yuuta was still not yet halfway done with mapping the entire Sprit Jungle. In real-time, he only spent about 12 hours playing so he didn't have to log out just yet. Moreover, tomorrow is the weekend so he's got plenty of time to play.
"You're here." A voice suddenly interrupted Yuuta's line of thought, making him whirl around.
It was Yua, she was standing behind a thick undergrowth.
"Yua, why are you here? Shouldn't you be resting right now? It hasn't been a day since you got spirited away." Yuuta called out as he cautiously approached Yua. Although the surroundings were perfectly safe thanks to his Black Grsrzy Scarf, he assumed that Yua would just get in trouble with the Evil Spirits in the Spirit Jungle again.
"I heard from your friend that you were. That girl with orange hair. Never mind that, what are you doing here? Didn't you almost die in this Jungle because of that incident? Why did you come back here?"
"I'm completing a quest. It's an Exclusive Quest so it's hard to pass up. How about you, why are you here?"
For some reason, Yuuta felt comfortable enough to sit under a tree. He had been walking for two hours straight, overlooking the same old panorama of the Spirit Jungle, so he figured it was the best time to take a break. With Yua in the Spirit Jungle, he could tell that their conversation would lengthen, providing him an excuse to rest.
"Oh, about that. My mom packed breakfast. She told me to bring it to you." Yua bashfully said as she showed Yuua a wooden basket.
The basket was the typical wooden basket that could be bought in the market for a Quartz. Most of the people in the city use it when bringing food with them. Some rarely use it for storing food. One could say that this basket is somewhat similar to a lunchbox back in the real world.
Yuuta stopped short as he stared at the blanket. He seemed genuinely surprised but in his mind, he was trying too hard to suppress his joy. Just one glance at the basket gave him all the information he needed regarding the situation.
As for Yua, she thought that Yuuta was hungry so she hurriedly set the basket beside him, sat a few feet from him, and opened the basket. In there was a few pieces of perfectly cut triangular sandwiches.
[Item: Basket (Grade ???)
Description: A Basket made out of woven fibers from the branches of the Crib Tree.
Durability: 19/21]
[Sandwhich (Grade ???)
Description: Sandwich made out of Mayle Fish, Mayonnaise, and freshly picked lettuce. They were carefully made and cut by none other than Hirasawa Yua.
Durability: ???/???
Special Functions: Temporarily grants an additional 10 hp to maximum hp stat.]
"Did your mom really make this?" Yuuta reconfirmed.
"Y-yes, she said you might get hungry during your quests so she told me to give them to you. What sort of Exclusive Quest are you doing, Yuuta?" Yua voiced out but in truth, she lied as naturally as she breathed.
Unbeknownst to her, Yuuta had seen through everything but he didn't say anything about it. Right now, what he needed most was to take a breather before continuing his Exclusive Quest. And what's better than eating sandwiches with a girl underneath a tree in an uninhabited forest?
"Oh, I was given this quest since I might be the only one to accomplish it. Simply put, I need to map out the whole Spirit Jungle so I could get the rewards." Yuuta responded as Yua handed him a sandwich.
"If that's the case, maybe I can help you." Yua smiled.
"Really? How? Will you help me map this Spirit Jungle? How's that possible though, can you accept the quest even though you're not a Dreamer?" For sure, it would be a great help for Yuuta if there is an extra pair of legs helping him with his quest. That would not only save time but would also conserve most of his energy.
But one thing struck Yuuta as odd, however. It had been 12 hours since he logged in on the Lucid Dream Server... and yet why doesn't he feel tired nor hungry?
"About that!" Yua smiled. "So you don't know much about Lucid, huh. Allow me to explain." Yua puffed her chest, making two peaks on her bosom bounce up and down as she showed how dependable she was. Yuuta wasn't fazed at all, however, even though Yua was a bit above average when it comes to her curvaceousness.
"Please do," Yuuta bit on the sandwich in between his words.
"Then, let me start before the Dreamers came here— "
"This is going to be a long one, huh," Yuuta mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, carry on," Yuuta responded, pretentiously trying to act intrigued by the topic.