"Hey, system, what's going on? With a slightly panicked tone, Elio asked the system. "What do you mean I would have died if I left this forest?"
[...]
The system became instantly silent and did not answer Elio's question.
[Ding]
[Host received a Choice Mission]
[Protect Drest while he is on his way to his village]
[Reward: 10 system points]
[Host, do you want to accept it?]
[Yes/No]
"Hhhmm... a new mission? Suddenly a pop-up notification from the system appeared. "This time, the type is called Choice Mission with an option."
"And you still haven't answered my question, system." Elio was still trying to get an answer from the system
[The current Host level is still too low. Access to information is denied]
"What the... you stupid system." Elio shook his head and sighed lightly.
"Big brother Elio, what's wrong with you?" Drest asked Elio because he had seen Elio seem to be talking to himself.
"Ah, it's okay, Drest," Elio replied.
"Heyy, system, how can I accept the mission when I can't even get out of this forest?" Elio asked with some concern.
[Host, you can buy something at Item Mall and give it to the boy]
"Huh... Item Mall, you say? At Item Mall, the cheapest item costs 25 points."
"Meanwhile, the mission reward is only 10 points. Do you want to rob me?" Elio was a bit annoyed with the suggestion from the system.
Then Elio glanced slightly at Drest and turned his gaze outside the forest, where there was a vast grassland.
"Haizz... alright." Elio sighed slightly. "There's no way I'm letting this kid return alone after what happened yesterday."
"System Item Mall Open."
The Item Mall menu pop-up in the system appeared in front of Elio. There were rows of several weapons and accessories in this Item Mall menu.
"System, do you have any suggestions?" With so many options, Elio first asked the system which was the best choice.
[The system suggested the Host buy a Shadow Bracelet]
"Oh.. how much does it cost?"
[Shadow Bracelet price 75 points]
"What the..." Elio almost vomited blood. "Isn't there anything cheaper?"
[Pendant of Illusion-]
"Choose the cheaper one."
[Awareness Totem-]
"Choose the cheapest one." For the second time, Elio interrupted the recommendation by the system.
[Thunder Talisman-]
"Oh.. how much is it this time?"
[Thunder Talisman price 25 points]
"Finally, an item with the lowest price." Elio was happy he got something from the Item Mall at a much lower price than the system initially suggested.
"Big brother, when do we step out of this forest?" Drest suddenly asked Elio, "The forest entrance is before us."
"Ah yes, Drest, big brother just remembered that big brother has something to do today." Elio, who had been busy with his system, immediately answered Drest. "Just a moment."
Elio then summoned the Thunder Talisman from his Item Mall.
[Host, don't forget to infuse One Heart Flame skill into Thunder Talisman]
"Uh.. oh.. okay-okay." Elio followed the system's advice and infused a little of his blue flame into the Thunder Talisman.
Elio gave it to Drest. "Big brother gives this in exchange for big brother not being able to accompany Drest."
Elio gave a piece of white paper with an ancient rune visible on it. The old rune was made with purple ink.
Elio himself did not know anything about ancient runes. But because it's the item from the system, at least Elio thought it would be helpful.
"Sorry big brother can't accompany Drest for some reason." Elio tried to convince Drest
"Alright, big brother, Drest understands." Even though he said that, you could see a slightly disappointed look on Drest's.
Drest accepted the Talisman, then said goodbye to Elio. After being quite far away from Elio, he sprinted away from the forest and disappeared from Elio's sight.
"Okay, now let's try rechecking the Item Mall." Elio opened his Item Mall again. "Since I acquired a Swordsmanship skill yesterday, I need a sword now."
Elio immediately looked for the Sword with the lowest price.
"Hhmm... Prominence Sword. Renunciation Blade."
"Heyy, system, there are blades, and there are swords. What's the difference between the two?"
[Sword is a term for swords from Western countries, while Blade is a term for swords from Eastern countries]
[Swords tend to have a straight, double-edged blade that are good for thrusting and slashing. Blades tend to have curved, single-edged blades that are good for cutting and slashing]
"So that's it, in other words, the same as in my old world on Earth. Sword refers to swords from Europe, while Blade refers to swords from Asia."
"Hehe... It was clear that I would choose the Renunciation Blade." Elio said while pressing the image of a sword weapon with only one side of the blade.
In the past, Elio liked watching anime with characters who used a katana sword as a weapon. Therefore now that he could use it, then he would take it.
Elio immediately summoned the Renunciation Blade from his Item Mall.
This Sword is black with a slight blue accent on the sheath. The hilt is also blue, with a silver accent on the sword guard.
Elio then looked at the details of his sword status on the system.
[Name: Renunciaton Blade]
[Level: 150]
[Weapon Class: Blade]
[Weapon Type: Magic Item]
[Length: 1 meter]
[Special Ability: Shockwave Slash]
"Wow, it turns out that this sword is a magic item!" Elio was a little surprised when he saw the details of his weapon status.
"Ok, now it's time for farming exp." Elio walked confidently and left the place to start his routine of searching for monsters.
***
In other places, it was late in the evening.
A young boy ran breathlessly through the grassland. Before long, in front of him, a village came into view.
The village looked not big, but not too small either. A few rows of houses were surrounded by a cross-shaped wooden fence, which looked like a boundary fence surrounding this village.
The young boy ran and headed towards the entrance of the village.
Two adult men appeared to be guards near the entrance of the village. They were fully clothed, with some parts of their bodies covered by light armor and a weapon on their waist.
"Hey, isn't he...?" One of the village entrance guards spoke to the others as the young boy ran through the village entrance.
The young boy finally arrived in front of a house some distance from the village entrance. He stood right in front of the door of that house.
He knocked on the door of the house. As soon as the door opened, two people, a man, and a woman, looked happy as they saw the young boy had returned home.
"Mama... papa... Drest is home." Drest said while sobbing.
They hugged and brought him inside, then asked him where he had gone missing for the past two days.
"While looking for firewood not far from a forest in the south of the village, Drest encountered a pack of goblins near the forest entrance," Drest said, telling what happened.
"Seeing that, Drest immediately ran away and did not know that somehow Drest entered that forest afterward," Drest added.
"The forest south of the village? Could it be...?" The father, who heard Drest's explanation, looked shocked and immediately hugged Drest back. "Thank goodness you're all right, son."
"Then what happened after that?" asked his mother curiously. "How did you escape from the goblin?"
"A big brother saved me. He also took me to his house to protect me from the monsters." Drest answered his mother's question calmly.
Drest's parents glared in disbelief. Because no one had ever lived there. For generations, villagers had been forbidden to enter the forest as it was dangerous and full of monsters.