'It's already been four hours.' I sighed to myself as I shifted my eyes from the sun that was considering to set, to the trolley that still held 7 glass bottles filled to the brim with pinkish liquid.
I've only managed to sell 17 potion bottles in all the four hours I've been standing here.
"Guess not a good day huh…" I muttered to myself.
—Smack!
"Ow! What was that for now?!" I complained to the lady next to me as I rubbed my shoulder to ease the pain inflicted on my poor shoulder.
"It's our job kid, we have to stay here for hours. After that is when you will finally get some money! So don't look tired just after a couple of hours and some little money." The aunty from the stand next to me told me with a huge grin plastered on her face, for a second it looked like her teeth were shining.
"Yeah, aunty Irina." I nodded with a forced smile of my own, but twitching corners of my lips probably gave my pained self away.
"Just don't hit so hard, ok?" I tried to make a point, but you know…
—Pat —Pat
"You are a fine young lad, kid! This shouldn't hurt, should it?" She made a point of herself, giving me a teasing smirk.
"Oh aunty! Look, a customer!" I quickly sent her away, pointing at the customer who arrived at her stall.
That customer had good timing… or I might have just had to drink a potion to get rid of the pain.
She was just around my mum's age and manned the stall next to my trolley. Her stall sold herbs and berries that she probably bought from an adventurer who picked them up from the forest.
Or my guess could be totally wrong and she grew those herbs in her backyard…
Hmm…
Adventurers…
'Adventurers! Why didn't I think of this?!' Suddenly a tube light turned on inside my head and I got a brilliant idea, but only time would tell how brilliant it is.
"I want two more bottles, is it the same price as before?" Breaking me out of my thoughts was a lady's voice that came from the other side of the trolley.
"Yes ma'am, same price."
"Give me two then."
"Sure thing!"
-
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-
After half an hour more, I was on my way back home, with my assistant trolley-san in my hands.
In the end, I managed to sell five more bottles, bringing the total sale upto 318 Bronze Vels.
After counting the profits, I made my way to James's stall to buy the last batch of bottles.
The streets were as lively as usual, with children playing about under the orange hue of the setting sun, and people going home after finishing their work.
'Now that I look more closely, almost all of the buildings are made of wood,' I thought to myself.
There were hardly any glass windows, and all were in the fancier shops, reflecting the marigold hue of the setting sun.
In a couple more minutes, I reached the stall.
"60 more Bottles please!" I asked with a smile, I don't know why, but I kinda liked James, which is very rare for me. His way of treating the world was kinda my taste.
"You again huh. Sure, wait for a moment." James said, standing up from the pottering wheel where Bolg was holding a brown stone with a glowing brown design.
"Bolg, go bring 60 grade zero bottles." He told Bolg as he went to wash his hands of soil.
In a few minutes, Bolg came back from the backside of the stall, with one wooden crate in each hand, with each being larger than the one I had before.
"Can you please drop the crates directly on the trolley?" I asked James to which he told Bolg to do so.
"Huff!" Bolg huffed as he dropped the crates on the poor trolley.
"Here's 200 Bronze Vels." I said as I handed James a leather pouch which was heavy because of the metal coins within.
After buying the bottles and some meat as a surprise for mom, I made my way back home.
After walking slowly to take in the beautiful view of the village, I arrived home.
Glancing at the sign with the name of the building for a brief moment, I entered the building.
—Tinch —Tak
The first thing I did after entering was to park the trolley near the stairs and quickly climb them.
—Click
"Mom! I'm home!" I shouted as I pushed the door open, seeing mom standing on the balcony again.
"Welcome home, son. You have to wait, the dinner will take some time to be ready." She replied from over her shoulder as I dropped the meat in the kitchen and moved towards the balcony myself.
"I can wait, Mum." I replied as I also stood beside her, leaning on the railing.
"So, How was your day?" Mom asked me.
"Just the usual." I replied, staring at the mesmerizing view of the setting sun.
"Hmm." She hummed and kept staring at the sky dyed in orange.
Time passed in silence, but I didn't mind it one bit. It was even somewhat comforting and relaxing.
After a few minutes of silent staring at the beautiful orange sky, the first one to break the silence was mom.
"So what did you decide?" She asked, without removing her eyes from the sky.
"I'll go there again, tomorrow." I replied after a moment of thinking things through.
"Ok, I'll prepare your bag." She commented with a smile on her beautiful face.
"...Thank you." I mumbled in gratitude, slightly surprised even.
"That's the least I can do to help you."
"I promise I will prioritise my safety. And make it back safely." I vowed to Mom, and to myself as well.
Instead of saying anything, mom just smiled it off. Seeing that, I was also relieved.
'I promise, I'll keep my promise, definitely keep it.' I resolved myself as I turned around and headed inside.
-
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"Yawn~"
"You up? Good, the bag is ready. Get ready while Mom is making breakfast."
"...Yeah Mom." It took me a while to understand what she was saying because of my sleepiness, but as soon as I understood, I sprang up from the bed and rushed to the bathroom.
In a quarter of an hour, I got ready with both a bag on my shoulders and a knife on my waist.
'What's the time?'
[7:31 A.M.]
"See you soon, Mom." I said as I made the most assuring smile possible, and seeing the content smile on mom's face, that seemed to have eased her fears a bit.
"Hmm, See you soon."
—Click
'So tell me Codex, How come I didn't need to charge you? How are you working?' I asked inside my head as I made my way to the border of the village.
[You already know the answer, I am getting enough energy from the sunlight.]
'But you never had enough exposure to get much sunlight.' I frowned.
[Remember, we are a single entity now? Your whole body is under direct sunlight, which I am free to absorb. I have completely merged into you, you can also say that I am just another organ of yours. That is not to say you can freely use it, yet.]
'Hmm, good point. And also, what the hell was that 'Fulfill requirements to unlock information' prompt for?' I asked in my mind as I continued on my way.
It has been on my mind for a while now, if Codex isn't a typical 'System', Why did it ask for an upgrade? And Why not outright give the information about Dia to me? After all, it is a part of me.
[That was a requirement set by a certain someone you know, so that you can only get some secret information when you are ready for it and to not just dump everything on you when you barely know anything about the place you are in.] Codex revealed harshly as I continued to listen.
[As for me not giving you what you want? Tell me, Little Ryan, does every part of your body agree with you and does whatever you say?] Codex continued with a hint of mockery in its voice.
'Fair enough I guess.' I nodded in agreement. As I know I can't control everything that's mine, and if I can't, that either means I shouldn't control it or… I will soon control it.
In a couple more minutes, I reached the forest entrance. As I went through the slum area instead of the village main entrance, it cut the time by more than half.
Looking up, the sun was still on its way to the top, so I had quite a bit of time on my hands today.
Thinking so, I entered the forest.
"What a good atmosphere this is," I murmured to myself, looking around the scene that was presented before me while walking.
There was the sound of crickets and grasshoppers chittering. The light and dim sunlight that passed through the gaps between the canopies of the tall trees that seemed to want to kiss the sky itself.
'Come out, Dia.' I called out to Dia.
[Coming!]
In just a moment, she appeared around my neck, with her head resting on my right shoulder.
With a heart thumping in excitement and fear of the unknown, I started my excursion in the green maze known to man by the name of 'The Forest of Nightmares'.