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The door slowly opened under the eyes of everyone in the dark room.
"You? What are you doing here?" Misgurd asked with a surprised expression as he stared at the newcomer
The person smiled.
"The village is only so big, I can hear you guys talking from literally anywhere, or did you three think you would be able to do everything without anyone noticing?" Tina said with a thin smile as she stepped inside
"We weren't trying to hide anything... But since when were you there?" Testros asked with a helpless smile
Tina's smile vanished as she started to frown.
"From the very beginning."
"This means I heard your entire conversation and how three guys put pressure on a weak and frail girl."
"Pressure? How did we put…"
But Misgurd was interrupted by Tina:
"It's the only way I can see it, but that doesn't matter now since she already made her decision."
"So why are you here Tina?" Testros asked as he scratched his head
"..."
She smiled, walking towards the table.
Her eyes locked on Dale who was completely silent throughout this entire discussion.
"I was about to leave when little Dale over here proposed something rather interesting to her."
"Pr-COUGH!-Proposed?!" Yumi said as she stuttered
Tina smiled deviously, making Dale feel something was wrong.
"It may be because you are young, but didn't you know that deeper in the continent, special gifts from guys often imply marriage?"
"?!"
Yumi's face became red as she didn't know how to react.
Despite her lack of care for herself in the past few years, Yumi always had a certain level of awareness, and it was one of the reasons why she chose to avoid as much contact with the other villagers as possible.
And as a countryside girl with minimal contact with other guys, this was certainly…
"Especially an Elixir, those are really expensive..."
"Don't give her any strange ideas." Dale said as he abruptly interrupted her
'Everyone can tell she's joking, or so I would like to say...' He thought as he looked at Yumi
"You're no fun, I gave you such a great chance and you plan to waste it like that?"
Dale rolled his eyes at the playful old lady, making her chuckle.
She turned her sight to the other two old men and said:
"An Elixir will cause great physical changes on her body, and this means she needs to be relaxed during the entire procedure..."
""...""
Dale seemed to be the only one that understood as he started looking around for an opportunity to leave...
"So? What are you all doing here eh?"
"Take your things and leave!"
"Eh? Why?..." Misgurd asked as it was his turn to scratch his bald head
"Don't let me repeat myself! Think about the reason yourself old man!" She said as she grabbed the chair he was sitting on, and swung it like a piece of fabric, sending Misgurd flying out of the room
"..."
Dale watched this unfold and it was then he realized the dangers in this village didn't solely extend to the monsters outside…
He was truly in a high-Level zone…
'These old people are rather violent…'
As he thought, Testros got up and dusted his clothes, he didn't say much and only nodded to Tina, understanding her meaning.
"Huh?"
In the blink of an eye, Dale realized he was the only one left, so before he got a beating or was thrown outside like the meat heat before him, he also got up, getting ready to leave…
But he felt a tug on his left arm.
Turning around, he noticed it was Yumi…
"... Th-Thank you for the materials." She said in a low tone
"..."
Dale smiled.
"Take good care of them, I'll be relying on you if I get hurt outside."
[DING]
[Quest completed, Herb Chain part 1
Completion rate: Beyond perfect
*The alchemist of Resko has decided to try a new path and be more open to failures, one that will hopefully, bring her to new heights in alchemy.
*Her health has also taken a turn for the better thanks to your efforts, not only physically but also mentally.
*From now on, she will exercise every day and share all kinds of potions and alchemical products with the village.
]
[Rewards:
300% XP
You have Leveled up!
You have Leveled up!
+4 all stats
Resko Reputation +15*2=30
Your current Reputation Level is: 101
You have achieved the next Reputation threshold! You are now an Honorary Elder!
*After a successful recovery, the sole alchemist of Resko will resume her operations.
]
Dale barely had time to breathe before something else happened:
"... But this… Isn't enough." Yumi continued as she stared at the floor
She raised her head and looked straight at Dale, making him surprised.
Previously, she was very meek and shy, but when it's about potions and materials, she tries to put in extra effort.
"Hm? Are you saying that… These materials aren't enough?" Dale asked with a bit of confusion
'I can buy more if that's the case and then create an excuse...'
"..."
Tina looked at them from the background, with a thin smile on her face.
"I-I mean, they are all incredible but… What I know the best are the materials around the village and not from outside of it…"
"Ah...!"
'Of course, it makes sense…'
"So in the future, I hope you can help me… Bring me more materials!" She said with a rather red face
"Hum? Of course." Dale replied with a smilee
'There isn't much else to do anyway.'
[Chain quest activated, Herb Chain part 2]
[With her motivation back on track, the alchemist will now resume her great work.
However, not everything is well as there are many things lacking.
Requirements:
Wait for the alchemist to recover and return after a few days to receive an update.
]
Suddenly, Dale noticed something strange pop up above Yumi's head…
Like a small spark of light, it popped open to reveal something inside.
It looked like an emerald heart, shining…
But no one apart from him seemed to notice it.
[DING]
[Your actions have caused Yumi's intimacy to increase!]
[You were the first player to discover the Intimacy feature, as a bonus, all intimacy rewards shall double permanently and you will be given the ability to see its thresholds.
/DISCLAIMER!/
*This includes negative intimacy values.
]
'Huh?'
[Quick summary:
Intimacy is the Special value that depicts the total favorable impression of a character towards you.
*And it's only applicable to characters that can be seen as romantic partners, but there are Special and Unique cases where this rule may not apply.
It is separated from Reputation but not unrelated to it.
Greater intimacy Levels come with their own rewards and opportunities, and oftentimes, increasing it may prove easier than increasing your average reputation within a given area.
Intimacy can thus be seen as a more particular form of Reputation.
The total value of Intimacy cannot be gauged with numbers and is only displayed once a certain threshold is reached.
*Explore further features on your own!
]
Suddenly, the emerald heart on top of Yumi shook, and another smaller emerald heart appeared next to it.
It grew slightly until it became an exact copy of the other one.
But Yumi's expression didn't change at all.
"??"
'What?'
[Your current Level is 20(13.2%)!]
[You were the first player to reach Level 20!]
'Give me a break!'
The stream of notifications almost made Dale lose his cool, so before something bad happened, he turned around, saying his goodbyes to Yumi and Tina before he left the shop.
...
Outside, he saw Misgurd and Testros waiting for him…
"Hey kid, how was it?" Misgurd asked with his arms crossed
"What do you mean?"
"... Forget it." He said with a disappointed snort
"In any case, this operation was a major success, and this means soon enough, we'll have a proper intake of potions and medicinal products like in the past." Testros said with a smile
"This means we can now go back into exploring the forest… But not today."
Misgurd nodded.
"Why not?"
'This is quite a bummer, but still, it's not like this is a great problem as there are many things to do.'
'And since I completed my objective faster than I thought, being now Level 20, I think I have some time to spare and take a look at other things...'
"It's already rather late so we wouldn't be able to effectively train in the forest, so let's wait for tomorrow morning." Misgurd replied as he looked at Dale
"You'll be coming too?" Dale asked as he raised his right eyebrow
"Of course, I will! How can a mercenary not go on an adventure?" He said as he laughed
"Besides, I am tired of staying in the village and training, I don't have as much patience as this guy over here." He said as he looked at Testros
Testros shrugged before he said:
"In any case, I recommend you to rest well since tomorrow the training will be rather heavy."
"Yes..."
'Is this really a game at this point? I feel as if I am in a BootCamp... Perhaps I really am in one.'
"I know it can feel overwhelming since we just started but you'll get used to it soon enough." Testros said as he thought deeply
"Since we got such an opportunity, the faster we adapt to this new situation the better. We can't let our condition regress as we must press forward."
"..."
'Well… I asked for it. If I have to suffer a little to hunt monsters and get high-end Xp, then so be it.'
Following that, Testros and Misgurd left, leaving Dale behind with his own thoughts.
So he went back to his room in the Inn and opened the Game messages…
[You were the first player to reach Level 20!]
"Time to see what rewards I got from being the first again..."
Smiling slightly, Dale opened his game menu.
...
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.
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Notes
I have no intention of starting a romance anytime soon. But I feel as if it would be weird that in a Village with many countryside girls, not even one of them would feel attracted to our boy.
Especially since he looks like the depiction of a fairy tale hero, with his heavy armor and giant sword, fixing all of the problems with a good personality and appearance.
But we'll have to wait and see how he reacts to it all.
Your inputs are welcome!
With this, we'll soon start expanding beyond the village but that doesn't mean all of it ended.
There is still David, the golden head, trying to remember pieces of the past...
There are the elders that promised to help Dale in some way, shape, or form...
There is the other player and his own dilemmas...
There are the other players all around the continent and the world with their own problems and conditions, including his friend Jelly who should be soon leaving the tutorial!
The clock is ticking and the creatures outside and below Resko aren't going to remain still for long.
If you have any ideas or suggestions, be free to share them as I will be here, reading them.
Peace!