[Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Emergency Quest 'A Bully is Always a Bully'
Due to your flawless execution of justice your rewards will be increased in value
Your calculated rewards are as follows...
Silver Coins x10
Gold Coins x2
Lorica Hamata(chain armour) x1
Galea(Helmet) x1
Manica(Arm guard) x2
Gladius(Sword) x1
Would you like to view your rewards or place them in the System Storage?]
Ethan was more than stunned when he saw his rewards. Nevermind the money, which he still had to ask Amira about, the other items were what truly left him speechless. As a history professor he clearly recognized them as being distinctly Roman in nature.
'Why are they Roman? Does it have to do with the System being called the Imperial System?' He quietly mused
'Sigh...place the items inside the System Storage for now.' Ethan told the System
[Affirmative.
Would you like to continue accessing the System?]
'Yes. I want to see the Quest Tab.'
[Affirmative.
Three viewable quest detected
Quest #1 - Follow The Leader
This quest requires you to recruit a group of followers. Though individual strength is good, a single soldier no matter how strong will eventually fall to numbers. Ensure your future by gatherings those you trust under your banner.
Followers recruited 0/5
Quest #2 - Empress of The People
This quest requires you to find a partner. No man can be an island. Search for the one who would be your equal.
Steps to completion 3/5
Quest #3 - A journey of a Thousand miles...
This quest requires you to locate a base of operations. Without a steady foundation it is impossible to thrive. Establish yourself firmly and no-one will be able to challenge your might.
Base established 0/1]
'What the...Is this system trying to get me to establish some kind of Empire? I get the feeling it's overestimating me a bit. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it now.'
Ethan then dismissed the System and decided to take a nap before dinner. Laying next to Amira on the bed he closed his eyes and was soon fast asleep.
Several hours later the two were woken up by a knock on the door. Ethan was the first up while Amira still seemed groggy as she rubbed her eyes.
"Who is it?" Ethan called from behind the door
"It's just me. I brought something to eat." sounded the voice of Ms. B from the other side of the door.
"Just a moment." he said before taking out his fire starter and using it to light the lamp filling the room with light. Once done he opened the door and let Ms. B enter.
"I hope I'm not disturbing you." Ms. B said as she set down two plates of roasted chicken and vegetables on the table.
"Don't worry. Your always welcome." Said Amira with a gentle smile
"Haha, if you say that you might not be able to get rid of me." Ms. B said with a bright smile. "Well I'll get out of your hair for tonight. Just leave the dishes outside the door when you're done." And with that she left them to enjoy their meal.
Halfway through the meal Amira asked "You paid for our clothes with Silver?"
"Yes. Did Janessa tell you?"
"She mentioned it yes."
"Well that makes things a bit easier. I was going to ask you about the value of money here earlier. As you know I'm not from this continent. So while I can sort of figure out the values, for anything above Bronze I'm completely lost." Ethan explained
Amira nodded as she listened "I see. That certainly is an issue." She then began to explain the exchange ratio of money. A hundred Bronze Coins equaled a single Silver Coin and ten Silver Coins equaled a single Gold Coin. So when he paid a single Silver for the clothing which cost 20 Bronze he had overpaid by 5 times.
"Thank you. Now I don't have to worry about accidentally giving money away." Ethan said with a grateful expression.
"By the way, you haven't told me where your from yet. I was wondering about why you were in that forest."
Amira suddenly went stiff and her face paled "Where I'm from?"
When Ethan saw her reaction to what he said he knew he had stepped on a landmine "If you don't want to say it's fine.."
"No it's okay, you already told me where you're from after all. I'm from the Kingdom of Syrena that we are currently in. I was originally from another village called Pyre." she explained
"When I turned 16 and thus came of age the Village Head who was a filthy womanizer tried to use his position to force me into being his woman. I refused his advances multiple time. However, because I was an orphan there was no-one to support me. One night he came to my house and tried to assault me but I managed to strike him with a with a iron pot. In order to cover up his misdeeds he had the village guards capture me and I was banished to the Forest of Despair as a witch. It was the next day that I you rescued me from the Ratlings."
Ethan couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had expected some sort of unique circumstances but nothing to this extent. How could someone who was supposed to be a leader of a village possibly behave in such a manner? It made him furious just thinking about what she Amira had gone through.
"That son of a bitch." he said "If I ever get my hands on him I'll make him regret the day he was born."
"There's no need for that". Amira said while smiling bitterly "All that matters is I was saved by you. So let the past stay in the past."
Ethan sighed "Okay, if that's how you want it I'll leave it be." However, even though he said that it didn't stop him from committing the Villages name to memory--Pyre.
A heavy silence then fell over the room as neither of knew what to say anymore. they sat there for several minutes before Ethan finally broke the dysmal atmosphere "Is there anything else you'd like ask me? You might as well."
Amira blinked at him before saying "Your name..."
"Hmm, what about it?"
"You said that your family wasn't nobility but you have a family name."
"Oh, is that what you're curious about?" Ethan asked
Amira shook her head "No its not just your family name but you also have a 'Titled' name."
"Titled name? what do you mean?"
"Romulus. You said your full name was Ethan 'Romulus' Specter. Commoners only have one name. Nobles all have a family name, but only Royalties such as King of Syrena or the Emperor of Embershroud and their direct descendants have a Titled name."
Ethan nearly facepalmed when he listened to her words. He had unexpectedly revealed something he shouldn't have. While middle names were commonplace in his world it seemed that here they were reserved for royals.
"So my question is, is the reason you said your family isn't nobility because your from a royal lineage?"
Ethan really didn't want to lie to Amira. No relationship founded on lie would last afterall. But he knew that even if he tried to explain she more than likely wouldn't believe him. All he could do was smile weakly at her inquiry. Fortunately for him that was only answer she needed to confirm her suspicions.
"Then what does it mean? Romulus I mean." she then asked
Ethan sighed internally as he knew his answer would only deepen her misunderstanding further. But since there was no use in hiding it at this point so he answered "Romulus is the name of a legendary hero-king where I'm from. It's said that, along with his brother who later died, he founded a great city called Rome. That city eventually founded an Empire that lasted nearly 2,000 years."
Amira's heart nearly stopped from shock when she heard Ethan's words. No wonder he had been kidnapped and brought to another continent. The power his family must hold would probably result in an unknown number of enemies. He must have been extremely sheltered growing up which is why he lacked so much common sense.
"Okay, I think we can finish this tomorrow. I know you're probably still curious but it's already late. There's going to be plenty of time to go over everything in the future." Ethan said wanting to alter course before he buried himself any further.
"You're right. I'm sorry if I was prying too much." Amira said slightly embarrassed
"It's fine. It's only normal to want to figure things out." he said while taking the dishes from dinner and setting them outside the room in the hallway as Ms. B had told them to do.
Amira was already in bed as Ethan returned and blew out the lantern sending the room into total darkness save for the light from the moonlight coming through the window.
After joining her on the bed he said "Goodnight."
"Goodnight." replied Amira
Soon after they were both asleep