"You!? Where did you get these!?" Sally couldn't help but ask. She did not understand why this man in front of her had holy potions and was willing to give them out like they were candy.
Vance shrugged his shoulders, causing Sally to glare at him and Alice to giggle. Alice pulled Vance to sit next to her before saying: "Sally wants to follow us."
"Hmmm?" Vance looked Sally up and down. She was a beautiful girl. Straight long black hair and a small face. And a set of big black eyes that made her look innocent. If it was not for her very endowed chest, one would think she was around fifteen even though she was the same age as Alice at eighteen. But for Vance at this time, while she was indeed a beauty only had eyes for Alice. "What are your skills?"
"I have been training with the military here from a young age. Wind magic, throwing knives, hand to hand combat. You name it, and I have been training in it. But I am highly efficient in undercover work due to my training at the palace." Sally replied.
Vance was actually quite surprised. The girl was a thief class called Shadows. Shadows used wind magic to move around swiftly. They were very good at infiltration as they could use the wind to silently yet quickly move around without being seen or heard. While it took time to get to the point of absolute non-detection, just from his current understanding, she was on the right track. The only thing was it was a very hard class to master. But Vance still had one question he needed to ask. "How are your lock picking and trap detection skills?"
"Mastered each one as it is part of my training both here and at the palace," Sally replied smugly.
Vance nodded his head at this. Such skills were important to the thief classes. They also just so happen to make perfect bodyguards. But one question came to mind after hearing all of this. "Why were you not with Alice when she left the capital?"
"This…. You will need to ask Princess…." Sally lowered her head. Although Vance only asked a simple question, she still felt like she was being scolded.
"It was I who forced her to stay even under her protests. Although I did run into trouble, I am still glad I had her stay back, or else I would not have met you." Alice blushed as she leaned against Vance's shoulder. Vance did not say any more about the issue.
"I have no problem with you joining. I was also worried about having what if situations." Vance had worried that if they were surrounded that until he was strong enough, Alice might come to harm. But now, with Sally around, she could help protect Alice. "But I must warn you. Once we leave, the chances of us returning here in the short term are very slim. My goal is to become the strongest, not to settle down in some small town."
"I understand. I just wish to protect my Princess." Sally replied with determination.
"Alright, but no more princess then. From this moment on, you will just call her Alice. There are no servants or masters here. Just friends and family." Vance's words caused Alice to blush deeply and Sally to lower her head. It would take her some time to get used to calling Alice by her real name. Alice was being shy because Vance said friends and family meaning that the two of them were family. Of course, these were just wild thoughts of the girl in love. Vance did not mean much by his words. He was just making a statement.
"Since you are joining us, then you will also get what I am about to hand out." Vance turned to Alice and tapped the air. Well, to others, it was him tapping the air, but in reality, he was pressing a button that asked do you wish to grant an NPC system to Alice Findale.
"Huh!? What is this!?" Alice cried out as she jumped back. In front of her was a transparent window. She found when she moved, so did it.
"Just tap the yes button. I will explain more after I send one to Sally as well." Vance then sent one to Sally, who had a more composed expression, but the flash of surprise could be seen in her eyes.
The two girls hit the yes button, and then a stream of green 0s and 1s wrapped around them, causing them both to exclaim. The streams moved up their bodies until they reached their head and entered into their bodies through their eyes. "Vance, what is this!? I see my name, these red and blue things, along with numbers within my line of sight. It's there no matter which way I look!"
"This is called a system. Basically, it allows you to grow stronger quicker." Vance was not sure how the residents of this world were able to grow stronger because, so far, the people here did not seem to go out and try to fight any monsters. The adults ran around and worked all day, never mind a five year old who would have quite a few levels. They did not seem to have time to do any kind of leveling up. "One second, I will have you join my team."
"Team? Ah! Another one!" Alice was not scared but more excited. She was finding all of this quite amazing. Sally was no different. She felt that Vance was getting more and more mysterious by the second. "I can see your name! " Alice cried out. She looked at Vance's health and compared it to her own, and frowned a little. "Vance, why are some of my numbers lower than yours?"
Alice was actually level 15. She had only 130 Health but had 120 mana. "Ahh! Sally has high numbers too, no fair!" Sally was level 18 with 170 health and 110 mana.
Vance let out a sigh of relief. The levels were just right for teaming. Level 23 was the max to team with his current level. He thought that with Sally's abilities, she would be at a higher level, but it seemed levels for NPCs were different than for a player. "Alice, you are level 15, and Sally is level 18. This means you are both a level higher than me. This system allows you to gain experience by killing monsters. But it also has other functions. I want the both of you to say the words: Status window, in your minds."